But sometimes Mr Crane would swallow a big water-beetle, and if this specimen had a will of its own, as beetles generally have, it would catch hold of the side of the gullet and hang on halfway down.
“I ain’t going another step,” the beetle would say; “it isn’t good enough. The road is too long and too dark.”
So this disobliging beetle would just stop there, making a kind of a mump in the poor Admiral’s neck.
When Ransey saw his droll pet stride out of the pool and walk solemnly towards a tree and lean his head against it, and close his eyes, the lad knew pretty well what was the matter.
There is nothing like patience and plenty of it, and presently the beetle would go to sleep, relax its hold, and slip quietly down to regions unknown. There would be no more mump now, and the crane would suddenly take leave of his senses with joy.
“Kaik—kaik—kay—ay?” he would scream, and go madly hopping and dancing round the tree, a most weird and uncanny-looking object, raising one leg at a time as high as he could, and swinging his head and neck fore and aft, low and aloft, from starboard to port, in such a droll way that Ransey Tansey felt impelled to throw himself on his back, so as to laugh without bursting that much-prized solitary suspender of his, while Bob sat up to bark, and Babs clapped her tiny hands and crowed.
Ransey got tired of fishing at last, and made up his rod. There was some sort of silent joy or happiness away down at the bottom of the boy’s heart, and for a moment he couldn’t make out what was causing it. The big haul of fish he had caught? Oh, no; that was a common exploit. Having smashed the postman with a mushy turnip? That was capital, of course, but that wasn’t it. Ah! now he has remembered—father was coming home in four days. Hurrah! he must have some fun on the head of it. Ransey loved to have a good time.
But, duty first. Babs was a good little girl—or a “dood ’ittle dirl,” as she phrased it—but even good girls get hungry sometimes. Babs must be fed. She held her arms straight out towards him.
“Babs is detting tired,” she lisped.