“Are you willing to agree, that if you make any noise or disturbance in the family with your squirrel, that he is to be forfeited?”
“Forfeited!” said Phonny, “how do you mean?”
“Why, given up to me, to dispose of as I please,” said Wallace.
“And what should you do with him?” asked Phonny.
“I don’t know,” said Wallace. “I should dispose of him in some way, so that he should not be the means of any more trouble. Perhaps I should give him away; perhaps I should open the cage and let him run.”
“Then I think you ought to pay me what I gave for him,” said Phonny.
“No,” said Wallace, “because I don’t take him for any advantage to myself, but only to prevent your allowing him to make trouble. If you make noise and disturbance with him, it is your fault, and you lose the squirrel as the penalty for it. If you do your duty and make no trouble with him, then he would not be forfeited.”
“Well,” said Phonny, “I agree to that. But perhaps you will say that I make a disturbance with him when I don’t.”
“We will have an umpire, then,” said Wallace.
“What is an umpire?” asked Phonny.