"As near as I could figure it out, Jimmy didn't have an idea that any one was near until he found himself in the very midst of the crowd, and then he swung around in order to stop quickly, when, of course, old Mr. Turtle flew out like a rock on the end of a string, without any idea of where he'd bring up. Cocky Robin and Mr. Jay were roosting quite near the ground, where they could keep an eye out for foolish worms which might happen that way, and Mr. Turtle swept them off the branch like ninepins, knocking the two senseless.
"Mr. Jay let out a screech as he fell, and Jimmy, who couldn't seem to understand how hard he was swinging old Slowly, turned the other way like a flash, Mr. Turtle hitting Bobby Coon's mother such a clip on the head that I thought for certain she was dead. Then Mr. Crow hopped down to tell Slowly to let up, when Jimmy turned again, and over the old fellow went like the down of a thistle.
"I really haven't the time to tell you all that happened before old Slowly could be made to understand that he had carried out his part of the plot and a little more. Jimmy had regularly lost his head, what with the pain caused by Mr. Turtle's jaws, together with the uproar that began when he first appeared, and kept swinging around and around like a windmill that has suddenly gone crazy, with old Slowly flying out at the end of his tail knocking down everything and everybody in his way.
"It seemed as if Mr. Turtle must have been splintered into little bits, for whatever he struck was hit hard; but yet he really seemed to enjoy it, and when the rumpus was over the old fellow acted as if he were quite disappointed at having the circus over so soon.
"If you'll believe me, fully seven out of every ten of the club members had been knocked over from one to three times before we got any sense into Jimmy's wild head, and those who hadn't already come to harm were roosting mighty high, as if afraid that Slowly might lose his grip and come sailing up among the branches, as he would have done if any part of Jimmy's tail had come off suddenly. It didn't seem to me as if I had any call to mix up in the show, even though the president kept singing out for me to jump in and catch the crazy hedgehog, for when you find me mixing myself up with a lot of quills that are moving around as Jimmy's were then you'll catch Butcher Weasel asleep.
"There's no telling how long the performance would have lasted if Senator Bear, who had been awakened by the uproar, hadn't come up just when he did, and he got there in time to have old Slowly strike him fairly on the side; but it takes quite a blow to knock the Senator out, and Jimmy didn't have time enough to swing around again before Mr. Bear put one of his big paws on him.
"That held the crazy hedgehog down for a minute, and President Crow yelled savagely:
"'Let go his tail, you foolish old turtle! Do you count on killing the whole club?'
"'I'm only doing what you asked me to do,' Slowly grumbled as he let go his grip, and the minute his mouth was opened you can set it down as a fact that Jimmy took mighty good care to get his tail in out of harm's way.
"Now, as I've told you before, more than half the club members had been knocked around by Slowly and Jimmy, and the minute they heard that the job had been put up by Mr. Crow they sailed into him, calling the old fellow more names than there are days in the month. Jimmy lay there under the Senator's paw, but never said a word; he'd lost his breath after scrambling around so fast, which was one reason why he had nothing to say, and I reckon he was so frightened that he didn't dare to move his tongue for fear something worse would happen.