The poor flustered thing got up, all atremble. She called despondently to her foster children, who toddled after her as she departed.
"Now for that villain of a drake!" thought Clarence, and he set out in search of Eustace.
The father of the ducklings was at that moment in the middle of the pond, regaling himself upon a lucky find of frog's-egg tapioca. As he swallowed the succulent globules his neck writhed in contortions of joy.
"Hah! you guzzling hypocrite! you hawk in dove's clothing!" cried a voice.
Eustace looked up. There on the bank was Clarence, pacing to and fro in a fury.
"Come out on shore, you sleek betrayer, you whited sepulcher!"
The full terror of his situation dawned on him. Here was he, despite his conscientious integrity, accused of a most heinous sin,—and, worst of all, accused by Clarence!
Interested spectators began to assemble on the bank. Eustace became a center of attention. And the rooster continued to rail and threaten.
"Oh, if I could only get at you!—you with your single standard!"
That was a bombshell. "Shut your bill, you liar!" shouted Eustace, as, with a vigorous kick of his foot, he wheeled away from the tapioca and started for the shore.