“Rover wouldn’t either,” said Bob. “I wonder where Slicko can be. Here, Slicko! Slicko!” he called. “Come and get some nuts! Come and get some sugar!”
Slicko, up in the tree, heard Bob, but, though she was very hungry, she would not go down and get in his pocket, as she used to do. Slicko made up her little squirrel mind that as long as she had run away, she would not go back so soon.
“I want to have a little fun,” she said to herself.
Bob called and called again. He looked all over for Slicko, even up in the trees, but Slicko managed to hide behind a leafy branch, and Bob could not see her. Bob even called Rover, thinking the dog might be able to help him find the lost squirrel.
From her perch in the tree, Slicko saw Bob and Rover running about. The dog barked:
“Bow wow! Bow wow! Bow wow!” as if he were calling Slicko to come down. But the little squirrel was not yet ready.
“I know what I’ll do,” said Bob. “I’ll get some nuts and put them where Slicko can see them, close by the open window. I’ll set her cage there, too, on a chair in the room. Maybe she’s lost, and can’t find her way home. But perhaps she can smell the nuts, and when she comes for them, she’ll see her cage, and be glad to go back into it.”
“Oh, yes, do that,” said Mollie. “Once when my canary bird flew away, I hung the cage on a tree outside, and left the door open. And, pretty soon, Dick flew back into it.”
“Well, I hope Slicko comes back to her cage,” said Bob.