“I should say so,” agreed Grant. “The joke was on Pop at first but it certainly is on Fred now. Just look at them.”
George still advanced slowly towards the spot where Fred was standing. He held his arms out, entreating Fred to come to him, but Fred very evidently had no intention of doing any such thing. He was slowly retreating, threatening George meanwhile with all manner of punishment if he was not left alone.
“Come to me, Fred,” begged George, a wide smile on his face. He was content to suffer the discomfort of the terrible odor himself as long as he could worry his friend so effectively.
“Keep away from me, I say!” threatened Fred, brandishing a stick in his right hand. “I swear I’ll hit you over the head with this if you don’t.”
“Oh, Fred, you wouldn’t do that, would you?” exclaimed George, pretending great surprise. “You wouldn’t hit your old friend who only wants to share something nice with you. You can’t be serious.”
“You heard what I said.”
“But Fred—”
“Whew, what a smell!” cried Fred suddenly and he turned and fled as fast as his legs could carry him. Close behind him followed George calling out at every step for Fred to wait and share something nice with him. These invitations however seemed to have no effect upon Fred, for he merely increased his speed.
Now it so happened that the course Fred followed in his flight led behind the tent and down the same narrow trail where George had had his disastrous encounter with Mr. Skunk only a short time before. It also happened that Mr. Skunk had not left the neighborhood with such eagerness as had George; indeed he had been inclined to linger around the same spot where they had met before.
As has been told the path was narrow and hard to follow and the night was growing darker every moment. Unfortunately for Fred a vine stretched across the path just before he came to the spot where George had searched for the “cat.” This vine caught Fred’s toe and he sprawled at full length on the ground; George, but a couple of steps in the rear of him, had to jump over the prostrate body of his friend in order to save himself from meeting the selfsame fate.