As he spoke, he turned his head to hide a grin, for, thought he, "of course Chatterer will go straight to that hiding place in the stone wall and then we shall see some fun." He glanced hastily in that direction, and he saw a patch of red half hidden behind the wall, and he knew that it was the red coat of Reddy Fox. Reddy was hiding just where Sammy had told him to.
Now Chatterer had been doing some quick thinking. He remembered the sharp tricks Sammy had played on him before, and he didn't have the least doubt that Sammy had planned another. "Of course, he expects me to go straight to that place where he knows I have hidden corn for him, and if he has planned any trouble for me, that is where it will be," thought Chatterer. "I think I'll get the corn from one of the hiding places he doesn't know about."
With that Chatterer ran swiftly out along a branch of the tree he was in, leaped across to another tree and then to a third, the one in which was the hollow in which he had put some of the corn. In a few minutes he was back, with his cheeks stuffed full. Sammy Jay pretended to be very much pleased, but he ate it as if he had lost his appetite, as indeed he had. You see, he was wondering what he should say to Reddy Fox, to whom he had promised a chance to catch Chatterer. He knew that Reddy would think that it was all one of Sammy's tricks. So without waiting to finish all the corn, Sammy politely said good-by and flew away to the deepest part of the Green Forest.
"Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!" laughed Chatterer, as his sharp eyes spied Reddy Fox, trying to creep away without being seen. "Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! It's my turn to laugh. Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho!"
And so for the time being Chatterer had the last laugh, though Sammy Jay knew well that his turn would come again, if only he were patient. But he had other things to think of. You see, he was very much interested in the adventures of Buster Bear. And if you are interested in them too, you may read all about them in another book devoted wholly to the things that happened when Buster came to live in the Green Forest.
THE END
* * * * * * * *
BOOKS BY
THORNTON W. BURGESS
BEDTIME STORY-BOOKS