Julius could hear Quib bark now, away down there in the ground, and he could not stand still on any one side of that hollow. So he danced up and down on every side of it.
One minute,—two, three minutes,—it was a dreadfully long time, —and then it was the voice of Abe Selover mixed with a long yelp from Quib.
"Come on, boys! I've shoved him through. I'm going right up after him. Nothing to pull away but some sods."
"Dat's de tog!" exclaimed Mr. Hamburger. "Keep shtill, black poy!
De rest of dose vootshucks is coming. Keep shtill."
Nothing but some sods to pull away, to make that hole large enough, and then Abe Selover's curly head popped out, and the rest of him followed, grimy and dirty, but in a great fever of excitement and fun.
After him climbed the other boys, one by one.
"Mr. Hamburger, did you see where that woodchuck went to?"
"De vootshuck? I don't know him. But de black poy haf run after de tog, ant he vas run so fast as nefer you saw. Vare you leetle vootshucks coom from, eh? You climb oonder mein pasture?"
"No use, Abe," said Mart Penniman. "We've missed that woodchuck this time."
"We've found the cave, though," said Pete Corry. "It's through that he got away from us so many times."