"If that dog knows enough to follow me, I"ll take him where he can at least get something to eat," muttered Blacky. "It won"t be far out of my way, anyway, because if he has any sense at all, I won"t have to go all the way over there."
So Blacky spread his black wings and disappeared over the tree-tops in the direction of the nearest farmhouse.
Bowser watched him disappear and whined sadly, for somehow it made him feel more lonesome than before. But for one thing he would have gone back to his bed of hay in the corner of that sugar camp. That one thing was hunger. It seemed to Bowser that his stomach was so empty that the very sides of it had fallen in. He just _must_ get something to eat.
So, after waiting a moment or two, Bowser turned and limped away through the trees, and he limped in the direction which Blacky the Crow had taken. You see, he could still hear Blacky"s voice calling "Caw, caw, caw", and somehow it made him feel better, less lonesome, you know, to be within hearing of a voice he knew.
Bowser had to go on three legs, for one leg had been so hurt in the fall over the bank that he could not put his foot to the ground. Then, too, he was very, very stiff from the cold and the wetting he had received the night before. So poor Bowser made slow work of it, and Blacky the Crow almost lost patience waiting for him to appear.
As soon as Bowser came in sight, Blacky gave what was intended for a cheery caw and then headed straight for the place he had started for that morning, giving no more thought to Bowser the Hound. You see, he knew that Bowser would shortly come to a road. "If he doesn"t know enough to follow that road, he deserves to starve," thought Blacky.
Bowser did know enough to follow that road. The instant he saw that road, he knew that if he kept on following it, it would lead him somewhere. So with new hope in his heart, Bowser limped along.
CHAPTER IX
OLD MAN COYOTE GIVES OUT DARK HINTS
A little hint dropped there or here, Is like a seed in spring of year; It sprouts and grows, and none may say How big "twill be some future day.
_Bowser the Hound._
After leading Bowser the Hound far, far away and getting him lost in strange country, Old Man Coyote trotted back to the Old Pasture, the Green Forest, and the Green Meadows near Farmer Brown"s. He didn"t have any trouble at all in finding his way back. You see, all the time he was leading Bowser away, he himself was using his eyes and taking note of where he was going. You can"t lose Old Man Coyote. No, Sir, you can"t lose Old Man Coyote, and it is of no use to try.
So, stopping two or three times to hunt a little by the way, Old Man Coyote trotted back. He managed to pick up a good meal on the way, and when at last he reached his home in the Old Pasture he was feeling very well satisfied with the Great World in general and himself in particular.
He grinned as only Old Man Coyote can grin. "I don"t think any of us will be bothered by that meddlesome Bowser very soon again," said he, as he crept into his house for a nap. "If he had drowned in that river, I shouldn"t have cried over it. But even as it is, I don"t think he will get back here in a hurry. I must pa.s.s the word along."
So a day or so later, when Sammy Jay happened along, Old Man Coyote asked him, in quite a matter-of-fact way, if he had seen anything of Bowser the Hound for a day or two.
"Why do you ask?" said Sammy sharply.
Old Man Coyote grinned slyly. "For no reason at all, Sammy. For no reason at all," he replied. "It just popped into my head that I hadn"t heard Bowser"s voice for two or three days. It set me to wondering if he is sick, or if anything has happened to him."
That was enough to start Sammy Jay straight for Farmer Brown"s dooryard.
Of course Bowser wasn"t to be seen. Sammy hung around and watched. Twice he saw Farmer Brown"s boy come to the door with a worried look on his face and heard him whistle and call for Bowser. Then there wasn"t the slightest doubt in Sammy"s mind that something had happened to Bowser.
"Old Man Coyote knows something about it, too," muttered Sammy, as he turned his head on one side and scratched his pointed cap thoughtfully.
"He can"t fool me. That old rascal knows where Bowser is, or what has happened to him, and I wouldn"t be a bit surprised if he had something to do with it. I almost know he did from the way he grinned."
The day was not half over before all through the Green Forest and over the Green Meadows had spread the report that Bowser the Hound was no more.
CHAPTER X
HOW REDDY FOX INVESTIGATED
In-vest-i-gate if you would know That something is or isn"t so.
_Bowser the Hound._
To in-vest-i-gate something means to try to find out about it. Reddy Fox had heard from so many different ones about the disappearance of Bowser that he finally made up his mind that he would in-vest-i-gate and find out for himself if it were true that Bowser was no longer at home in Farmer Brown"s dooryard. If it were true,--well, Reddy had certain plans of his own in regard to Farmer Brown"s henhouse.
Reddy had begun by doubting that story because it seemed to have come first from Old Man Coyote. Reddy would doubt anything with which Old Man Coyote was concerned. But Reddy had finally come to believe that something certainly had happened because half a dozen times during the day he had heard Farmer Brown"s boy whistle and whistle and call and call.
Just as soon as the Black Shadows came creeping out from the Purple Hills, Reddy started up towards Farmer Brown"s. He didn"t go directly there, because he never goes directly anywhere if there is the least chance in the world that any one may be watching him. But as he slipped along in the blackest of the Black Shadows, he was all the time working nearer and nearer to Farmer Brown"s dooryard. Although he was inclined to think it was true that Bowser was not there, he was far too wise to take any unnecessary risk. He approached Farmer Brown"s dooryard just as carefully as if he knew Bowser to be in his little house as usual. He kept in the Black Shadows. He crouched so low that he seemed hardly more than a Black Shadow himself. Every two or three steps he stopped to look, listen, and test the air with his keen nose.
As he drew near Bowser"s own little house, Reddy circled out around it until he could see the doorway. Then he sat down where he could peek around from behind a tree and watch. He had been there only a few moments when the back door of Farmer Brown"s house opened and Farmer Brown"s boy stepped out. Reddy didn"t run. He knew that Farmer Brown"s boy would never dream that he would dare come so near. Besides, it was very clear that Farmer Brown"s boy was thinking of no one but Bowser. He whistled and called just as he had done several times during the day.
But no Bowser came, so after a while Farmer Brown"s boy went back into the house. There was a worried look on his face.
As soon as he heard the door close, Reddy trotted right out in the open and sat down only a few feet from the black doorway of Bowser"s little house. Reddy barked softly. Then he barked a little louder. He knew that if Bowser were at home, that bark would bring him out if nothing else did. Bowser didn"t appear. Reddy grinned. He was sure now that Bowser was nowhere about. Chuckling to himself, he turned and trotted towards Farmer Brown"s henhouse.
CHAPTER XI
A LITTLE UNPLEASANTNESS
Watch a Coyote most closely when it appears that he least needs watching.
_Bowser the Hound._
Never in his life had Reddy Fox visited Farmer Brown"s henhouse with quite such a comfortable feeling as he now had. He knew for a certainty that Bowser the Hound was not at home. He knew because he had finally crept up and peeped in the door of Bowser"s little house. What had become of Bowser he didn"t know, and he didn"t care. It was enough to know that he wasn"t about.
"I hope Farmer Brown"s boy has forgotten to close that little doorway where the hens run in and out," muttered Reddy, as he trotted across Farmer Brown"s dooryard. Once he stopped, and looking up at the lighted windows of the house, grinned. You see, with Bowser gone, Reddy wasn"t the least bit afraid.
"If I can get into that henhouse," thought Reddy, "I certainly will have one good feast to-night. That is, I will if those stupid hens are not roosting so high that I can"t get them. I"ll eat one right there."
Reddy"s mouth watered at the very thought. "Then I"ll take one home to Mrs. Reddy. If there is time we both will come back for a couple more."
So Reddy made pleasant plans as he approached Farmer Brown"s henhouse.
When he reached it he paused to listen to certain sounds within, certain fretful little cluckings. Reddy sat down for a minute with his tongue hanging out and the water actually dripping from it. He could shut his eyes and see those roosts with the hens crowded together so that every once in a while one would be wakened and fretfully protest against being crowded so.
But Reddy sat there only for a minute. He was too eager to find out if it would prove to be possible to get inside that henhouse. Running swiftly but cautiously past the henhouse and along one side of the henyard, he peeped around the corner to see if by any chance the yard gate had been left open. His heart gave a leap of joy as he saw that the gate was not quite closed. All he would have to do would be to push it and enter.
Reddy turned the corner quickly. Just as he put up one paw to push the gate open, a low but decidedly ugly growl made him jump back with every hair of his coat standing on end. His first thought was of Bowser. It must be that Bowser had returned! Believing in safety first, Reddy did not stop to see who had growled, but ran swiftly a short distance. Then he looked behind him. Over at the gate of Farmer Brown"s henyard he could see a dark form. At once Reddy knew that it wasn"t Bowser the Hound, for it had a bushy tail, while Bowser"s was smooth. Reddy knew who it was. It was Old Man Coyote.
[Ill.u.s.tration: OVER AT THE GATE OF FARMER BROWN"S HENYARD HE COULD SEE A DARK FORM]