Chippy

“ Yet, obeying the little alarm-bell that rings in every chipmunk's brain, he dashed desperately for the shelter of the stone wall. It was well for him that he did. As he crossed the wide stretch of turf like a tawny streak, there was a whirl of wing-beats, the flash of a gray-brown body balanced by a narrow black-balled tail, and the shadow of death fell upon him even as he neared his refuge. With a frightened squeal, Chippy put every atom of the force which pulsed through his little vibrant body into one last spring. ”

“ Yet, clumsy as its gait appeared, it was scarcely an instant before the bloody muzzle and red glaring eyes were thrust into the hole down which the chipmunk had disappeared. Much can be done, however, even in seconds, with a hair-trigger brain and nerves and muscles tensed by the fear of death. Like a flash, Chippy traversed the main passage of his burrow, dashed into a tunnel that forked off to the right, and then dived into a smaller branch, which angled off sharply from the larger tube. ”

“ Satisfied that the coast was clear, Chippy at last scurried up to the top of the wall, where he could see on all sides, with a wide cranny conveniently near; for a chipmunk who desires to live out all his days must never be more than two jumps from a hole. ”

“ There is an instinct which teaches every living creature that the moment has come when it must fight for its life. Chippy felt it strongly, and he hurled himself upon the spy, kicking, biting, tearing at him like a little tiger, but all in vain; in that powerful grip he was utterly helpless. Yet no, that gallant struggle was not all in vain, for it held the spy's whole attention as he mastered his victim, and it prevented him from seeing a second boyish figure racing into the hollow down the slope by which the spy had entered. ”

“ If we send you out, Slynn, with a bit o' salmon that looks sweet and smells sweet, will you swear to a customer as it's dead fresh, and can't be bettered?'
Chippy was cornered. On one side his job—his precious job—how precious none could know unless they knew his starved and narrow home; on the other his oath as a boy scout to run straight and play fair to all men.
'Now, speak out,' cried Larry impatiently. But Chippy—poor Chippy!—had seen an ideal in his rough, hard life, and he clung to it. ”

“ Unlike most of the sparrows, the little chippy frequents high trees, where its nest is built quite as often as in the low bushes of the garden. The horsehair, which always lines the grassy cup that holds its greenish-blue, speckled eggs, is alone responsible for the name hair-bird, and not the chippy's hair-like trill, as some suppose. ”

“ Piloted by Chippy, the latter crawled along until he found himself behind a small bank about a yard high.
'Yer can see 'im over this bank,' breathed Chippy into his ear.
Laying his hat aside, Dick raised his head inch by inch until his eyes were above the bank. Now he could see between stems of dried fern without being seen himself. He was looking into a deep green hollow, bounded upon one side by an almost perpendicular wall of earth—a place from which most likely sand had been dug a long time ago. At the foot of the steep wall sat a man—the man whom they had been following. ”

“ It was one of those days of early summer which seem borrowed from the dog-days, and the scouts, tough as they were, were dripping with sweat as they marched along with shirt-sleeves rolled nearly to their shoulders, their shoes and stockings thickly powdered with the white dust which lay deep under foot.
Suddenly Chippy pulled up. 'I'll 'ave that haversack o' yourn,' he remarked.
'You won't, old boy,' replied Dick. 'Every man shoulders his own pack on a day like this.'
'I'll have that haversack,' went on Chippy calmly. ”

“ Because of this habit of using hair in its nest the Chippy is frequently called the Hairbird. More often, however, the hair is used in the lining, which is protected by an outer wall made of grasses, fine roots and twigs. The nest is seldom placed less than five feet from the ground. In this home, with its feltlike lining, are laid the four or five bluish green eggs, the larger ends of which are speckled with brown or black. The Chippy is not contented with a single family and usually raises two in a season. ”

“ He's taking notes of all he discovers, and hiding the papers in the heel of his boot.'
Chippy gave an eager nod. His keen face lighted up at this new and wonderful turn of events. A spy! a foreign spy! He felt at once that here was greater game than any escaped convict.
'That's why he dodged the sergeant,' breathed Chippy.
'Yes; it's plainer and plainer every instant,' said Dick.
Chippy nodded. 'Wot do we do?' he asked.
'We must stop him, somehow,' replied Dick. 'He might do the greatest harm to our country. It's a scout's work to collar such people. ”

“ While Dick was busy with the tomahawk, Chippy attacked a thicket of tall, straight-growing hazels with his knife, and cut an armful of the springy rods. As soon as the fire burned down, the boys took the rods, sharpened each end, took an end each, bent the rod into an arch, and drove the ends deeply into the soft earth. ”

“ He raced forward and disappeared round a further bend, leaving Dick to do his best for their unconscious comrade. Within three hundred yards Chippy saw a white house before him in lee of a fir coppice.
'His place, I know!' burst from Chippy's lips. The poor lad had fallen almost within call of home. How narrowly had a tragedy been averted!
The Raven ran on, passed through another white wicket, and entered a farmyard. A tall man was just dismounting from a cob. ”

“ If he hits one of us first, that man's dead, and out of the hunt.'
'Righto!' said Chippy. 'I've studied them rules. I'm ready.'
'And I'll lend the tracking-irons,' cried Dick Elliott.
Chippy put on the tracking-irons with immense pride and delight. He had wondered so much what these things were, and to fasten a pair on his feet, and to make tracks with them for a real patrol to pursue him—it was simply great.
'Wait a bit!' said George Lee. 'We've got our tennis-balls to fire at him; but how is he going to fire at us?'
'That's all right,' said Chippy. 'We've played that game. ”

“ Chippy about the newcomer, Reddy Woodpecker, Mrs. Robin firmly believed that he had come to the farm expressly to rob her of her four greenish-blue eggs. After each talk with Mrs. Chippy Mrs. Robin came home all a-flutter.
"We'll have to watch sharp!" she said to Jolly Robin again and again. "This Woodpecker person is a rascal. It's a pity we built here in the orchard. We'd have been safer on top of one of the posts under Farmer Green's porch." ”

“ The weasel could outrun him, and with his unerring nose unravel any tangle of tunnels. Yet the underground people have one last resource of their own, which a million years of being hunted to the death have taught them. To make use of this defense, however, the pursued must have a substantial start over the hunter, and to-day Chippy had but a few scant seconds, since the weasel had glimpsed the whisk of his tail as he plunged headlong down his front entrance, and had instantly started for his burrow. ”

“ Seems I've come to the right place, fust send on.'
'Where is he?' cried the farmer.
'Just along the medder-path,' replied Chippy, pointing; 'fell off his bike, an' had a nasty tumble. Better bring summat to carry him.'
'Is he badly hurt?' cried the farmer in alarm.
'Well,' said Chippy, 'theer's a nasty cut on his arm, but we've stopped the bleedin'.'
The farmer called to two men at work in a barn, and a door was hastily lifted from its hinges. Then all three hurried along in the wake of the Raven, who led the way back. ”

“ But, Chippy, there are keepers over there, watching them.'
'Keepers!' breathed Chippy in amazement. 'Why don't they collar 'em?'—and even as he spoke, the scouts learned why the keepers had delayed their attack.
'Now, altogether,' cried young Bill at the waterside, and the five poachers bent for a last tremendous tug which would free their net. The net was freed, but not exactly in the style they hoped for. There was a sudden, keen Cr-r-r-rish! of snapping, parting meshes, and the net, cut clean into two by the scythe blades, came to shore in two halves, one on either bank. ”

“ And seeing Mr. Chippy perched on the wild grapevine, Daddy told him what had happened. "Farmer Green must be deaf at times, the same as you are," little Mr. Chippy observed. "If I were you I'd write him a letter."
Daddy Longlegs pretended not to hear Mr. Chippy's suggestion. The truth was, being only a few months old Daddy did not know how to write. But of course he did not care to have Mr. Chippy know that.
Well, while he pondered upon the situation Daddy Longlegs changed his mind about working for Farmer Green. In the beginning he had not wanted to help with the harvesting. ”

“ Even with the naked eye you can detect differences enough to distinguish the two species. Both are small birds with chestnut or rufous crown caps; the chippy has a patch of black on his forehead and bill of the same color; his brother of the fields wears no black, and his bill, as before stated, is a pale red or horn color. In Central Mississippi, as in parts of Northern Ohio, field sparrows are very numerous, but chippies quite rare.
In the grass or crouched down close to the brown earth and gray weed stems we see another of our friends. ”

“ Chippy said nothing, but he gave a nod of deep meaning, and the two boys stared at each other.
'We must follow 'im up,' said Chippy at last. 'Track 'im down an' see wot it means.'
'Yes, we must,' agreed Dick. 'You see, Chippy, if he is an escaped convict, he may be a very dangerous character to be at large. I've heard of them attacking lonely places to get food and clothes to help them to escape.'
'I've heerd o' that, too,' said the leader of the Ravens; 'an' some o' the h'eth folk, they live in cottages all by theirselves.'
'Yes ”

“ Chippy gave a chuckle, and dived a band into a pocket of his shorts. He drew out a hank of fine cord and a screw of paper. In the paper were half a dozen hooks on gut. 'That's all as we want,' he remarked. 'Wait till we come acrost a river wheer there's suthin' to cop.'
'Good for you, Chippy,' laughed Dick. 'A few fish will help us along in style. Only we mustn't poach.'
'No, no,' said Chippy; 'we'll play fair.'
By eleven o'clock the boys had made, with occasional halts, just about eight miles, and both had the knot out of their neckties. ”

“ The chippy is wonderfully tame—perhaps the tamest bird that we have.
You may be sure there was joy in the household when the nest in the boxwood contained baby chippies one morning—not a trace of eggshells which had been carried away early. Insects were the only approved baby-food and we were greatly astonished to see what large ones were thrust down the tiny, gaping throats every few minutes. Instead of flying straight to the nest, both parents would frequently stop to rest or get proper direction on the back or the arm of a chair where some one was sitting. ”

“ Mrs. Rabbit was tickled to death to think that her son at such an early age had started in business all by himself. It meant to her that he would become a multi-millionaire in a few years!
Chippy Chipmunk had left his store in charge of his brother so as to be on hand, and Featherhead stood at a little distance, enviously watching the friendly greetings.
Everybody was there, even Old Parson Owl, winking and blinking, from a shady spot in the forest, nodded pleasantly and wished the little rabbit good luck. ”

“ Then Dick ran right in, and Chippy threw straight at him. The Wolves raised a howl of joy when their patrol-leader made a clever swerve and dodged the flying ball. Then Dick let fly in turn, as Chippy sprang away to the right. But no sooner did the latter's quick eye detect that the ball had left Dick's hand than he dropped flat on his face, and the ball skimmed just clear of him.
Down the hill streamed the two patrols, for the battle was over. By the laws of the game no second shot may be taken at the same enemy. ”

“ Because his tail is a trifle longer than the chippy's he is slightly larger than the smallest of our sparrows. Unless you notice that his bill is not black and his head not marked with black and gray streaks like the chippy's, you might easily mistake him for his sociable, confiding little cousin who comes hopping to the door. ”

“ But with all its virtues, the chippy shows lamentable weakness of character in allowing its grown children to impose upon it, as it certainly does. In every group of these birds throughout the summer we can see young ones (which we may know by the black line-stripes on their breasts) hopping around after their parents, that are often no larger or more able-bodied than they, and teasing to be fed ”

“ Chippy’s nest is a frail affair at best, altho often elaborately constructed of fine twigs, rootlets and grasses with a plentiful lining of horse-hair. In some instances the last-named material is exclusively employed. A sage-bush is the favorite situation on the plains of the Columbia, a horizontal fir branch in the wet country. Rose thickets are always popular, and where the bird frankly forsakes the wilds, ornamental shrubbery and vines are chosen. ”

“ Nor is it safe to play under bushes in the dark. It is a case of land or smash, though a practised hand will land where a novice is certain to smash. Chippy put a swift but even strain on the pliant rod, and swung his fish up and out. The line was strong, the gut was good, and the trout was well hooked. Out it came, turning and tumbling on the grass, and Dick pounced upon it, for its under sides showed gleams of silver in the faint light, and he could see it bounding. ”