CHAPTER VIITOTO AND THE BOY
Toto, being only a beaver, did not know very much about the different things that men do. Toto knew how to gnaw down trees, how to strip off bark when he was hungry, how to dig canals for the water to run in and float logs for the dam, and he knew how to help make dams. But he never thought of going into another beaver’s house and taking the bark which that beaver had stored away.
And now these men were going into the house of the little girl’s grandmother, and they were going after jewelry which had been hidden by the old lady when she went away on a little visit with her granddaughter. But Toto knew nothing of this. All he knew was that he was hiding behind a bush, watching the tramps steal softly toward the lonely house.
One of the tramps, the red-haired one, broke open the door of the grandmother’s house. It was just the same as if Sniffy and Toto should break into the house of Mr. Cuppy, when that kind old gentleman beaver was out working onthe dam. Into the house went the tramps—four of them, big, ragged men.
“I hope they don’t see me,” thought Toto, for he knew it was dangerous to be where he was. His father and mother had told him to keep away from men who had traps and guns. And though these tramps were too lazy to do any hunting or shooting, Toto did not know that.
Really he ought not to have been so far away from home, but you know how it is with boys—even animal boys. Beavers sometimes don’t do the right thing, any more than real boys do. So, though he felt that there was danger, Toto wanted to stay near and watch.
He saw the tramps break into the house, but of course he did not see what they did when they got inside, so I shall have to tell you that part of the story myself.
The tramps easily broke open the door and got inside. The first thing they did was to look for something to eat, for, being lazy men, they did not work, and all the food they had was what they stole or begged. And as Millie’s grandmother was a good cook, there was plenty in her house to eat. The tramps had a fine meal, and they then looked about for something to take away with them.
Millie’s grandmother was not rich, but she had some gold and silver jewelry put away in a boxin her home. Some of the rings and pins were those Millie’s grandmother had had since she was a little girl herself, and there was one pretty bracelet that Mrs. Norman (which was the grandmother’s name), had promised to give Millie.
Mrs. Norman had hidden her box of jewelry under the bed when she went out, thinking that would be a safe place. But, would you believe it? That was one of the first places the tramps looked when they finished their meal.
“Ho! Ho!” laughed the tramps. “Here it is!”
With their coarse, rough hands they broke open the box, for the lock was not strong. Inside glittered the gold and silver jewelry of Mrs. Norman, and the sun sparkled on the pretty bracelet that was to be Millie’s.
“Ho! Ho!” laughed the tramps. “This will bring us money when we sell it!”
The tramps were looking at the jewelry in the box when, all at once, the red-haired one cried:
“Hark! I hear some one coming! We’d better run!”
“Come on!” exclaimed another.
So the next thing Toto, the watching beaver, saw was tramps come rushing from the house. Toto did not know what the tramps had done in the house, but he saw them come rushing out, the red-haired one carrying a small box. Of courseToto did not know what was in the box. Beavers have no use for jewelry.
“Come on!” cried the red-haired tramp. “Come on! Maybe the police are after us!”
And so the tramps ran across the fields towards the woods where they had built themselves another shack. And these woods were not far from those where Toto and the other beavers lived, near the dam.
Now the noise which had scared the tramps was made by a boy knocking at the side door of the house where Millie’s grandmother lived. This boy, whose name was Bobbie Thompson, had been sent by his mother to borrow a cup of sugar from Mrs. Norman. Bobbie’s mother lived almost half a mile from Millie’s grandmother, and as there were very few stores in that part of the country the neighbors used to borrow things from one another. So Bobbie’s mother had sent him to borrow some sugar.
Bobbie did not know that Millie and her grandmother had gone out, and he did not know that tramps were in the house, when he knocked at the side door. And it was his knocking that had scared the ragged men.
Out of the front door of the house they rushed, and, as they hurried away, Bobbie, who was a sturdy little chap, saw them go.
“Hello there! What’s this?” cried Bobbie,who was very much surprised. “What’s this?”
Then, as he saw what kind of men they were and that one of them had the box of jewelry under his arm, Bobbie understood.
“Tramps! Tramps!” cried Bobbie. “I wish I had my dog with me now! Those tramps have been robbing Mrs. Norman!”
Bobbie stood on the side steps a few seconds, watching the tramps run across the field. Then, being a brave boy, he decided to run after them. I don’t believe Bobbie really thought he could catch the tramps, nor that he hoped he could get the box of jewelry away from them if he did catch them. He just wanted to see where they went, so he could tell the police.
“Hi there! Come back with that box!” called Bobbie, and then he began to run. Off the steps he jumped, dropping the cup which he had come to get filled with sugar. He had forgotten all about that now.
After the tramps he ran, shouting and calling to them, and the queer part of it was that the tramps did not look back to see who was after them. They were too frightened, as they knew they had done wrong and could be arrested for it.
“Are the police after us?” asked one tramp.
“Yes, I guess so,” answered the red-haired one who had the jewel box. “We’d better hide this stuff, too! If they catch us with it we’ll have togo to jail. We’ll hide it as soon as we get to the woods!”
And so the tramps ran on, never once looking back. If they had looked back they would have seen it was only a small boy chasing them, and not two or three policemen. But that is often the way with persons who do wrong. Their own fears scare them.
“Hi there! Hold on! Stop!” cried Bobbie. But the tramps did not stop. They only ran the faster toward the woods. And, finally reaching the forest, the red-haired tramp looked around for a place to hide the box of jewelry.
“I’ll put it in this hollow tree!” he said to the other tramps, as, reaching a big chestnut tree, he saw a hole in the trunk. “I’ll hide the jewelry here and, when the police go, we can come back and get it out again.”
So he thrust the box of gold and silver jewelry, with Millie’s bracelet in it, into the hollow of the tree. Then the tramps ran on through the woods, and scattered, some going one way and some another, still thinking the police were after them.
But it was only Bobbie, and the little boy, seeing that the tramps were fast running away from him, soon gave up the chase.
“I guess I’ll go back to Millie’s grandmother’s house,” said Bobbie to himself. “Maybe she’s come back. If she has I’ll get the sugar and tellher about the tramps. If she isn’t at home I’ll go and tell my mother.”
Now all this time Toto was wondering what it all meant. He had seen the bad, ragged tramps break into the house, and he had seen them rush out, and Bobbie chasing after them. But the beaver did not know what it was all about. However, being very curious, as are most wild animals, Toto wanted to find out. So when Bobbie began to run Toto slowly followed after, taking care, however, to keep in the shadow of the bushes and trees.
Thus it happened that when Bobbie turned back, after he had lost sight of the tramps in the woods, he saw Toto ambling along.
“Hello! A beaver!” cried Bobbie. “I haven’t seen one of them for a long while! I’m going to get him! I’ll take him home for a pet!”
And then, running as fast as he could, Bobbie chased after Toto, wishing to catch our little friend with the broad, flat tail.
“My goodness!” thought Toto as he saw Bobbie coming. “I’d better run!”