jasper jay had said nothing to anyone concerning the horrid call, which had sounded twice—each time at midday. but now that he felt sure the strange bird whose cry he had heard must have come to live in pleasant valley, he could no longer keep from mentioning the matter.
chancing to meet his cousin, mr. crow, the next morning, jasper stopped to talk with the old gentleman. you see, mr. crow was widely known as a gossip. he usually knew what was going on in the neighborhood. so jasper thought it likely that mr. crow could tell him all about the unwelcome stranger. "perhaps," he thought, "the old scamp has already seen him."
of course, jasper never termed his cousin a scamp to his face. he always spoke to him very politely, greeting him as "mr. crow," in spite of their close relationship. and there was a reason why jasper did that. mr. crow had once given him a severe beating because jasper had called him something else. and jasper jay never forgot it.
now jasper first inquired after his cousin's health. he did that to put old mr. crow in a good humor. but jasper was sorry at once that he had started mr. crow to talking about his ills. it happened that the old gentleman was then suffering from gout, hay-fever and housemaid's knee. and he liked to talk about his ailments. living all alone as he did, he had nobody to do his housework. and that, he complained, was the reason why his knee troubled him.
jasper jay fidgeted about while mr. crow was telling him all that—and much more—concerning his troubles. jasper really did not care to hear about them.
"yes! yes!" he exclaimed impatiently, for it seemed to him that old mr. crow never would stop talking about himself. "now that we're having a good spell of weather you ought to begin to feel better. and what's the news, mr. crow? have you heard of anything happening around here lately?"
the old gentleman shook his head.
"things are quiet," he said.
"nobody left pleasant valley recently?" jasper inquired.
"not that i've heard of," replied mr. crow.
"no strangers come here to live?" jasper asked him.
"no one at all!" said mr. crow.
"that's queer!" jasper exclaimed. "i was sure i heard a new voice yesterday. and i heard it again to-day, too—at exactly the same time."
"what did it sound like?" mr. crow wanted to know.
so jasper gave an imitation of the odd cry that had swept the valley.
"it was quite loud and very unpleasant to hear," he remarked. "and whoever the stranger may be, if he's going to disturb me every noon like that when i'm having my midday rest i shall have to drive him out of the neighborhood."
"it's almost noon now," said old mr. crow, cocking his eye at the sun. "perhaps we'll hear the cry soon."
the words were scarcely out of his bill when a far-reaching call caught the attention of the two cousins. it brought jasper jay to his tiptoes at once. and he craned his neck in an effort to catch a glimpse of the stranger who possessed such a powerful voice.
"there it is!" jasper cried. "there's the call again! do you know what kind of bird makes that cry?"
something seemed to have stuck in mr. crow's throat. at least, he spluttered and choked and coughed. and he was quite unable to answer just then. but after the mountains had quit tossing the sound back and forth and all was quiet again he said:
"no small bird could make a sound like that. and if you can drive him out of pleasant valley you're a better fighter than i ever supposed."
mr. crow might have known that his remark would not please jasper jay. jasper gave his cousin an angry glance; and he looked as if he would have liked to fight him. but he had suffered one beating by his elderly cousin. and he didn't care for another. so he only sneered openly. and then he screamed in a loud voice:
"i'll find that noisy fellow and drive him out of pleasant valley, if it takes me all summer to do it!" and he raised his crest, and snapped his beak together, and stamped his feet, so that he looked very fierce indeed.
but old mr. crow was not frightened in the least. he only smiled.
"let me know when you've driven the stranger away," he said.
"oh! you'll hear about it," jasper jay assured him. "it will be the most famous fight that will ever take place in this valley," he boasted. and then the two cousp. 23ins parted. it did not put jasper jay in any better humor to hear mr. crow's hoarse haw-haw echoing across the valley. of course, jasper did not know what he was laughing at. but that only served to make the blue-coated scamp all the more peevish.
