CHAPTER XVIII
NELLA, THE MONKEY
WHILE I sat dozing in my cage a yelp from Billie wakened me, and I flew to the window where she stood on her chair barking at something in the street.
Mrs. Martin stood out on the sidewalk showing something under her coat to the lodging house landlady.
“Missie has something alive there,” said Billie; “I know it. She is bringing it in.”
“Well,” I said a little crossly, “why make such a fuss and wake me out of what was going to be a nice nap?”
Billie was trembling in every limb. “It’s something strange, Dicky-Dick. I can’t tell you how I feel.”
“Probably it’s a new dog,” I said. “Some one is always giving Missie one.”
“It’s no dog,” said Billie; “it’s no dog. Oh, I feel so queer! Something peculiar is going to happen.”
I stared at her curiously. Billie is a very sensitive creature. Then I listened for Missie to come in.
Presently the door opened. “Well, my pets,” said Mrs. Martin heartily, “what do you think your Missie has brought you now?”
Billie looked terribly, but she ran to her dear mistress and fawned on her, casting meanwhile very nervous looks at the bulge in her coat.
“A present for you, Billie,” said Mrs. Martin, “a dear companion. I hope you will like her,” and opening her coat, she set on the floor an apparently nice little monkey.
Billie gave a gasp and the monkey a squeal. They knew each other. Even Mrs. Martin saw this. “Why, Billie!” she exclaimed. Then she watched the monkey running up to Billie, putting her arms round her, jabbering and acting like a child that has found its mother.
Billie did not like it, I saw, but she stood firm. “Where have you known each other?” said Mrs. Martin. Then with a touching and almost comical earnestness, she said, “Oh, why can I for once not understand all that my pets are saying? Billie, you are telling Dicky-Dick something, I know by the way he puts his little head on one side, but, Dicky, whatever have you done with your tail? Mary, oh, Mary, come here!”
Our dear Mary came hopping to the room.
“Look at our Dicky-Dick,” said her mother. “Our little pet has lost his tail. What can this mean?”
Our Mary was puzzled. “No cat could get at him,” she said; “he is too smart to be caught. It must have been another bird.”
“Oh, why can’t we understand?” said Mrs. Martin intensely, and she stared hard at Billie. “Tell me, my dog, how did our Dicky lose his tail.”
Billie, put on her mettle, ran to the window, looked out at the trees and barked wildly.
Our Mary spoke quickly. “That is the way Billie acts when she chases the red squirrel in the Tyrells’ lodging house. He is the only creature in the neighborhood that she chases, so she knows as well as we do that he is very naughty.”
“Billie,” said Mrs. Martin earnestly, “did the red squirrel pull Dicky-Dick’s tail out?”
“Bow, wow, wow!” barked Billie, raising her forelegs from the ground as she spoke. “Oh, bow, wow, wow!”
Mrs. Martin looked very much disturbed. “Then that seals his doom. I have heard that he has done a great deal of damage to the woodwork in Mrs. Tyrell’s house. We will take measures to have him disposed of, if she is willing. Now, to come back to the monkey—by the way, where is she?”
“Unraveling your sock, under the table,” said our Mary, with a laugh, and, sure enough, there sat Mrs. Monkey with a heap of wool on the floor beside her.
Mrs. Martin swooped down on her. “Would you have believed it! Three hours’ work undone in three minutes! I should have watched her. Now, to come back to Billie—my dog, you have not known any monkeys since you came to me. You must have been acquainted with this one before I got you. Perhaps you belonged to some Italians in the Bronx neighborhood, and one of them owned a little monkey.”
I could not help interposing an excited little song here, for that was just what Billie was telling me and what the monkey was jabbering about. Angelina and Antonio, who owned Billie, had an uncle Tomaso who was an organ-grinder. He used to visit them and bring his monkey, and the little creature became acquainted with Billie.
“And now let me tell you, Billie, my share in this,” said Mrs. Martin. “A week ago I was going along College Street where an organ-grinder was droning out ‘Spring, Gentle Spring,’ and his monkey was collecting cents, when an automobile skidded and struck the poor man. He was taken to the General Hospital near by, and I took the monkey to the Humane Society on McCaul Street. I have visited the man since and taken him delicacies, and last night he died. He had no friends here, and as a token of gratitude he gave me his monkey. I have brought it to you, Billie, for a playmate, but it is only a trial trip, and if you and monkey don’t get on, I will take her to the Riverdale Zoo.”
Billie’s eyes grew dull; she shook her head nervously, and tried not to groan. Nella, the monkey, was squeezing her so tightly round the waist that she was nearly frantic. “Sister, sister,” the monkey was saying, “Nella is glad to see you. She has been so lonely.”
“Billie, Billie,” I sang, “be kind, be kind; monkeys have rights, monkeys have rights.”
“She has no right to squeeze the life out of me and tickle me,” squealed Billie. “I never liked her. She is queer. I like dogs and birds.”
“Be good, be good,” I sang encouragingly.
“And you be careful,” said Billie irritably. “She would kill you in an instant if she got her paws on you. You don’t know monkeys. They’re not civilized like dogs.”
Fresh from my adventure with the squirrel, I felt a bit cautious. “What shall I do, Billie?” I sang. “What shall I do, do, do?”
“Fly upstairs to the bird-room,” said Billie, who, in the midst of all her nervousness, was taking thought for me, “and stay there till Nella goes. She is very mischievous. You’ll see that Missie can’t keep her.”
“Could I stay here if I kept in my cage?” I asked.
“No, no!” barked Billie impatiently. “You just ought to see her climb. She would swarm up those picture frames and leap to your cage, and have her fingers on your throat in no time. Fly upstairs, I tell you. Fly quickly, before Mrs. Martin goes out of the room.”
“I fly, I fly,” I sang, and when Mrs. Martin opened the door to go and get some fruit for Mrs. Monkey I dashed upstairs and sat on the electrolier in the upper hall till our Mary came along and opened the bird-room door for me.
Such a chattering and gabbling arose among the canaries on my entrance! “Why, look at Dicky-Dick! Where’s your tail, Dicky? Surely he has had a bad fight with some bird, or was it an accident? Tell us, Dicky; tell us, tell, tell.”
Even the parakeets and the gentle indigo birds and nonpareils called out to me, “Speak, speak quick! Who hurt you?”
Not since I left the bird-room and took up my quarters downstairs had I been so glad to get back to it. Many of these birds were my relatives. They might tease me, and there might be jealousies between us, but they were my own kind, and they would never, never treat me as a squirrel would, or a monkey. So I told them the whole story.
They all put their heads on one side and listened, and it was amusing to hear what they said when I had finished my tale of woe. This was the substance of it, “Better stay home, better stay home; the world is bad, is bad to birds, bad, bad, bad.”
“But the bird-room life seems narrow to me,” I said. “You don’t know how narrow it is till you get out of it.”
Green-Top had been looking at me quite kindly till I said this, when he called out, “He’s making fun of us, making fun, fun, fun.”
Norfolk, my father, began to bristle up at this, so did my cousins and my young brothers, Pretty-Boy and Cresto and Redgold. They seemed to take my remarks more to heart than the birds that weren’t related to me.
My uncle Silver-Throat, however, slipped up to me and whispered, “You talk too much. Hold your tongue,” and fortunately just at this moment our Mary, who had been filling seed dishes, created a sensation that turned their thoughts from me.
“Birdies,” she said, “western New York is sending us a lovely warm breeze over old Lake Ontario. I think we can celebrate this warm day by opening the screen into our new flying cage.”
What an excitement that made! The birds all twittered and chattered, and flew round her, as she went to the big window and, unhooking the wire screen, allowed us to go out to the sun-flooded roof.
Despite my tailless condition, I was the first out and got a good rap from my father for it, for as the oldest inhabitant of the bird-room, he should have taken precedence of every one.
My uncle, who followed me, was laughing. “You are a gentle bird, Dicky-Dick, but you will have trouble as long as you live. All birds of your class do.”
“What is my class?” I asked.
“Explorers, adventurers, rovers, birds who will not stay at home and rest in the parental nest. They flutter their wings and fly, and a hawk is always hovering in the sky.”
“I have lots of fun,” I said.
“No doubt, but take care that you do not lose your life.”
“Excuse me, dear uncle,” I said, “there is my friend, Chummy Hole-in-the-Wall, he has important news for me.”
“Don’t you think, as you are away from your family so much, that it would be polite to stay with them a little while, and let those outsiders alone?”
“I will come back to them,” I said; “I must see Chummy now, I must, I must,” and, singing vivaciously, I flew to a corner where Chummy was perched on the wire netting, looking down at us.
“What news, what news?” I sang.
“Great news,” he chirped; “but what a fine place this is for the birds! Almost as good as having the whole street. It is lovely to see them out.”
“You would not like it,” I said, “nor would I; but they do.”
“Like it,” he said, with a shudder, “I should go wild if I were confined like this; but to canaries it must seem enormous. See how excitedly they are flying about.”
“Tell me about Great King Crow,” I said.
Chummy smiled. “I found him sitting on a big pine tree. He had been holding court, but it was over. Down below him on the ground was a dead young crow.”
“Had he killed it?” I asked, in a shocked voice.
“Oh, no, but he had ordered it killed.”
“What had it done?”
“Would not do sentry go.”
“What is that?”
“While crows are feeding, one of their number is always supposed to watch from the top of a high tree and warn if danger approaches. This young crowling was greedy and always wanted to eat. They warned him, but he would not obey; then they killed him.”
“And what did the Great King say about Squirrie?”
“He will see the head of Squirrie’s clan to-morrow morning—the Big Red Squirrel—and they will decide what to do.”
“Why did you not go to see the Big Red Squirrel yourself?” I asked.
“I was afraid to. I fear squirrels as a class, though there are many single ones that I like—Chickari, for example, who never hurt a sparrow in his life.”
CHAPTER XIX
SQUIRRIE’S PUNISHMENT
THE next morning the Big Red Squirrel sent down two squirrel policemen, and you may be sure every English sparrow on the street, and the robins, grackles, and wild sparrows were all on tiptoe.
I heard Chummy’s call for me, “T-check, t-chack, Dicky O! T-check, t-chack, Dicky O!” and I flew out of the bird-room with all speed, out to our favorite elm tree. There were the two squirrel policemen, old sober fellows, climbing on the roof of the lodging house and going straight to Squirrie’s front door hole which a dozen young sparrows were eager to show them.
“Oh, Chummy,” I said, standing with my tailless back against the tree trunk, “they won’t kill him, will they?”
“I don’t know,” he said gravely. “I can’t tell what they were told to do, but I guess that they are going to drive him up to North Hill and let him plead his own case before the Big Red Squirrel.”
I shuddered. This was very painful to me, and I wished I had said nothing about my adventure.
“I know what is passing in your canary mind,” said Chummy, “and, Dicky-Dick, do not be troubled. Squirrie had to be dealt with. Your affair only hurried things a little—see, here he comes. They have had a tussle with him. There is blood on one ear.”
Suddenly we heard voices below us on the sidewalk. “Oh the darling little squirrie babies, taking a walk in the sunshine!” and, looking down, we saw Sammy-Sam and his sister Lucy-Loo standing with their fresh young faces turned up to us.
Chummy, who was very fond of children, said softly, “Bless their little hearts, how they misunderstand birds and beasts! Those two serious old squirrels taking a scamp off, perhaps to bite him to death, they think is a bit of fun.”
“What dreadful faces he is making!” I said.
Squirrie, seeing all the birds assembled to stare at him, was in such a fury that he looked as if he would like to kill us all. Every few minutes he halted and tried to run back to his hole.
Whenever he did this, the two old ones closed in on him, and urged him on. They went leaping from branch to branch, till we lost sight of them up the old elm-shaded street.
No one went near Squirrie’s hole. The old policemen squirrels had left word that no bird was to enter it. The Big Red Squirrel had heard that it was an excellent home for a squirrel and he was going to send down another one of the clan, and, sure enough, late in the afternoon, didn’t the beloved Chickari with a brand-new mate come loping down the street.
The birds all gathered round him, to hear news of Squirrie. “Was he dead?”
“No,” he said, he had been let out on parole. He was to keep near the Big Red Squirrel’s own private wood on a gentleman’s estate, and if he did one single bad thing he was to be killed.
“How did he look when he was brought up before the squirrel court?” asked Chummy.
“Very saucy at first,” said Chickari, “and made faces, but—”
“Well, what happened?” asked Chummy.
“I don’t like to tell you,” said Chickari, looking about at the young sparrows listening with their beaks open.
“Go on,” said Chummy sternly. “These are rebellious times. It won’t hurt these young fellows to learn how bad birds and beasts are dealt with.”
“The policemen laid his shoulder open with their teeth,” said Chickari unwillingly, “but a little blood-letting is cooling, and it stopped his mischief and made him beg humbly for pardon.”
“Well,” said Chummy, speaking for us all, “we hope he may become a better squirrel, but we also hope that his squirrelship, the judge of all the clan, will never send that bad creature down here again.”
“He’ll never come here while I live,” said Chickari gayly, “for I told the Big Red Squirrel that I just loved this neighborhood and would bring up my young ones so carefully that if they dared to suck a bird’s egg or kill a young one I’d bite their ears off.”
Chickari’s face as he said this was so ferocious, and at the same time so comical, that we all burst out laughing at him.
Our laughter was checked by pitiful squeals from our house, four doors down, and we all stared that way.
Our Billie was running down the sidewalk with something dark and hairy on her back. Like a yellow and white streak she raced in by the boarding house, which was set back from the street, and dashed into a little shrubbery behind it.
I flew after her as well as I could in my tailless condition. Some persons do not know that even the loss of one feather makes a difference in a bird’s flight.
The shrubs had scratched the monkey off and, jabbering excitedly at Billie, she stood threatening her, till seeing Black Thomas coming, she ran nimbly down the street to our house.
Black Thomas was mewing angrily at Billie, “And what are you doing in my yard—haven’t you one of your own?”
“Oh, let me alone, cat,” said Billie wearily. “I’m only resting a bit. I’m dead tired.”
Black Thomas snarled a trifle; then, seeing her friend the cook at the back door, he went to her.
“Too much monkey, eh, Billie?” I said.
She just burst into dog talk. “I’m nearly crazy, Dicky-Dick. I don’t know what I’ll do. Every minute that thing persecutes me. She sleeps in my box with me and kicks me to death. She is always creeping up to me and putting her arm round me, and it tickles me—and I’m tired of giving her rides. I’m not a pony. I’m a dog. I hate any one to love me so hard. I wish she’d hate me.”
“She’s cold, Billie, and she is lonely.”
“She’s got a little coat. Mrs. Martin made her one. She won’t keep it on. She tries to put it on me.”
By this time I was sitting on a low branch just above Billie’s head. “Be patient, dear dog friend. In amusing the monkey, you are helping our Missie.”
“And she’s so bad,” said Billie, “she’s stolen all the cake for to-night’s knitting party. She got into the sideboard after lunch and Missie doesn’t know it, and I caught her yesterday in the basement fussing with the box that the electric light man goes to. I don’t believe any of the lights will go on to-night. The front door bell hasn’t rung all day, and no one knows but me that it’s the monkey that put it out of order.”
“It’s too bad,” I said, “and beside all this wickedness on her part, she’s keeping me a prisoner in the bird-room. I managed to fly out this morning when our Mary had the door open, but I don’t know when I’ll get back. I just had to come out to get news of Squirrie.”
Billie, while listening to me, was staring gloomily about the shrubbery. Suddenly she got up and nosed something lying on the ground. “What’s this, Dicky-Dick?” she asked.
“Betsy, a rag doll belonging to Beatrice.”
“I wonder if it would be any harm to take it?” she said wistfully.
“I don’t think so. I saw Beatrice throw it there the other day, and she said she was tired of playing with it.”
“I might take it for the monkey,” said Billie, with such a funny face that I burst out laughing at her.
With a roll of her eyes at me, she seized it in her mouth and went trotting home with it.
I flew along with her. I had to get back into the bird-room, for I did not dare to stay downstairs while that bad monkey was about.
Now, as we reached the house a very strange thing happened. It seems that Mrs. Martin had not understood my going back to the bird-room. She thought that I might be seeking a little playmate there, being disappointed that she had not got me one.
Wishing to keep me downstairs, she had hurriedly gone next door and bought the little lonely canary Daisy from the lodging house lady.
There she was, our dear Missie, walking along with the cage in her hand, and at first, forgetting about the monkey, I was overjoyed.
I flew right to her. “Daisy! Daisy!” I cried in delight, as I stared down at the pretty little creature inside the cage who was tremblingly looking up at me. She knew me, but she was frightened of the street and the noises.
“Why, Dicky, you are talking!” exclaimed Mrs. Martin. “Say that again, my pretty one.”
“Oh, Daisy! Daisy!” I sang. “Daisy! Daisy! Daisy—y—y!”
Billie dropped her doll and stared at me. Now she believed that canaries can talk. Presently she barked warningly. Nella was running out of the house.
“Take care, take care,” she called; “Nella will hurt your Daisy.”
I was in despair. I clung to the top of the cage as Mrs. Martin carried it in the house and gave my fright cry, “Mary, Mary, I’m scary, scary,” and our Mary at once came hurrying downstairs.
“Mother,” she said, “there’s something the matter with Dicky-Dick. I wonder whether he got a shock when the squirrel pulled his tail out?”
Mrs. Martin had put Daisy’s cage on a table in the library which was close to the front door, and they gazed first at me as I sat crying on the top of it, and then at Billie, who was laying her doll at Nella’s feet.
Nella took it up, looked it over, then gave it a toss in the corner.
Billie gazed despairingly at her. Nella would rather play with dogs than dolls.
“There’s something the matter with Billie, too,” said Mrs. Martin. “I suppose of course it’s the monkey. Billie, dear, you don’t like Nella.”
“Oh, no, no, no!” barked Billie. “I don’t like her. I hate her.”
“I thought so,” said Mrs. Martin. “Now talk to me some more about her. She teases you, doesn’t she?”
“Oh, wow, wow, wow!” sobbed Billie; “she worries my life out of me.”
Mrs. Martin turned to me, “And you, Dicky-Dick, friend of Billie, you don’t like Nella.”
“I’m scary, scary,” I sang, “and Daisy is scary, scary.”
“I don’t know much about monkeys,” said Mrs. Martin, “but this one seemed very gentle and kind to me, and her owner said she was used to birds and dogs. Come here, Nella.”
The monkey jumped on her lap and began fingering the buttons on her dress.
“Let me hear your side of the story,” said Mrs. Martin. “Do you like this dog and bird?”
Nella began a long story, jabbered out in such a funny way. Billie and I understood it, but Mrs. Martin got only an inkling of it. Nella told of her life in a forest, when she was a baby monkey, and how cruel men snatched her away from her parents, and she would now like some monkey society. She did not care much for dogs, but had to play with Billie because there was no animal of her own kind to amuse her.
When she finished, Mrs. Martin and our Mary looked at each other. They had got the drift of it.
“Down at Riverdale,” said Mrs. Martin, “is a fine monkey house, with little healthy animals just like yourself. They have a good time playing in big rooms which are well warmed, then they run out a small door to a yard and romp in the snow. When they get cold, they hurry inside, and sprawl flat on the radiators. I will send you there, and I think you will be happier with your own kind.”
Nella’s face beamed, then she did such a pretty thing. Blinking her queer yellowish eyes affectionately at Mrs. Martin, she threw her two skinny arms round her arm and hugged it. She was very happy to go to the monkey house.
“Mary, please telephone for a taxi,” said Missie, while Billie and I exchanged a look of deep content.
Then Daisy was taken up into a vacant room in the attic, and I was shut in a big cage with her until the monkey went away. After that, Mrs. Martin said we should both go downstairs.