t on him to prove a true friend in time of danger. He
brought me warning of the coming of the hunter the other morning. You
saw him save Mr. and Mrs. Quack a little while ago, and then he actually
drove that hunter away. I suppose Sammy Jay has saved more lives than
any one I know of. I wish he would come back here and let me thank him."

Some time later Sammy Jay did come back. "Well," said he, as he smoothed
his feathers, "I chased that fellow clear to the edge of the Green
Forest, so I guess there will be nothing more to fear from him to-day.
I'm glad to see he hasn't got you yet, Lightfoot. I've been a bit
worried about you."

"Sammy," said Lightfoot, "you are one of the best friends I have. I
don't know how I can ever thank you for what you have done for me."

"Don't try," replied Sammy shortly. "I haven't done anything but what
anybody else would have done. Old Mother Nature gave me a pair of good
eyes and a strong voice. I simply make the best use of them I can. Just
to see a hunter with a terrible gun makes me angry clear through. I'd
rather spoil his hunting than eat."

"You want to watch out, Sammy. One of these days a hunter will lose his
temper and shoot you, just to get even with you," warned Paddy the
Beaver.

"Don't worry about me," replied Sammy "I know just how far those
terrible guns can shoot, and I don't take any chances. By the way,
Lightfoot, the Green Forest is full of hunters looking for you. I've
seen a lot of them, and I know they are looking for you because they do
not shoot at anybody else even when they have a chance."

CHAPTER XX

LIGHTFOOT HEARS A DREADFUL SOUND

Day after day, Lightfoot the Deer played hide and seek for his life with
the hunters who were seeking to kill him. He saw them many times, though
not one of them saw him. More than once a hunter passed close to
Lightfoot's hiding-place without once suspecting it.

But poor Lightfoot was feeling the strain. He was growing thin, and he
was so nervous that the falling of a dead leaf from a tree would
startle him. There is nothing quite so terrible as being continually
hunted. It was getting so that Lightfoot half expected a hunter to step
out from behind every tree. Only when the Black Shadows wrapped the
Green Forest in darkness did he know a moment of peace. And those hours
of safety were filled with dread of what the next day might bring.

Early one morning a terrible sound rang through the Green Forest and
bro