n, but only heard, Jasper Jay renewed his search
for the unknown.

There was not the slightest doubt in his mind that the stranger could
out-scream him. And he knew he could never be happy so long as such a
loud-voiced rival remained in the neighborhood.

Jasper hoped, at least, that the newcomer was not too large.

"He can't be very big, or I'd have found him before this," he reassured
himself.

Though he hunted far and wide, looking in hollow trees and in the tops
of the tallest timber, as well as inside the densest thickets, Jasper
could still find no trace of his enemy--for so he regarded the unknown
bird.

For several days he continued his unsuccessful search. And though that
same strange cry enraged him each noon, he was quite at a loss to know
where to look for its author. He asked a good many of the feathered folk
if they had seen a stranger anywhere. But not one of them admitted that
he had.... Jasper Jay thought it very odd.

Meanwhile, he took special pains to dodge his cousin, old Mr. Crow,
whenever he caught sight of him; for he remembered Mr. Crow's
disagreeable remark. But the day finally came when Jasper met him face
to face in the woods. And Mr. Crow called to him loudly to wait a
moment.

"I want to ask you," said the old gentleman, "whether you've found and
driven away that stranger yet?" The old rogue's voice cracked as he
spoke and he rocked back and forth as if he were much amused by
something.

"I haven't set eyes on him yet," Jasper replied somewhat coldly. "But
I've heard him every noon. And I expect to find him pretty soon."

"Have you looked for him around the farmhouse?" Mr. Crow inquired.

"Why, no!" said Jasper. "I hadn't thought of his being there."

"Then," said old Mr. Crow, "I'd go over there at once, if I were you.
And I'd stay right there until noon. You won't have to wait more than
three or four hours. And unless I'm much mistaken you'll find your
search at an end...."

"I hope--" he added--"I hope you won't get hurt when you fight the
stranger."

Now, it struck Jasper Jay that old Mr. Crow knew more about the strange
bird with the loud voice than he was willing to tell. Anyhow, Mr. Crow
looked very wise. And he croaked and smiled in a way that was most
annoying. What he said about Jasper's not getting hurt made Jasper feel
quite uneasy, too.

"Won't you come with me?" he asked Mr. Crow very politely. To tell the
truth, Jasper was worried. Now that he was about to