a monkey!" Johnnie Green gasped. "Where in the world could he
have come from?"

XV

The Retreat

Major Monkey quite enjoyed the amazement of the picnickers. And he did
two very odd things, for the commander of an army: first he took off
his red cap and made a low bow to Johnnie Green and his mates; and
next he swung off the limb of the tree and hung by his tail and one
hand.

The boys whooped with delight.

"Let's catch him!" Johnnie Green cried. And then he shouted to the boy
who had run away, and who stood a good, safe distance off, looking
back and wondering what was going on. "Hi, Bill! It's a monkey!"
Johnnie bellowed.

Bill came running back at top speed.

"We're going to catch him," said Johnnie Green.

"How're we going to do that?" asked the boy who had been frightened
and run away and come back.

Nobody answered him, for at that moment one of the youngsters flung a
butternut at the Major, who caught the missile deftly and shot it back
again.

A howl of delight from the ground below greeted the Major's ears.

"Let's stone him!" somebody cried.

But Johnnie Green said, "No! We don't want to hurt him. We'll climb
the tree and get him."

His friends agreed that that was the better way, after all. And one
after another they began to shin up the tree where Major Monkey was
still cutting his queer capers. The boys had no sooner started to
climb after him than the Major gave a shrill whistle. He was calling
for help. But there was not a general in sight anywhere.

He could see not a single one of his whole army, except the cook, old
Mr. Crow. And even he flapped away to a neighboring tree-top. As Mr.
Crow remarked afterward, since he had to do nothing, he thought he
could do it much better if he wasn't too near.

Major Monkey began to chatter. And Mr. Crow always declared that the
Major trembled.

There is no doubt that he was alarmed. He scrambled to the very top of
the tree, while the boys went up, up, up--until at last Major Monkey
gave a scream and jumped into another--and smaller--tree, the top of
which was far below him.

He plunged, sprawling, through the leafy boughs until he managed to
seize a branch and steady himself. Then he was off like a squirrel.
And long before the boys had reached the ground again Major Monkey was
far away in the woods.

* * * * *

Mr. Crow took good care not to lose sight of Major Monkey. And when
the Major at last sto