den and unshod arrows. He let fly
at them, nevertheless, when he got a chance.

Well, on the day referred to, Billy had shot nothing, and was returning
home in a somewhat pensive mood when he heard a squeak, and at once
fitted an arrow to his bow. A rush followed the squeak, and dreadful
yells accompanied the rush--yells which were intensified, if possible,
when Billy's arrow went into an old sow's ear after glancing off the
back of one of her little ones.

Billy ran after them in wild despair, for he knew that the shot was
thrown away. One of the pigs had sprained its ankle, apparently, for it
could only run on three legs. This pig fell behind; Billy ran after it,
overtook it, fell upon it, and almost crushed it to death--a fact which
was announced by an appalling shriek.

The mother turned and ran to the rescue. Billy gathered up the pig and
ran for his, (and its), life. It was a hard run, and would certainly
have terminated in favour of the sow had not the greater part of the
chase been kept up among loose stones, over which the lad had the
advantage. In a few minutes he descended a steep cliff over which the
bereaved mother did not dare to run.

Thus did Billy become possessed of a live pig, which in a few weeks
became a remarkably familiar and fearless inmate of the cavern home.

Billy also had a pet parroquet which soon became tame enough to be
allowed to move about at will with a cropped wing, and which was named
Shrieky. This creature was a mere bundle of impudent feathers, and a
source of infinite annoyance to the pig, for, being possessed of
considerable powers of mimicry, it sometimes uttered a porcine shriek,
exciting poor Squeaky with the vain hope that some of its relations had
arrived, and, what was far worse, frequently imitated the sounds of
crackling fire and roasting food, which had the effect of causing
Squeaky to rush into the cave, to meet with bitter disappointment.

"Now, Squeaky," said the Bu'ster, hitting the pig on its snout with a
bit of firewood, "keep your dirty nose away from yer cousin."

Squeaky obeyed meekly, and removed to another spot.

"Isn't it a strange thing, daddy, that you and I should come to feel so
homelike here?"

"Ay, it is strange," responded Gaff with a sigh, as he laid down the
hook he was working at and glanced round the cavern. "Your mother would
be astonished to see us now, lad."

"She'll hear all about it some day," said Billy. "You've no notion