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Sammy had a sudden idea. It almost made him gasp. “I tell you what, you work and I’ll keep watch!” he cried. “You know my eyes are very sharp.”

“Will you?” cried Paddy eagerly. “That would be perfectly splendid. You have the sharpest eyes of anyone whom I know, and I would feel perfectly safe with you on watch. But I don’t want to put you to all to that trouble, Mr. Jay.”

“Of course I will,” replied Sammy, “and it won’t be any trouble at all. I’ll just love to do it.” You see, it made Sammy feel very proud to have Paddy say that he had such sharp eyes. “When will you begin?”

“Right away, if you will just take a look around and see that it is perfectly safe for me to come out on land.”

Sammy didn’t wait to hear more. He spread his beautiful blue wings and started off over the Green Forest straight for the Green Meadows. Paddy watched him go with a puzzled and disappointed air. “That’s funny,” thought he. “I thought he really meant it, and now off he goes without even saying good-by.”

In a little while back came Sammy, all out of breath. “It’s all right,” he panted. “You can go to work just as soon as you please.”

Paddy looked more puzzled than ever. “How do you know?” he asked. “I haven’t seen you looking around.”

“I did better than that,” replied Sammy. “If Old Man Coyote had been hiding somewhere in the Green Forest, it might have taken me some time to find him. But he isn’t. You see, I flew straight over to his home in the Green Meadows to see if he is there, and he is. He’s taking a sun bath and looking as cross as two sticks. I don’t think he’ll be back here this morning, but I’ll keep a sharp watch while you work.”

Paddy made Sammy a low bow. “You certainly are smart, Mr. Jay,” said he. “I wouldn’t have thought of going over to Old Man Coyote’s home to see if he was there. I’ll feel perfectly safe with you on guard. Now I’ll get to work.”

CHAPTER XXI. Paddy and Sammy Jay Work Together.

Jerry Muskrat had been home at the Smiling Pool for several days. But he couldn’t stay there long. Oh, my, no! He just had to get back to see what his big cousin, Paddy the Beaver, was doing. So as soon as he was sure that everything was all right at the Smiling Pool he hurried back up the Laughing Brook to Paddy’s pond, deep in the Green Forest. As soon as he was in sight of it, he looked eagerly for Paddy. At first he didn’t see him. Then he stopped and gazed over at the place where Paddy had been cutting aspen trees for food. Something was going on there, something queer. He couldn’t make it out.

Jus then Sammy Jay came flying over.

“What’s Paddy doing?” Jerry asked.

Sammy Jay dropped down to the top of an alder tree and fluffed out all his feathers in a very important way. “Oh,” said he, “Paddy and I are building something!”

“You! Paddy and you! Ha, ha! Paddy and you building something!” Jerry laughed.

“Yes, me!” snapped Sammy angrily. “That’s what I said; Paddy and I are building something.”

Jerry had begun to swim across the pond by this time, and Sammy was flying across. “Why don’t you tell the truth, Sammy, and say that Paddy is building something and you are making him all the trouble you can?” called Jerry.

Sammy’s eyes snapped angrily, and he darted down at Jerry’s little brown head. “It isn’t true!” he shrieked. “You ask Paddy if I’m not helping!”

Jerry ducked under water to escape Sammy’s sharp bill. When he came up again, Sammy was over in the little grove of aspen trees where Paddy was at work. Then Jerry discovered something. What was it? Why a little water-path led right up to the aspen trees, and there, at the end of the little water-path, was Paddy the Beaver hard at work. He was digging and piling the earth on one side very neatly. In fact, he was making the water-path longer. Jerry swam right up the little water-path to where Paddy was working. “Good morning, Cousin Paddy,” said he. “What are you doing?”