"There's a powerful thinking machine in a honey-bird," said the old man slowly, so dismissing his plan from the talk; "and when you come to think of it, the first bird that led a man to a nest must ha' been a great diskiverer--a greater diskiverer in his way than was that Columbus chap who smashed the egg. That bird must a reckoned the whole thing out, an' if he could a reckoned way back in the years, why, it stands to reason his children, after all the experience they've larnt, must reckon a lot more. One day one of these birds called me, and I picked up a bucket and a chopper, and followed after him at a run, for he was in a mighty hurry, being, as I thought, hungry. It warn't that, sonny. He was jes' mean, and he knew it, for the bee-tree he were leading me to belonged to another bird. I found that out when that bird come along. The two of them had a argument--the new one expostulatin', the other one jes' ansering in a don't-care way. The second one he flew off--yelling threats, and the other one, after bunching himself up, suddenly lit out ag'in with me after him. I found the tree, took out the honey, and gave the bird a piece of comb. Then, as I was sittin' down with the pipe, up came a hull lot of birds, with a black-headed, white-throated fiscal-- the chap with a hooked beak who sticks the grasshoppers on thorns out of sheer devilment. Well, sonny, believe me, those birds they jes' up and tried that honey-bird, the other chap giving evidence. The jury, which were composed of a yellow oriole, a blue spreuw, and a mouse-bird, they found my bird guilty, and a old white ringed crow, who was the jedge, pronounced sentence of death. My bird didn't say nothing. He jes' sot there with a piece of honey in his mouth, and a set, gloomy look in his eye. After the verdict that fiscal he swooped down, fixed his claws in the prisoner's breast, and yanked his head off his neck with a twist. It was summery justice on that bird for taking possession of the other bird's honey-tree. Yes, the fiscal he just yanked the prisoner's head off, and the body fell to the ground. Then the jedge he buried the bird." "How was that?" "He jes' ate it. He jes' flopped down, give a caw, and swallowed the corpse. I went home then, thinking as how they might try me for aiding and abetting a crime." CHAPTER NINE. UNCLE ABE AND THE WILD DOGS.