“Well,” remarked Steve, proudly, “it won’t be the first occasion when this bunch has had to stand guard, not by a long sight.  I can look back and see many a night when we had to keep an anchor to windward, or else lose something we prized a heap.  Ever since we dug up all those mussels in the Big Sunflower, and found dandy pearls inside some of them, it seems to me we’ve had occasion from time to time to be envied by other people, and had to keep watch so we wouldn’t be robbed.  Oh! standing sentry is an old trick with us!”

“For my p-p-part,” remarked Toby, yawning as he spoke, “I’d much rather think up some g-g-good s-s-scheme that would ease the s-s-strain, and allow us to s-s-sleep through the entire night.”

“Please explain what you mean by saying that, Toby,” demanded Steve; “you do get off the most mysterious communications sometimes, and muddle us all up.”

“But there isn’t anything q-q-queer about this, Steve,” protested Toby.  “All of you know I’ve been a g-g-great h-h-hand to make m-m-machinery take the place of h-h-hand power.  What’s the need of our s-s-staying awake p-p-part of the night, even, if by cudgeling our brains we c-c-could think up some g-g-good s-s-scheme that would answer the same purpose?”

“I can see you cudgeling your poor brains, all right, Toby,” sneered Steve, who apparently did not take a great deal of stock in the other’s ability for conceiving clever ideas:  “and a pretty mess you’d make of it, in the bargain.  Take it from me, they’re cudgeled enough as it is.”

“That will do for you, Steve,” said Max.  “I understand just what Toby means, and it’s along the right line too.  This is the age of progress, and up-to-date people don’t want to depend on the old-time methods that were good enough for their grandfathers.  Toby thinks one of us might suggest a scheme whereby we could guard the fox farm, and at the same time obtain our full quota of sleep.  In other words, rig up a dummy to stand our trick as sentry.  Isn’t that it, Toby?”

“J-j-just what I had in my mind, Max,” snapped Toby; “and any silly c-c-could easy see that.”

“Sure, and the wise ones had to be told,” chirped Steve, jauntily.  “But never mind arguing, Toby; it’s all right, and I’m only joking.  I get the idea; and now, has any one a scheme on tap that would apply to the case?”

Toby scratched his head as though he considered that, having been the first to make the suggestion, it was up to him to say something, no matter how.

“Well, there’s the spring-gun trap, you know,” he remarked, without once stuttering, which fact proved that he was deliberately taking his time about answering.

“What sort of arrangement do you call that, I’d like to know!” asked Steve.