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Then wristlets and mittens and coats and caps, and out into the deep white snow they tramped. "Forward march!" said a voice. They looked. It was the Toyman. "The enemy is about to attack," he explained sternly. "Where's the enemy?" "You can't see them. But they're advancing fast. Up with the fort. Double quick!" So at double quick they marched to the barnyard, and began work with their shovels.
It was fine to be called that, though Jehosophat wondered how the Toyman knew what he was, when they hadn't told a soul. But then the Toyman knew most everything, all their plans as soon as made. It didn't take long to mend that ship. Soon the boards were nailed across and the deck was ready for the crew. "All aboard!" shouted Jehosophat, and then even more loudly,
For desert they had blackberry pie, very juicy and nice, and they didn't even wait to wash the red marks of that pie from their faces but just ran for the Crying Tree. The Toyman felt in all of his six big pockets. And out came needles and thread, and pieces of clean muslin besides. Stitch, stitch, stitch went his fingers, for a thousand stitches or more.
And of course they ate it they seldom skipped that of their own free will but after it was over, the Toyman kneeled down on the floor, and Father got down on the floor, too, and they played marbles on the rag rug. That was pretty nice and interesting, but they looked forward to the real game in the morning, for the real game must be played, not on a rug, but on the good brown earth.
"I thought maybe they were hunting lions or tigers." "No, not today," the Toyman responded, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but they're only after Reddy." "Reddy Toms?" the little boy exclaimed. "Why, whatever did he do?"
But first we must explain that Marmaduke had a queer trick of making rhymes. I guess he caught it from the Toyman, who used to make lots for the children, just to see them laugh. So Marmaduke got the habit. And making rhymes is just as catching as measles and whooping cough, only it doesn't hurt so much.
"If you can, it's all right." "You try?" said Marmaduke. "What with these fingers?" laughed the Toyman, "you'd better try yours you'd have more of a chance." So Marmaduke tried, and just managed to squeeze his two smallest between the blade and the ground. But when he tried twirling it from his last finger he failed.
It took some time to train Reddy, for, although he was very small, he was very wild. However, the Toyman managed to tame him. Perhaps it was because the Little Lost Fox was wounded and sore and hurt all over. Anyway, he seemed to appreciate what the Toyman did for him, for all he was a little wild child of the fields and the forests. They built him a house, all for himself, and a fence of wire.
Perhaps it was more like flying than anything else, but that was funny, too, when you come to think of it, for when you fly you usually go up, and they were going down. They reached the bottom all too soon, but the trip was worth the trouble of trudging back, especially as all the hard work was done by the Toyman. When they reached the top again, once more he shouted, "All aboard, toot, toot!"
Marmaduke felt very much ashamed as he took his place out in the field again, with the score thirty-six to thirty against them. Just then the Toyman and Jehosophat came up the road on their way back from Sawyer's Mill, and the Toyman stopped his horses to watch the game for a minute. Marmaduke gritted his teeth and clenched his hands. He would have to do well now when they were looking on.
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