told the others. "Let's see what he'll do. Fatty isn't afraid of him."

"Why, certainly not!" Fatty Coon said. And he smiled in such a way that he showed his sharp teeth.

"Somebody stop me, before it's too late!" Peter Mink cried.

But nobody laid a hand on him. And still Peter did not move.

"Go ahead!" Tommy Fox urged him. "You said you were losing your temper, you know."

"I'm waiting!" Fatty Coon called. And he held up both his front paws. Peter saw how strong and sharp his claws were.

"I declare," Peter Mink said, "I haven't lost my temper, after all. I felt it going—for a moment. But it came back again."

p. 48