Presently the little party came to the place where the mole lived and the General ordered the soldiers to halt. They had stopped by the side of a steep bank and near the top was a hole under the roots of a tree, which was the front door of the mole’s home.
“Dress up in line, men!” commanded the General, “and when Mr. Mole comes to the door of his house I want you all to present arms, for we will have to use the greatest diplomacy in order to engage this fellow.”
The General stepped up near the bank and called loudly several times into the hole and presently a long furry nose appeared in the opening.
“Well, what do you mean by awakening honest people out of a sound sleep?” growled the mole. “What is it? What do you want?”
“I beg your pardon,” said the General as he lifted his hat and made a low bow; “I’m awfully sorry I disturbed your rest, but having heard of your reputation as an engineer I have come to beg your services for the Teenie Weenie army. We want to engage you to dig a trench for us.”
“I’ll work for four fat white grubs a day and not a grub less,” snapped the mole.
“That’s quite satisfactory,” answered the General. “We are willing to pay whatever you ask, but I want you to know just what the work will be. We want you to dig a tunnel in the ground so we can explode a mine in it.”
“I don’t care a snap of my tail what kind of work it is; all I want is my pay,” growled the mole.
“When may we expect you?” asked the General.
“To-morrow at four o’clock, not a minute sooner or later,” answered the mole.
“Shall we have breakfast for you?” asked the General.
“Why, certainly! Why, certainly!” exclaimed the mole. “How in the name of angleworms do you expect me to work without food? What do you suppose I’m workin’ for—pleasure?”
“We’ll have a couple of nice young grubs for you,” said the General politely, although he was quite disturbed by the mole’s ungentlemanly manner.
“Two grubs and a couple of angleworms would make me work better,” suggested the mole.
“You shall have them,” answered the General stiffly. “Good day to you, sir.” Lifting his hat politely, he ordered the soldiers to march back to camp.
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At exactly four o’clock the next morning the mole came into camp, and as the General had promised, his breakfast was ready. After the mole had eaten his grubs, he reported for work. The General showed the mole just where he wanted the tunnel to run and immediately the old fellow set to work. He burrowed his nose down into the soft ground and then pushed the loosened earth back with his powerful fore claws. He worked wonderfully fast and in less than a minute he had entirely disappeared into the ground.