The proposition did not appeal to Gizzard, and he made an attempt to rise, but Sube easily tripped him again. Several subsequent attempts met the same fate. Then Gizzard, bellowing with rage, started in to kick the net to pieces. This he found to be a difficult task. The more he kicked, the more tangled he became, and the more angry he got. But he did not give up the struggle until he was wound up into a very fair semblance of a mummy.
Meanwhile Sube had been hopping about his victim, shouting orders to a couple of imaginary helpers called Sambo and Rastus, and pulling or throwing the net where it would do the most good. He thoroughly enjoyed the contest and warmly congratulated his catch at its termination.
"You certainly put up an elegant fight, Giz!" he exclaimed. "You'd make a bully tiger! And now I'll know what to do when I get a fierce ol' tomcat in there!"
But Gizzard was in no mood for compliments. "Let me up now," was all that he replied.
When the smoke of battle had cleared away a co-partnership was formed. The terms were quickly arranged on a fifty-fifty basis; but the more important matter of selecting a name required some little time and a great deal of discussion.
"Why not call it Tobin & Cane Cat Company?" suggested Gizzard with his customary modesty.
Sube shook his head. "That wouldn't do, 'cause we might want to catch other wild animals besides cats," he explained.
"What other wild animals? I'd like to know."
"Oh, any wild animals that happened to come prowlin' around."
"Say," interrupted Gizzard, "you can have my share of all the skunks you catch in that net! But I won't help you. You couldn't fool the p'fessor on a skunk, anyway! He'd jus' get out his little magnifyin'-glass and hold it over a skunk for about a minute-- And besides--"
"All right," Sube agreed; "we won't catch any skunks if you don't want to. But we could! And hey! I got a name!"
And although Gizzard felt that the euphonic effect of Tobin & Cane would have been an improvement, he acquiesced.
The new concern opened for business at once, and within half an hour had made its first capture. The hunters were stealing cautiously past a neighbor's garden, carrying the net between them, when Sport, Sube's dog, chased a large tiger cat out from between the rows of corn and directly into the net. The boys did little except to drop the net and keep out of reach of the snarling, spitting, clawing beast until it had become involved beyond possibility of escape.