Then all at once he thought that it might be old Jacob, who would punish him for running away.

He opened his eyes very quickly then.

What do you think he saw?
An ostrich--that same big ostrich he had seen and startled early in the day! It was standing over him, staring down with its great vacant eyes.

Gradually its head came lower and lower down, until at last it made a sudden peck at a metal button on his jacket, and gave such a vigorous tug at it that Martin was almost lifted off the ground.

He screamed and gave a jump; but it was nothing to the jump the ostrich gave when he discovered that the button belonged to a living boy.