THE WINTER WOODS 157 



*' I will show you this thing that you may under- 

 stand a little of the wood language," said Olaf, pulling 

 up the horses. '^ You need not fear to stick in the 

 snow ; it is even, but not deep," he said to Rap, helping 

 him down very gently. " Keep l)eliind me, so that we 

 may follow these tracks without trampling them down. 

 Are the Fox tracks coming toward us or going away ? " 



'' Coming toward us." 



'' We will follow them backward to see where they 

 start." 



So saying they tracked the footprints a couple of 

 hundred feet around some hazel bushes, tlien on by a 

 little knoll until they ended, or rather began, in a low 

 opening between some rocks and a partly decayed log. 

 Here the snow was trodden down and mixed with earth 

 and several red splashes, while foot-prints returned to 

 the hole from a different direction. 



" Dogs do not live in ground burrows or between 

 rocks ; now you see it is a Fox. Here the Fox went 

 out hungry, A^ery early this morning, for the prints are 

 clear. There at the other side he returned with food, 

 — the blood stains are not more than three hours old. 

 It was not a bird he brought, but something heavier 

 tliat partly dragged on the ground, for there are marks 

 here and there in the snow. 



'' Turn now and follow the outgoing prints and you 

 will see wliat has happened. It is not a long course, 

 for this Fox found his breakfast quickly, I'm thinking." 



They turned about and retraced their steps until at 

 last Olaf pointed to where llabl)it tracks came from 

 under some bushes and went in the same direction as 

 the Fox marks. 



