158 FOUR-FOOTED AMERICANS 



" Here came the Rabbit, but ^iiuch eairi'lier than the 

 » *' ■* i 



Fox, for his prints ai'e 'crusteci ; now-Uhey run to- 

 gether." ^-^ 



'' Was the Fox chasing , the Rabbft ? I shoukl think 

 Bunny could run the fastest," said Rap. , ^ 



"No, not chasing, but following him ..by srght. See ! 

 here the Rabbit has stopped to nibble twio\s and buds. 

 Ah I now we have the battlefield : the Ral>«if nestl'ed 

 in the snow, tlie Fox came here and cr^^ichei^l, waitino» 

 for Bunny to move before spriiiging. The end \Yip> 

 beyond in the open." ^ , -^ 



The boys looked and saw wdiei?e' the snow was beaten 

 down and covered with little^t/*fts of fur, and from 

 there Avere no more Rabbit traces, only a single trail 

 leading back toward tlie den, brf^itened here and there 

 by blood marks. 



" The Fox family had a good breakfast, anyway," 

 said Nat, cheerfully. '' How I wish I could have peeped 

 into their house. Can we ? " 



" I think we must hurr}^ back ; they will be cold, 

 waiting in the skngh." 



Soon the road met and followed the river and was 

 quite shut in on the north by hemlock woods. 



"There is a very big mark. — a Woodchuck track," 

 said Nat, pointing to a broad trail that came close to 

 the road and went toward tlie wood again. '• \ didn't 

 know they lived in such wild places." 



" It can't l)e a Woodchuck, they hole up before it 

 gets as cold as this, you know." said Rap. 



" Hole up ; no, I don't know. What do you mean ? " 



"Why, they don't like cold, and go into their holes 

 and stay there until spring." 



