XIV 



FOXES AND SNOW-SHOES 



m^jr'. -^;,t^^l^ING out and very much frightened, 

 *-" ^t"^^; at first Nat was going to call, then he 

 ^. thought that perhaps he might startle 

 'W^^T^'^' 'i^ ^^^^ Porcupine and make him angry, 

 ^ ' ' so he staid quite still waiting to see 



what Avould happen. Everything was 

 painfully quiet ; why did not one of the 

 others wake up? Even a snore would have 

 i^ sounded companionable. 



pi xhe Porcujjine ambled toward the bunk, but 



stopped by one of the posts that supported it and began 

 to gnaw with his strong, sharp-cutting teeth. Next he 

 sampled all four legs of the table, then went to the 

 water pail ; he seemed to scent the tracks of the Coon 

 and Fox and crouched in a heaj) with his quills bristling 

 on his back and his tail ready to strike. Finding that 

 he was not disturbed, he began walking about again, 

 finally climbing up to a log that ran across the face of 

 the chimney, quite near the roof. 



In spite of feeling a trifle afraid, Nat could not help 

 noticing how easily the Porcupine climbed and swung 

 himself about, but Avhen the animal had settled himself 

 comfortably on the beam, something happened that was 

 so strange that Nat first rubbed his eyes to be sure that 



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