202 THE MOOSE 



device for ensnaring martens. Far back in a small 

 hole in a tree a few feet from the ground an attrac- 

 tive bait was laid, and near the edge of the aperture 

 two nails arranged, with their points slanting in- 

 wards. The marten could get his head in and 

 seize the lure, but when it came to backing out 

 with his booty the spikes impaled him. 



Six hundred and fifty snares, traps, and dead- 

 falls take some looking after, and disappointments 

 were many. A heavy fall of snow might prevent 

 the trap springing just as a valuable fur-bearer 

 tried for the bait, or a bait became too much frozen 

 to attract, or rabbits ran down the line, and in 

 ensnaring themselves spoilt the trapper's chance of 

 securing more worth-having game — there were so 

 many things. But the thrill of the occupation, 

 which always seemed to Cretney to have some- 

 thing of the excitements and uncertainties of hunt- 

 ing for eggs in a stackyard magnified a hundred- 

 fold about it, never staled. There was a wealth of 

 magic and interest in the most humdrum hunting 

 days. If many yielded nothing at all, he was not 

 discouraged. There was always something to 

 learn. When he first took to the woods the 

 simplest natural history facts were unknown to 



