THE TAKING OF THE BEAVER 197 



there till the awful shadow goes away. Exactly. That is what 

 the man has been counting on. He will come to them after- 

 ward. 



The old beavers make no such mistake. They have tried the 

 hollow-log trick with an enemy pursuing them to the blind end, and 

 have escaped only because some other beaver was eaten. 



The old ones know that water alone is safety. 



That is the first and last law of beaver life. They, too, see that 

 phantom destroyer above the ice ; but a dash past is the last chance. 

 How many of the beaver escape past the cut in the dam to the water 

 below depends on the dexterity of the trapper's aim. But cer- 

 tainly for the most, one blow is the end ; and that one blow is 

 less cruel to them than the ravages of the wolf or wolverine in spring, 

 for these begin to eat before they kill. 



A signal, and the dog ceases to keep guard above the dam. Where 

 is the runway in which the others are hiding ? The dog scampers 

 round aimlessly, but begins to sniff and run in a line and scratch 

 and whimper. The man sees that the dog is on the trail of sag- 

 ging snow, and the sag betrays ice settling down where a channel 

 has run dry. The trapper cuts a hole across the river end of the 

 runway and drives down stakes. The young beavers are now 

 prisoners. 



The human mind can't help wondering why the foolish youngsters 

 didn't crouch below the ice above the dam and lie there in safe 

 hiding till the monster went away. This may be done by the hermit 

 beavers — fellows who have lost their mates and go through life 

 inconsolable ; or sick creatures, infested by parasites and turned 

 off to house in the river holes ; or fat, selfish ladies, who don't 

 want the trouble of training a family. Whatever these solitaries 

 are — ■ naturalists and hunters differ — they have the wit to keep 

 alive ; but the poor little beavers rush right into the jaws of death. 

 Why do they ? For the same reason probably, if they could answer, 

 that people trample each other to death when there is an alarm 

 in a crowd. 



