150 RIVERBY 



of the black monster seemed ever before her, and 

 gave speed and extra alertness to all her movements. 

 In early summer four young chipmunks emerged 

 from the den, and ran freely about. There was no- 

 thing to disturb them, for, alas! Nig herself was 

 now dead. 



One summer day I watched a cat for nearly a half 

 hour trying her arts upon a chipmunk that sat upon 

 a pile of stone. Evidently her game was to stalk 

 him. She had cleared half the distance, or about 

 twelve feet, that separated the chipmunk from a 

 dense Norway spruce, when I chanced to become 

 a spectator of the little drama. There sat the cat 

 crouched low on the grass, her big, yellow eyes fixed 

 upon the chipmunk, and there sat the chipmunk 

 at the mouth of his den, motionless, with his eye 

 fixed upon the cat. For a long time neither moved. 

 "Will the cat bind him with her fatal spell?" I 

 thought. ^Sometimes her head slowly lowered and 

 her eyes seemed to dilate, and I fancied she was 

 about to spring. But she did not. The distance 

 was too great to be successfully cleared in one bound. 

 Then the squirrel moved nervously, but kept his eye 

 upon the enemy. Then the cat evidently grew tired 

 and relaxed a little and looked behind her. Then 

 she crouched again and riveted her gaze upon the 

 squirrel. But the latter would not be hypnotized; 

 it shifted its position a few times and finally quickly 

 entered its den, when the cat soon slunk away. 



In digging his hole it is evident that the chip- 

 munk carries away the loose soil. Never a grain of 



