of 



several hundred willows were massed in the 

 main pond by the largest house. This pile, 

 which was mostly below the water-line, was 

 three feet deep and one hundred and twenty- 

 four feet in circumference. Would a new house 

 be built this fall? This unusually large harvest 

 plainly told that either children or immigrants 

 had increased the population of the colony. Of 

 course, a hard winter may also have been ex- 

 pected. 



No; they were not to build a new house, but 

 the old house by the harvest pile was to be 

 enlarged. One day, just as the evening shadow 

 of Long's Peak had covered the pond, I peeped 

 over a log on top of the dam to watch the work. 

 The house was only forty feet distant. Not a 

 ripple stirred among the inverted peaks and 

 pines in the clear, shadow-enameled pond. A 

 lone beaver rose quietly in the scene from the 

 water near the house. Swimming noiselessly, 

 he made a circuit of the pond. Then for a time, 

 and without any apparent purpose, he swam 

 back and forth over a short, straight course ; he 

 moved leisurely, and occasionally made a shal- 



42 



