low, quiet dive. He did not appear to be watch- 

 ing anything in particular or to have anything 

 special on his mind. Yet his eyes may have been 

 scouting for enemies and his mind may have 

 been full of house plans. Finally he dived deeply, 

 and the next I saw of him he was climbing up 

 the side of the house addition with a pawful of 

 mud. 



By this time a number of beavers were swim- 

 ming in the pond after the manner of the first 

 one. Presently all began to work. The addition 

 already stood more than two feet above the 

 water-line. The top of this was crescent-shaped 

 and was about seven feet long and half as wide. 

 It was made mostly of mud, which was plenti- 

 fully reinforced with willow cuttings and aspen 

 sticks. For a time all the workers busied them- 

 selves in carrying mud and roots from the bot- 

 tom of the pond and placing these on the slowly 

 rising addition. Eleven were working at one 

 time. By and by three swam ashore, each in a 

 different direction and each a few seconds apart. 

 After a minute or two they returned from the 

 shore, each carrying or trailing a long willow. 



43 



