76 SQUIRRELS AND OTHER FUR-BEARERS 



a terminus, a permanent living-room. I tried 

 removing the soil a couple of paces away with 

 the mattock, but found it slow work. I was 

 getting warm and tired, and my task was appar- 

 ently only just begun. The farther I dug, the 

 more numerous and intricate became the pas- 

 sages. I concluded to stop, and come again the 

 next day, armed with a shovel in addition to the 

 mattock. 



Accordingly, I came back on the morrow, and 

 fell to work vigorously. I soon had quite a 

 large excavation ; I found the bank a labyrinth 

 of passages, with here and there a large cham- 

 ber. One of the latter I struck only six inches 

 under the surface, by making a fresh breach a 

 few feet away. 



While I was leaning upon my shovel-handle 

 and recovering my breath, I heard some light- 

 footed creature tripping over the leaves above 

 me just out of view, which I fancied might be a 

 squirrel. Presently I heard the bay of a hound 

 and the yelp of a cur, and then knew that a 

 rabbit had passed near me. The dogs came 

 hurrying after, with a great rumpus, and then 

 presently the hunters followed. The dogs re- 

 mained barking not many rods south of me on 

 the edge of the swamp, and I knew the rabbit 

 had run to hole. For half an hour or more I 



