THE OTTER SLIDE 127 



turned over on his back, and prepared for the 

 descent. 



&quot; Tuck in your ears ! &quot; shouted Whisky Jack. 

 Now this was an insult. Carcajou s ears were so 

 very short that they were generally supposed to 

 have been cut off for stealing. However, Wol 

 verine started, tail first, holding his head .up 

 between his fore-paws to judge distances. When 

 he struck the bottom, his powerful hind-feet 

 jammed into the snow, and the speed of his going 

 threw him safely over on the ice, landing him 

 right side up on all-fours. 



&quot; Capital ! Capital ! &quot; yapped Black King, pat 

 ting his furred hands together in approval. 

 &quot; That will be pretty hard to beat. Skunk, 

 you re a clever little Fellow, see if you can make 

 a tie of it with Carcajou.&quot; Sikak moved up to 

 the Slide with a peculiar rocking-horse-like gallop. 

 Taking his cue from Carcajou he decided to go 

 down the same way. Now, in the excitement of 

 the thing the animals had gathered close to the 

 Slide, lining it on both sides. 



&quot; Cranky little White-streak ! &quot; exclaimed 

 Whisky-Jack ; &quot; why don t you make a speech 

 before you start.&quot; 



Skunk had never travelled in this shape be 

 fore, and was nervous. During his delay over 

 getting a straight start, Carcajou and Mink, half- 



