The Speckled Heifer's Calf 227 



hairs, and they came out of the coat of a wild- 

 cat." 



" A wildcat," I exclaimed in astonishment, 

 at the same time looking up into the branches 

 overhead apprehensively; "where in the 

 world did it come from? " 



" Oh, up on the mountain," replied Ben. 

 " There have been litters of bobcats raised on 

 the mountain off and on for several years, 

 but they don't often hunt so far from home. 

 The kittens must be quite cats by this time, 

 and so their mother has to hunt far and near 

 to satisfy them. 



" It happened last evening, probably, at 

 about twilight. The great cats hunt in the 

 morning and evening. Sometimes they hunt 

 by moonlight, but rarely in broad daylight. 



" Mrs. Bobcat probably came prowling 

 through the pasture in search of a gray rab- 

 bit and with no thought of calf. She is rather 

 dull colored this time of year, and is hardly 

 noticeable among the browns of the ferns and 

 the dried up weeds. A bobcat always sneaks 

 along like a gray shadow. She probably 



