THE WHITE -FOOTED MOUSE 



turns its head inward and holds it in place by 

 biting on to one of its own legs. In this way 

 a young mouse is made up into a round, com- 

 pact bundle. When the hole in the wall is 

 reached it often happens that the mother can- 

 not push her load through. After several 

 unsuccessful efforts she turns about and backs 

 through the hole, dragging the load after 

 her. 



All in all, the white-footed mouse has 

 afforded me much pleasure, but at times it 

 becomes a nuisance. At one time my cabin 

 was haunted by a strange sound. The sound 

 was simple enough, only a sharp click re- 

 peated over and over. Sometimes, however, 

 the performance would change to a succession 

 of clicks. For six weeks I vainly tried to 

 solve the mystery. At last the clicking be- 

 came downright annoying. It would break up 

 my line of thought when writing. It would 

 confuse my mind when reading, and I often 

 jokingly asserted that this mysterious ghostly 

 click, click would send me to the insane asylum. 



At last I traced the sound to a shelf where 

 129 



Wl>KJoote<! 



