their noses are not keen for in the snow, 

 with a trail as plain as a deer path, they 

 b rea k away from it with reckless impatience, 

 only to scare the game into a headlong dash 

 for safety. Then they will crouch under a 

 dwarf spruce and stare at the trail with round 

 unblinking eyes, waiting for the frightened 

 creatures to come back, or for other creatures 

 to come by in the same footprints. Even in 

 teaching her young a mother wildcat is full 

 of snarling whims and tempers ; but now let a 

 turkey gobble far away in the woods, let Mus- 

 quash dive into his den where she can see 

 it, let but a woodmouse whisk out cf sight 

 into his hidden doorway, and instantly 

 patience returns to Pekompf. All the snarl- 

 ing ill-temper vanishes. She crouches and 

 waits, and forgets all else. She 

 may have just fed full on what she 

 likes best, and so have 

 no desire for food and 

 no expectation of catch- 

 ing more ; but she must 

 still watch, as if to 



