So Pekompf watches the pools as he 

 watches a squirrel's hole,, because he has 

 seen game there and because he likes fish 

 above everything else that the woods can 

 furnish. But how often must he watch the 

 big trout before he catches one? Sometimes, 

 in the late twilight, the largest fish will move 

 out of the pools and nose along the shore 

 for food, their back fins showing out of the 

 shallow water as they glide along. It may 

 be that Pekompf sometimes catches them at 

 this time, and so when he sees the gleam of 

 a fish in the depths he crouches where he is 

 for a while, following the irresistible impulse 

 of all cats at the sight of game. Herein 

 they differ from all other savage beasts, 

 which, when not hungry, pay no attention 

 whatever to smaller animals. 



It may be, also, that Pekompf 's cunning is 

 deeper than this. Old Noel, a Micmac hunter, 

 tells me that both wildcat and lynx, whose 

 cunning is generally the cunning of stupidity, 

 have discovered a remarkable way of catch- 

 ing fish. They will lie with their heads close 

 to the water, their paws curved for a quick 



