BLACK SWAMP 77 



His great head was moving sullenly, ponder- 

 ously, from side to side. Ominous and dark 

 and ill-shapen, he looked strangely like a por- 

 tion of the swamp come alive. The racoon 

 scrutinized him with eyes of bright, mischiev- 

 ous disdain. The bear, looking up, caught 

 sight of him, and aimed a treacherous blow 

 at him with his tremendous, armed forepaw. 

 Light as a feather, the racoon avoided him. 

 It was as if the very wind of the blow had 

 swept him from the place of danger. The 

 bear grunted at his failure, and fell to licking 

 his paw. The racoon, who had slipped around 

 the tree, mounted another root, and gazed 

 at his rude assailant impishly. Then, glanc- 

 ing upwards, his liquid eyes detected the 

 pendant grey globe of the hornets' nest, pale 

 in the gloom. 



The racoon knew that inside every hornets' 

 nest or wasps' nest at this time of the year 

 was a mass of peculiarly succulent larvae and 

 immature insects. If this grey globe had 

 been a wasps' nest, he might, perhaps, have 

 attacked it at once, his long hair, thick skin 

 and skill in protecting his eyes, enabling him 

 to brave, without too great cost, the stings 

 of the ordinary " yellow- jacket." But he noted 

 well the formidable insects which hummed 

 about this nest ; he knew the powers of the 



