134 NEIGHBOURS UNKNOWN 



transverse tunnel. Her eyes, mouth, whis- 

 kers, and fur full of the powdery white par- 

 ticles, she backed out, much disappointed. 

 But in that moment she had realized that it 

 was much warmer in there beneath the snow 

 than out in the stinging air. It was a second 

 and vitally important lesson. And though 

 she was probably unconscious of having 

 learned it, she instinctively put the new lore 

 into practice a little while later. Having suc- 

 ceeded in catching yet another mouse, for 

 which her appetite made no immediate 

 demand, she carried it back to the house and 

 laid it down in tribute on the verandah steps, 

 while she meowed and stared hopefully at 

 the desolate snow-draped door. Getting no 

 response, she carried the dead mouse down 

 with her to the hollow behind the drift, which 

 had been caused by the bulging front of the 

 bay-window on the end of the house. Here 

 she curled herself up forlornly, thinking to 

 have a wink of sleep. 



But the still cold was too searching. She 

 looked at the sloping wall of snow beside her, 

 and cautiously thrust her paw into it. It 

 was very soft and light ; it seemed to offer 

 practically no resistance. She pawed away 

 in an awkward fashion till she had scooped 

 out a sort of tiny cave. Gently she pushed 



