124 Vixen 



and amused himself by watching my stillborn 

 triclc. 



In the springtime I had yet another instance 

 of Scarface's cunning. I was walking with a 

 friend along the road over the high pasture. 

 We passed within thirty feet of a ridge on 

 which were several gray and brown bowlders. 

 When at the nearest point my Iriend said: 



" Stone number three looks to me very much 

 like a fox curled up." 



But I could not see it, and we passed. We 

 had not gone many yards farther when the 

 wind blew on this bowlder as on fur. 



My friend said, " I am sure that is a fox, 

 tying asleep." 



*' We'll soon settle that," I replied, and turned 

 back, but as soon as I had taken one step from 

 the road, up jumped Scarface, for it was he, 

 and ran. A fire had swept the middle of the 

 pasture, leaving a broad belt of black ; over 

 this he skurried till he came to the unburnt 

 yellow grass again, where he squatted down 

 and was lost to view. He had been watching 

 us all the time, and would not have moved had 

 we kept to the road. The wonderful part of 

 this is, not that he resembled the round stones 

 and dry grass, but that he knew he did^ and 

 was ready to profit by it. 



