60 THE BOOK OF A NATURALIST 



knew very well what they were after ; they had 

 got their sticks to beat the bushes for birds, and 

 he was determined to prevent their doing such a 

 thing. The boys all cried out, denying that they 

 had any such intention, and told him they had 

 found a fox caught in a steel trap with one of its 

 fore legs crushed, and as it would perhaps be a long 

 time before the keeper would come round, they 

 were going to kill the fox with their sticks to put 

 it out of its misery. Uncle Sam said it would be 

 better to save its life, and asked them to take him 

 to the spot. This they did willingly, and there, 

 sure enough, was a big fine fox held by one leg, 

 crushed above the knee. He was in a savage 

 temper, and with ears laid back and teeth bared 

 he appeared ready to fight for his life against the 

 crowd. Uncle Sam made them place themselves 

 before the tortured beast, and tease him with their 

 sticks, pretending to aim blows at his head. He 

 in the meantime succeeded in setting the end of 

 his stick on the shaft of the gin, and, pressing down, 

 caused the teeth to relax their grip, and in a moment 

 the fox was free, and, darting away, disappeared 

 from their sight in the wood. 



A year or so later, Uncle Sam heard of his 

 rescued fox, a three-legged one, the crushed limb 

 having fallen or been gnawed off. He had been 

 seen near that spot where he had been caught. 

 This was close to the highest part of the wall-like 

 cliff, and he had a refuge somewhere among the 

 rocks in the face of it some forty or more feet 



