48 THE LIFE STORY OF AN OTTER 



bitten off the head and the pads, she removed 

 the skin as if it had been a glove, and broke up 

 the carcass. Except for a few moorhen, it was 

 the first warm prey the cubs had eaten, and they 

 devoured it greedily, as they did their share of 

 another rabbit surprised in the furze beyond the 

 burrow. This ended the night's hunting, and 

 leaving the out-turned skins on the turf, the 

 otters went back to the creek across the dewy 

 grass which they marked with a clearly visible 

 track. 



On gaining the shore they burst into a 

 gallop from sheer high spirits, spurning the sand 

 as they hurried along the lone reach in a silence 

 unbroken save by the sob of the restless tide that 

 was mounting along their path. Within a mile 

 of the heronry they crossed the flood and sported 

 in the great eddy there ; at times they landed 

 on the cone-shaped rock that rose amidst the 

 swirl and cast its inky shadow on the silvery 

 surface. The playful creatures seemed to have 

 set aside their fears and lingered till sunrise, 

 when the shout of a farm-boy to a neighbour 

 caused them to dive and make for the cave. 

 Time after time they rose to breathe, always in 

 the slack water, and at last, when the brimming 

 tide was all ablush and every songster pouring 



