126 THE LIFE STORY OF AN OTTER 



The male was the faster, and he pressed the cat 

 very closely across the small garden in front of 

 the house, through a gap in the wall, and along 

 the strip of field at the side. He must have 

 overtaken it before reaching the gate had not the 

 cat suddenly swerved and gained a couple of feet, 

 maintaining the lead until it passed through the 

 hole in the stable door at the upper end of the 

 farmyard. The otter followed. Scarcely were 

 they out of sight when the female otter came up 

 the yard on their scent, and also passed in 

 through the aperture at the foot of the door. A 

 fearful spitting ensued, and immediately the cat 

 reappeared with the male so close behind that 

 his nose all but touched the big flufFed-out 

 brush. At a desperate pace both sped over the 

 frozen dung-heap towards the alder-tree ; the cat 

 swarmed up, despite the efforts of the otter to 

 seize it, and from its safe perch amongst the top- 

 most branches sat looking down at both otters, 

 from whose nostrils the breath issued like jets of 

 steam. Presently the blazing up of the furze 

 fire within drew the eyes of the otters to the 

 window, and when a shadow fell on the blind 

 they slunk away, followed the rude cart-track to 

 the boundary of the farm, and struck straight 

 across the moor in the direction of the Liddens. 



