THE OTTER'S HOLT 13 



round him, all eager and inquisitive, was time for the morning's forty 



and ready to squabble the minute he winks. 



showed 'em what he had. " I thought I'd seen enough, so I 

 ' He was keen on teaching 'em to climbed quietly down the far side of 

 scratch at the soil where the sheep the rock, and crawled round to look 

 had been lying on the shady side of for the otter's ' holt.' Twas a pity 

 the ' tump ' ; I think he was searching I hadn't waited. I peeped from the 

 for seeds and beetles, or perhaps for stones, and there, on the pebbles by 

 the ticks that the sheep had left behind, the watercourse, was the otter, run- 

 After all the birds had fed they squatted ning fast down the path in the direction 

 by the mound they'd no need to go of the sheep-pond, while the covey 

 to drink, for the dew had been so of grouse was on the wing, and just 

 thick on the heather that I saw it turning round the hill on their way to 

 fly off in a tiny cloud when the old the bog. The otter must have come 

 birds plucked the shoots. There the out and disturbed the birds when I 

 grouse sat in the sun, and presently was climbing down the earn, 

 all but two were dozing. The two " I thought the best thing left for 

 that kept awake were the hen and a me was to find out the entrance to the 

 poult sitting close together. The little ' holt,' and learn all I could as to how 

 'n would stroke the old 'n's breast, and where the otter 'd caught the 

 running his beak up through the poult. Her ' spur ' was on a soft 

 feathers in a gentle coaxing sort of patch of gravel at a bend of the little 

 way. In her turn, the hen would brook, and I should say she'd taken a 

 lower her head and pet him, as if she short cut from that place to the earn, 

 was fonder of him than of any of the when she happened on the grouse, 

 others. Then these two moved, lay Unless I'd seen her, I'd never have 

 down in the loose earth close under believed she'd live so far from good 

 the ' tump,' and wallowed and pecked, fishing and so high up on a moor, 

 and kicked up the soil over their wings And why did she leave her ' holt ' in 

 and back, till at last, when they'd broad daylight, 'cept because she had 

 dusted every feather, they stood cubs, and was ravenous for food to 

 up, shook themselves, and found it help her in her mothering ? " 



