WILDWOOD WAYS 



ing claw. The crow's foot is fine for 

 grasping a limb, but it does not fit the 

 ground well. On the other hand, the trail 

 of the ruffed grouse which may lie beside 

 it shows an ideal footprint for walking 

 woodland paths, the hind toe stubby 

 nailed, short but firm, and the whole print 

 well planted and fitting the earth. 



These and many more I found mod- 

 eled in ice, but the trails that interested 

 me most were those beneath the crust, the 

 long tunnels that wound here and there, 

 intersected and doubled and made por- 

 tions of the fields and forests for all the 

 world like the blue veining of a white 

 skin. These were the trails of the shaggy- 

 coated, crop-eared, short-legged, short- 

 tailed meadow mouse. This firm crust 

 had opened to him the opportunity of 

 safety in paths that had been before dan- 

 gerous in the extreme. He knew where 

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