The Wit of the Wild 



r 



it, too, and at once found a smaller pebble with 

 which to stop the gap. 



Then turning her back she scraped over the 

 stones a quantity of loose earth until all traces 

 of a hole were concealed. And now, having shut 

 and locked her door, Madame Redbelt ran 

 'round and 'round as if to make sure nobody 

 had seen her do it, and then flew away. 



I sat watching until dark. Every half an 

 hour or so the owner came back, looked at her 

 property and left it untouched. Then I put 

 some bits of leaf on the spot, so that I might 

 know of any disturbance, and said good-night. 



Next morning (the 28th) the leaves had been 

 thrown aside, but I saw nothing of Madame 

 Redbelt until late afternoon, when she half dug 

 another tunnel, close by the first one. This 

 she finished on the 29th, but I did not see her 

 again until the third morning (30th) about 

 eight o'clock (when the sun first reached that 

 spot), when I found her busily closing a new 

 nest between the other two. She put into it a 

 pebble that nearly filled it, then slowly packed 

 armfuls of clay, bits of stick and stone over it, 



^ 18 



