THE MEPHITIS-MEPHITICA 293 



next morning with our ears and noses in their proper 

 places untouched and unharmed. 



The scientist said there wasn't the slightest danger 

 of an attack from the black-and-white beauty, but all 

 the same he was very careful himself to put his head 

 beneath the sheltering folds of his sleeping bag. 



I lay awake for an hour or more, and I thought I 

 heard Mr. Mephitis wending his way out from behind 

 the door and then nosing around the scalp and hide of 

 our big caribou, which was hanging up on poles outside. 

 The weasel, the rats or the mice came back and rum- 

 maged through the pots and pans to their hearts' con- 

 tent one of them did indeed run over my face, and 

 Dr. Hughes was certain that one ran over his head, but 

 he admitted that his head was inside of the bag. 



" All's well that ends well," and we awoke the next 

 morning with ears and noses intact ; with the never- 

 ending rain pouring down ; with the wind in the wrong 

 quarter ; with a loon laughing at us from across the 

 thoroughfare; with a red squirrel chattering on the 

 roof and a pair of camp birds pecking scraps of fat 

 from the hide of the lone bull of Sandy Lake. 



For those who never heard of the mephitis-mephitica, 

 it should be said that besides his classical appellation, 

 he rejoices in two common names, by either of which 

 you may call him and he will not be offended. In 

 some parts of the country he goes by the name of pole- 

 cat ; out here his regular name is skunk. 



