134 MEN I HAVE FISHED WITH. 



a light, drizzling rain during the night, and now there 

 was a hard crust on the snow which crunched under foot 

 and made a great noise. The first trap was approached 

 with a quickening pulse, and my heart was beating high 

 as it was neared. Alas! it was unsprung and the cord 

 was frozen fast. The crust* did not tell if the trap had 

 been visited, but the apple was untouched. All the traps 

 were in the same condition, but I fixed them so that they 

 would spring, and on the way home reported the facts to 

 Garry. 



"You needn't have gone to them this morning," said 

 he, "for you might have known that a rabbit would not 

 go out and get all covered with ice in a rain like that one 

 last night." 



I might have known, but with a head filled with the 

 excitement of a first visit to rabbit traps, with the ex- 

 pectation that at least one rabbit might be found in each, 

 I never thought that they might prefer dry hides to my 

 traps. 



The next night was clear and crisp, and, oh, how cold 

 that morning was! The stars seemed to echo my tread 

 on the crackling crust as I trudged along. The first 

 trap was unsprung, and my faith in taking rabbits in box 

 traps was shaken. Old tracks, made before the crust 

 was formed, were abundant, and there was "sign" on the 

 crust where no tracks could be seen. Surely there were 

 rabbits there, if they could only be caught. These were 

 the thoughts when the second trap was sighted. It was 

 sprung! The rapid puffing of an early freight train on 

 the railroad below did not exceed the beating of my 

 heart. Cold as it was, a perspiration broke out all over 

 me. Pshaw! Perhaps the string had broken or the 

 trigger had slipped from the notch! 



I stood for a moment like one in a dream. Could it 





