CORPORAL HENRY R. NEAVILLE. 189 



would increase until as big as an old Thomas. It 

 twisted, rolled sideways and back until it reached the 

 water, where it kicked up a great bobbery. 



"I'm durned if I know what that is," said Henry; "I 

 never saw such an animal before. What do you think 

 it is?" 



"It's a 'coon rolling in the dirt and then washing him- 

 self off," said Frank. 



Henry sneeringly replied: "'Coon! yer granny! A 

 'coon's got a big, bushy tail and is gray. Frank, you 

 don't know a 'coon from Driesbach's pet leopard." 



By this time the splashing ceased, and one animal 

 crawled out of the sloo dragging another. Henry and I 

 said in chorus: "It's a mink!" So it was, but he had a 

 muskrat with him, and musky was dead. Our exclama- 

 tion startled the mink, and it jumped into the grass with 

 its prey. I said to Henry: "That sight is worth more 

 than all the fish we have caught and all the mineral 

 Charley Guyon and I might have dug to-day, or for a 

 week. I knew that mink were fond of muskrat meat, 

 but a fellow might fish for a lifetime and never see a 

 mink kill one." 



"What made the mink hurry off so?" asked Frank; 

 "he wasn't in any hurry about killing the muskrat. I'd 

 like to have seen him eat it." 



"Frank," said Henry, "that mink had several good 

 reasons for hurrying off. It was dinner time, and Mrs. 

 Mink and all the little minks were wondering why papa 

 didn't come home from market with the dinner. Then 

 Mr. Mink may have thought his family might mistrust 

 that he was lingering at Sam Coons' bar, and would for- 

 get to bring the dinner at all; but the chances are that 

 when we spoke he looked over at us and thought: 'It's 

 best to hurry home before that durned fool, Frank Nea- 



