THE LIFE OF A BEAVER COLONY 87 



canoe so suddenly startled by the noisy alarm 

 signal stopped, surprised to hear from the guides 

 that the terrific sound was made by beaver. 



The party decided to camp near the place on 

 chance of seeing something of the animals about 

 which they had frequently heard so many remark- 

 able stories. The guides, both of them being 

 trappers, made notes for future use. Yes, they 

 would come back in the proper season and get a few 

 beaver skins from that lake. But the beavers 

 thought differently. Their one idea now was to 

 escape as rapidly as possible from a place which had 

 proved to be known to man, and that night, while 

 the camp fires crackled in front of the tents, and the 

 sparks drifted lazily upward through the dark tree- 

 tops to be lost among the countless stars, the 

 beaver left their shelter, and under the cover of the 

 kindly starlight made their way to the further end 

 of the lake, where the outlet stream ran down 

 through the woods. Along this rocky waterway 

 they travelled, no word spoken, yet each filled with 

 the one idea of putting as great a distance as 

 possible between themselves and the human beings. 

 For a mile or two they followed this stream without 

 finding anything but rocks and steep banks. 

 Occasionally they stopped to nibble some particu- 

 larly enticing twig, or to listen cautiously for the 

 possible approach of an enemy, but the woods were 

 wrapped in the stillness of night and almost the 

 only sounds were the murmuring of the brook as it 



