128 ROMANCE OF THE BEAVER 



but no sooner had they reached the water than each 

 struck it a resounding smack that sent up a shower 

 of sun-kissed drops. The command to dive was 

 imperative, and every beaver in that pond and the 

 upper one vanished instantly, and without a sound, 

 to meet later in several of the burrows which had 

 been made along the shore. The fisherman was 

 much interested in the scene ; but he was after fish, 

 not beaver, and he would far rather have seen the 

 surface of the pond broken by rising trout. Had 

 he but known it, that water contained many fine 

 fish that had come down from the upper lake to 

 enjoy the rich food in the beaver pond. The trapper 

 saw the prospect from an entirely different point of 

 view. Here was a thriving colony of beavers that 

 represented perhaps a hundred and fifty or two 

 hundred dollars to him. He walked round the 

 pond, noted the size of the chips which indicated 

 well-grown beavers, and, what was of great impor- 

 tance, no one had been before him. He would 

 keep the news of the lucky find to himself, and as 

 soon as the shooting season had passed, he would 

 come armed with the deadly trap to destroy the 

 colony that was engaged in a great, far-reaching 

 work that he did not understand. Comparing the 

 beaver and the man, we might well ask which was 

 doing the greater good. The one bent only on 

 destruction, while the other, though so insignificant, 

 was devoting his entire energies to conserving, to 

 doing that which, strangely enough, would be of 



