250 THE LAND'S END 



on one side, and it struck him that a badger had 

 taken refuge in this cavity, and had been obliged to 

 scratch a little earth away to squeeze his body in. 

 He called his companion's attention to it, and get- 

 ting down on the turf and lying flat so as to bring 

 their eyes on to a level with the floor they gazed 

 into the cavity. They could see no animal, but the 

 light was dim inside, and Mr. Jackson proceeded to 

 twist up half a dozen wax matches into a small com- 

 pact ball, which he lighted, and then carefully pushed 

 in right to the middle of the hollow space. The 

 burning wax made a good light, but still they could 

 see no creature, only at one side, a foot or so from 

 the light, there was a dark patch which they could 

 not make out ; it was, they imagined, a hole in the 

 rock which showed black. Presently, as they gazed 

 in, still trying to penetrate into that dark hole with 

 their sight, a paw was seen to emerge and move 

 towards the light until the whole foreleg of a badger 

 was revealed ; then the paw scraped up a little loose 

 soil from the floor and carefully drew or jerked it 

 over the burning ball of wax and put the light out. 



They had both witnessed the whole action, and by 

 and by with a long stick or pole they succeeded in 

 ousting the badger from his niche in the little cave. 

 Had they not done so the sceptical reader might 

 have said that what they had seen was an illusion 

 that they were looking for a badger and expecting to 

 see one and had badger on the brain so to speak ; 

 and by and by when a slight moving shadow caused 

 by the flickering flame made its appearance it took the 



