General Scouting Outdoors 197 



Nothing had happened. We saw no mink, but I knew he 

 was there. The ferretteer said, "It just proved what he 

 had claimed — "a mink was beneath his ferret's notice'!" 

 Maybe? 



Now, we heard the shout of hunter No. 2. We answered. 

 He came to us to say that, after faithfully following his 

 skunk-trail leader for two hours, through forest, field and 

 fen, he had lost it in a host of tracks in a ravine oome half-a- 

 mile away. 



So we gave our undivided attention to skunk No. i, and 

 in a few minutes had traced him to a hole, into which there 

 led a multitude of trails, and from which there issued an 

 odor whose evidence was beyond question. Again we 

 submitted the case to our subterranean representative, and 

 nothing loth the ferret glided down. But presently re- 

 appeared, much as he went, undisturbed and unodori?ed. 

 Again and again he was sent down, but with the same result. 

 So at length we thrust him ignominiously into the bag. The 

 ferret's owner said there was no skunk; the rest of us said 

 there was, but that the ferret was "scared," "no good," etc. 

 Then, a plan suggested itself for clearing or convicting that 

 best of aU ferrets. We plugged up the skunk hole, and went 

 back to the house. It seemed that the youngest brother 

 of one of my companions had a tiny pet dog, a toy, the 

 darling of his heart — Just such a dog as you read about; 

 a most miserable, pampered, cross, ill-bred, useless and 

 snarling little beast, about the size of a large rat. Prince 

 ■was his name, for Abraham, his little master, never lost 

 an opportimity of asserting that this was the prince of all 

 dogs, and that his price was above rubies. But Prince had 

 made trouble for Bob more than once, and Bob was ready 

 to sacrifice Prince on the altar of science, if need be. Indeed, 

 Satan had entered into Bob's heart and sketched there a 

 plausible but wicked plan. So this boy set to work and 



