292 DENIZENS OF THE DESERT 



very slowly and she had no fear of me. Soon she 

 resumed her eating, stopping once in a while to 

 lick the grease off her chops and hands. A lad 

 who was staying with me at the time was very 

 eager to try picking the creature up by the tail 

 and thus carrying her out of the house head 

 down, having heard from woodsmen that there 

 is no danger of a skunk discharging from its 

 scent glands in this position. But I decided to 

 take no chances; the skunk went on feeding and 

 we to bed again. 



For a while after that one or more skunks 

 came every night. Sometimes when I went into 

 the shanty to watch them they would retreat to 

 a corner or hide in the closet, and watch me 

 with their beady, black eyes from behind the 

 curtain to see what I was up to. Once one hid 

 in the closet all day. Thus far my furry neigh- 

 bors had never caused any disagreeable odors 

 in the house ; yet I became uneasy lest on some 

 occasion they might be provoked and scent up 

 my quarters. Accordingly I nailed up all the 

 knot-holes and stopped the cracks, and espe- 

 cially one small hole in the closet through 

 which they most often entered. 



