CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE 



199 



The next thing was to follow more solitary crow 

 tracks and, though some of them led back and 

 were lost in other paths, I managed to get together 

 a half-dozen empty sacs and caps to match. This 

 was encouraging, and the circumstantial evidence 

 made out a strong case against the crow. Finally 

 I determined to discover where the crows had 

 found these egg-sacs, which were apparently very 

 plentiful along here. How convenient to find 

 one's victuals and drink so near together! 



Selecting the track of a crow who seemed to 

 have some individuality, as he did not tread any 

 beaten path, I followed it for some distance. Once 

 I almost lost it, but found 

 it again by studying a 

 peculiarity in the foot- 

 mark. This crow had evi- 

 dently lost a piece of one 

 of his toes. We brought ^/ 

 up short at the foot of a 

 small clump of raspberry 

 bushes. The canes were 

 covered with that soft 

 bloom which makes them 

 so charming in the winter 



time. But to follow the a spider's treasure -a croWs 



PRIZE PACKAGE 



crow. Several canes grew 



close together; the snow crust at their base had 

 been broken and the dry grass uncovered. I held 

 my breath with excitement and dug the snow 

 lightly away with a stick. There in the grass, 

 stitched fast with many a silken thread, I found 



