THE OTTER AND SEAL 63 



wished to tarry — then along the river bank, until 

 they arrived where two streams joined to form 

 the river up which they had travelled. Below 

 the junction was a deep pool with a spit of 

 yellow sand on the opposite bank. The otters 

 entered the water and again fished, then they 

 landed, and here they left on the damp sand the 

 tell-tale seal or footprint. This was the only 

 sign on the following day of the fishing 

 party, for the rats and gulls soon cleared 

 away the remnants of any fish that had been 

 left. 



A glow in the sky towards the east now in- 

 dicated the approach of dawn, and the behaviour 

 of the otters at once changed. Alternatively 

 swimming, floating or wading, they dropped 

 downstream without another thought of play, 

 past the rocky pool where they had started to 

 fish, past the opening of the ditch, up which 

 they had "hovered" the previous day, to a 

 pool a mile farther down the river. Here the 

 mother landed on the bank, passed through the 

 rushes, and led her cubs to a dry drain fifty 

 yards from the river. By this time the hills were 

 rimmed by the glow of the rising sun. 



It was daylight when the otters reached their 



