THE OTTER AND SEAL 65 



silently slipped into the water. The rest of the 

 party had passed the bluff at the head of the 

 pool and were crossing the meadow above before 

 the mother noticed his absence; at once she 

 stopped and whistled, but there was no response, 

 so she went on with the two smaller cubs. 

 Every now and then the mother repeated the 

 whistle, and at last there was an answering note. 

 Though the mother knew she had many miles to 

 cover before dawn, her maternal instinct caused 

 her to slacken her pace, and presently the errant 

 dog joined the family. Next they reached the 

 pool where the two streams met, and here they 

 fished, but not for long, for the mother had 

 made her plans before she left the hover, and 

 very soon turned up the stream to the left. 

 Hurrying along, the family passed under an old 

 Roman bridge over which Cromwell had led his 

 Ironsides, then through the arches of a more 

 modern structure better adapted to take the 

 traffic of the present day ; past a big house high 

 up on the river bank where some studious 

 individuals were burning the midnight oil, then 

 again through wood and meadow until they came 

 to the outskirts of a town. As the otters fol- 

 lowed the river, the towering walls of a cotton 



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