66 ANIMAL LIFE UNDER WATER 



mill loomed above them. Suddenly the mother 

 stopped and crouched in the shallow, prater at the 

 foot of the wall, for she had heard a throbbing 

 sound in the distance — the sound became louder 

 and louder until a flood of light swept round the 

 bend of the road which ran by the riverside, and 

 a motor-car passed over the bridge which 

 spanned the water a hundred yards farther up. 

 The motor passed, the otters hurried on and 

 never stopped until they were clear of all signs 

 -of man. Now the scenery changed, and out- 

 crops of rock caused the river to twist and turn 

 and travel alternately through deep pot-hole and 

 over shallow run. 



It was at the largest of these pot-holes that 

 the parent stopped, and the otters commenced 

 to fish. Now it was evident why the ott^r had 

 brought her cubs miles up the river, for as they 

 searched the pool they found two fish nearly as 

 long, almost as strong, but more active in the 

 water than even an otter; they were salmon, 

 and had run up with the last flood. The hunt 

 was long and furious, but in the end the com- 

 bined effort of the family was too much for the 

 .fish. Two clean-run salmon were hauled ashore 

 and devoured to the accompaniment of much 



