was a fuss in a twinkling. He stamped with, 

 botli fore feet, showed his teeth, humped his 

 back, and turned both ends of his tiny body, like 

 a pinched wasp, toward every one that came 

 near him. The others knew what that jiarticu- 

 lar twist meant and kept their distance. I knew 

 the import of that movement, too. These young 

 things had already learned their lesson of self- 

 defense. I believe that a three-weeks-old skunk 

 could hold his own against the world. 



The dusk was deepening rapidly in the ravine ; 

 and I was just about to shout to see how they 

 would take it, when a long black snout was 

 thrust slowly out from beneath a piece of the 

 ledge, and the mother of the young skunks 

 appeared. Without giving them a look, she 

 crawled off around a rock. The family followed ; 

 and here they all fell to eating something— what, 

 I could not see. I tried to scare them away, but 

 at my commands they only switched their tails 

 and doubled into defensive attitudes. Finally 

 with some stones I drove them, like so many huge 

 crabs, into the den, and— horrors ! they were eat- 

 ing one of their own kin, a full-grown skunk, the 

 father of their family, for all they knew or cared, 

 [287] 



