the thick-strewn stones behind you, the dense 

 tangle of dewberry-vines off on your left, the 

 heavy boots of your enemy and his unthinking 

 rage? 



I was vastly mistaken in that woodchuck. A 

 blanker, flabbier face never looked into mine. 

 Only the sudden appearance of death could have 

 brought the trace of intelligence across it that I 

 caught as the creature dropped on all fours and 

 began to wabble straight away from me over the 

 area of rough, loose stones. 



With a jump and a yell I was after him, mak- 

 ing five yards to his one. He tumbled along the 

 best he could, and, to my great surprise, directly 

 away from his hole. It was steep downhill. 

 I should land upon him in half a dozen bounds 

 more. 



On we went, reckless of the uneven ground, 

 momentum increasing with every jump, until, 

 accurately calculating his speed and the chang- 

 ing distance between us, I rose with a mighty 

 leap, sailed into the air and came down— just an 

 inch too far ahead— on a round stone, turned my 

 ankle, and went sprawling over the woodchuck 

 in a heap. 



[26] 



