TJpweekts the Shadow. 131 



and jerked it savagely. The mother whirled on him, 

 growling deep down in her throat; the youngster 

 backed away, scared but snarling. At last she flung 

 the game down. The kittens fell upon it like furies, 

 growling at each other, as I had seen the stranger lynxes 

 growling once before over the caribou. In a moment 

 they had torn the carcass apart and were crouched, 

 each one over his piece, gnarling like a cat over a 

 rat, and stuffing themselves greedily in utter forgetful- 

 ness of the mother lynx, which lay under a bush some 

 distance away and watched them. 



In a half hour the savage meal was over. The 

 little ones sat up, licked their chops, and began to 

 tongue their broad paws. The mother had been blink- 

 ing sleepily ; now she rose and came to her young. A 

 change had come over the family. The kittens ran to 

 meet the dam as if they had not seen her before, 

 rubbing softly against her legs, or sitting up to rub 

 their whiskers against hers — a tardy thanks for the 

 breakfast she had provided. The fierce old mother too 

 seemed altogether different. She arched her back 

 against the roots, purring loudly, while the little ones 

 arched and purred against her sides. Then she bent 

 her savage head and licked them fondly with her 

 tongue, while they rubbed as close to her as they 

 could get, passing between her legs as under a bridge, 



