30 The Fox 



nearly the spot from which the fox had started less 

 than half an hour before. The hoxind had taken the 

 trail at this point, and had gone to the south — and 

 here the fox was back again! 



For two hours I remained near the den, but nothing 

 was to be seen of the dog. Toward evening he 

 returned home. Knowing the cunning of foxes, and 

 believing that they can reason in a general way, I was 

 curious to learn more about them. Accordingly on 

 the third day succeeding the incident of the saga- 

 cious female fox, I led the hound near the den and 

 put him upon her trail. As far. as I could judge, 

 they passed over the same course as before; the fox 

 appearing after about the same lapse of time, taking 

 up her station near the den, where she remained for 

 a short time and then disappeared. I went home in 

 about an hour, and the hound was not heard again that 

 day; but in the morning he was resting on the door- 

 mat, apparently as happy as though an old fox had 

 not fooled him. 



This, with other data, furnished me material for 

 serious thought in regard to this foxy family. Having 

 satisfied myself sufficiently, as I believed, to warrant 

 conclusions, I once more repeated the experiment with 

 the hound and the female fox, with practically identi- 

 cal results. 



