THE LIFE AND DEATH OF LUOY 121 
point in the circle, upon the tracks of the man 
who took the bait in, and that would instantly 
have intensified his suspicion. He would prob- 
ably have followed down these tracks, and at 
some bush or other the trapper’s carelessness 
would have allowed the bait to touch a twig and 
the fox would have connected the bait smell with 
the man track. That would have made him even 
more suspicious, and if, ultimately, he found the 
bait at the end of the man track, no matter how 
hungry he might be, the chances are Big Reddy 
would turn away. Hence the adjective “ foxy.” 
But Lucy and her tribe had no such keenness of 
nose, nor keenness of reasoning powers. Fish 
meant food—that was the extent of their logic— 
which is all right so far as it goes. With a snarl 
and a cuff, Lucy drove away her brother and 
pounced at one fish. The other sisters each 
sprang for the fish they spotted. 
An instant later there was a terrific yowling 
and screaming and thrashing of bodies. 
Lucy, because of her incredible speed of action, 
had twitched up her paw as she felt it descend on 
something cold and metallic, and the jaws of the 
