THE LIFE AND DEATH OF LUCY 125 
tance. Then she took her meal back up the 
ledge, having no desire to be wakened by a gun 
barrel poked into the den. 
Now, our trapper friend, having already three 
cats to show by way of proof, had told his story 
at last (and collected his bounty), and he didn’t 
hesitate to add as new embellishment the tale of 
the fourth cat, Lucy, who could steal bait out of 
a trap, and was minus a toe on her off front paw, 
thanks to her first lesson. Naturally, since traps 
seemed of no avail, somebody suggested a hunt. 
That was how it happened that as Lucy was re- 
turning one morning from pheasant. hunting 
down in the young pine thickets at the base of the 
mountain, taking the stone wall for a path, as it 
was easier going, she heard suddenly the deep, 
purposeful baying of two hounds on her trail. 
Well, if the dogs were after her, they would 
have considerable of a jaunt! Lucy’s idea of 
getting away from a dog was simply to run and 
run till she had gone so far the dog gave up in 
despair. So now she headed straight up the 
mountain, on over the ledges, through the scrub 
above, over the bare, wind-swept summit cone, 
