134 ON THE EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS 
watched to make sure that the humans were 
really going away. Then she returned to her 
kittens. 
(Bill told somebody later that he wanted to 
investigate, but his wife was afraid.) 
The hunting was so good that summer that 
Lucy had no occasion to risk a chicken raid, or to 
try again the dubious experiment of tackling a 
fawn. There were plenty of rabbits, grouse, 
mice, and other small things, and after she left 
her kittens and the winter colds came on, Lucy 
was stout and sleek, with a fine, thick coat. But 
with the accumulation of the snow, the burrowing 
in of the woodchucks, and, more or less, of the 
mice, the departure of many of the birds, and the 
keen competition with the craftier foxes for the 
game that remained, Lucy found the pickings 
scanty again, and began to move about. She 
grew bold once more, and twice raided chicken 
yards, leaving her telltale track in the snow. 
Traps began to ‘be set for her once again, and 
hunts were organized; but she managed to escape 
the traps, and she outran the dogs, and the end 
of the winter found her ready to rear a second 
