WEASELS 



had served to entice it into the trap, and I con- 

 fess that, judging from past experiences, I half 

 expected that it would vanish on the instant and 

 leave me with the empty trap in my hands. But 

 this one made no attempt even to escape by 

 darting out of the opening, though a red squirrel 

 or even a chipmunk would hardly have let such 

 an opportunity slip. So I closed the trap hur- 

 riedly and carried it to the house, where I trans- 

 ferred my prisoner to a cage where it could be 

 observed more satisfactorily. 



It proved to be a female, and her fur looked 

 as white and thick as that of a mid-winter 

 specimen. What chiefly surprised me was her 

 quietness and apparent docility, there being no 

 exhibition of fear on her part at any time, 

 though her big black eyes occasionally took on 

 an expression of alarm at some sudden and unac- 

 customed noise or movement of the cage. 



Whenever I touched the cage, she would ap- 

 proach as if to examine my hand, but without 

 6 8i 



