LITTLE BEASTS OF FIELD AND WOOD 



himself and, sliding into the water, came swim- 

 ming in my direction, evidently with the inten- 

 tion of crossing over to the further bank of Old 

 River. Nearer and nearer he came until within 

 ten yards, when he turned about and started off, 

 looking over his shoulder at me as he went ; 

 but as I remained perfectly motionless he turned 

 again and came swimming back and forth before 

 me, sometimes hardly a dozen feet away. His 

 fur was in poor condition ; there was a spot in 

 the middle of his back where it was almost worn 

 off, and here was a miniature pool of water, a 

 tablespoonful perhaps, held in place by the longer 

 fur and loose skin of his sides, rolling about like 

 quicksilver with his every movement, but never 

 spilling and always full whenever he came up 

 from a dive. He soon began swimming in much 

 smaller circles, as if trying to locate some particu- 

 lar spot, and at last stopped and dived, perhaps 

 hoping to pass beneath the bridge and so out into 

 the river ; but presently he came up again on the 

 f 190 



