"SWIPING SIME." 



BY HAROLD L. BAILEY. 



ADDLE over to 

 that willow, Billy, 

 that's the 'i' ; see 

 that champed - up 

 grass on the butt? 

 I am going to put a 

 trap on that, and I'll 

 bet ye I get one afore 

 afore morning. There, I guess that will 

 do all right. Now let's go upstream ; 

 the next place will be yours." 



The light sneak boat sped rapidly 

 upstream under the powerful strokes of 

 the older boy in the stern. They had 

 not gone far, however, before Jim, who 

 was sitting in the bow, pointed to a 

 large brown heap of dry weeds and 

 sticks on the edge of the cove. 



"There you are, Billy," said he, and 

 the boat was forthwith directed toward 

 this brown heap which we knew was 

 a muskrat's house. According to the 

 unwritten law of trappers, whereby 

 each takes his turn, this "setting place" 

 fell to Billy, and he immediately 

 began looking for a suitable spot to set 

 his trap on it. He was much more 

 careful than many boy trappers, and it 

 was sometime before he had the small 

 steel device concealed with moss in the 

 little path around the nest. At length 

 he was satisfied, and started the boat at 

 a lively rate up the stream. Nothing 

 was said by either for some time until 

 Billy broke the silence. 



"Jim," said he, "it looks to me as 

 though some-un had been along here 

 ahead of us. I jest see a trap .stick, 

 and there's a place where it looks 's'o 

 the nose of a boat had been run ashore." 

 "Who do you suppose it can be?" 

 asked Jim. 



"Don't know, unless it's that 'Swiping 

 Sime,' and if he sees our traps 'twould 

 be all day with um, and he might take 

 our boat, too, if he 'got on' to where we 

 kept it. Old Thummy Pearson and Big 

 Jake's Billy, who have been trapping all 

 their lives, say they never see no such a 



thief for traps in all their born days as 

 Sime." 



"Well, maybe 'taint him, and if 'tis 

 he won't know we're setting here," said 

 the younger of the two, encouragingly. 

 With this they kept on upstream, and 

 put out all of their traps, although the 

 suspicious Billy occasionally stopped to 

 listen, and kept his eyes peeled, they 

 saw no further evidences of the enemy, 

 and returned to their landing-place at 

 "Stillwater." 



The sky was just glowing red over 

 the eastern woods as the two chums 

 met at the landing the next morning, 

 and started upstream through the frosty 

 river mist. 



There was nothing in the first trap, 

 but the next, one of Billy's, was sprung 

 and pulled out the length of the chain. 

 There was naught but a few hairs in it, 

 however. As they paddled up to the 

 next "setting place" Jim remarked ex- 

 citedly that the trap was not in sight, 

 and on reaching out got hold of the 

 chain. As he pulled it in a large bunch 

 of tangled weeds and sticks came up, 

 in the midst of which was a stiffened 

 muskrat with one foot held securely in 

 the trap. The next trap was likewise 

 not to be seen, but when Jim pulled it 

 in he found only a muskrat's foot in it. 

 This was not an uncommon occurrence, 

 and he was about to throw it away, 

 when Billy, who had eyed it very sharp- 

 ly, stopped him. 



"Hold on, let's look at that," said he 

 in a mysterious tone. Jim handed it 

 over. 



"Aha! That's jest what I thought," 

 said Billy. "That foot was never twist- 

 ed off by the rat himself ; don't you see 

 it's cut off even. By gee! I'll bet that 

 was 'Sime,' yesterday, and he's been up 

 here ahead of us this morning; only he 

 didn't see our first traps nor the boat. 



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