MISCHIEVOUS IMAGINATIONS 95 



a multitude of corpses hanging in the air, danghng 

 from long sticks, and their tails waggled limply as 

 they swung in the breeze — sure sign that they 

 were dead : the word must out. I did not shriek 

 or fly ; what would have been the good of it ? I 

 drew carefully nearer, and added up the sum to 

 fifteen — fifteen, and all limp and unnatural — and 

 in my heart I was grateful, not, perhaps, that there 

 were so many survivors, but that there was one 

 survivor in particular. Then I ventured to inspect 

 the terrible means by which their end had been 

 brought about. Luckily, one of the traps was still 

 unsprung, but every one of the others had got its 

 victim, and it seemed to me that if the man had 

 only set more traps not a rat, except myself, would 

 have lived to tell the tale. 



And this was the manner of the trap ; I trust 

 that I shall be able to make it all clear to you. 

 The actual parts were : (1) A long hazel wand, 

 stiff enough to have plenty of spring, and pliant 

 enough to bend easily ; (2) a little knob of wood, 

 about an inch long, with a deep notch cut into one 

 side of it ; (3) a foot of string ; (4) a snare of fine 

 pliant wire ; (5) a strong peg pointed at one end, 

 with a deep notch cut in the blunt end. Simple 

 materials and inexpensive. I much prefer to see 



