24 REDPAD THE FOX 
and left Redpad in undisputed possession of the 
upper gallery. 
Winter came round for the second time, and by 
now Redpad had come to his full strength. Knock- 
dane seldom sees hard frost or snow, but as a rule 
the south wind blows up a warm mist, and a steady 
rain drips through the leafless trees. 
In December rabbit-traps were set in Knock- 
dane, and Redpad was not long in finding them out. 
It was against regulations to set traps in the open, 
but Paddy Magragh, who was in charge of the 
trapping, was not particular ; and Redpad's first 
introduction to a rabbit-trap was the snap of steel 
jaws on his toe. He wrenched himself free, but 
he walked lame for many a day afterwards, and he 
had learned his lesson. He soon found out that 
the trapper made his morning and evening rounds 
with fair regularity, and he arranged that his own 
excursions should be made accordingly. He trotted 
round the traps just in front of Magragh, and when 
the latter arrived, more than half of them contained 
nothing but a severed rabbit's head. This happened 
two or three times, and then Magragh, who knew 
nearly as much about wood ways as Redpad himself, 
reversed the order in which he visited the traps, 
and presently caught the thief red-handed. 
' Every dog has his day, me fine lad,' muttered 
