STUBBS THE BADGER 197 
and henceforth they hunted less with their parents, 
and more often alone, or in couples. In this litter 
of four there were two sows and two boars, of which 
one was the little badger who has hitherto been 
referred to as the ' eldest cub/ but because his legs 
and likewise his snout were short and stumpy, even 
for a badger, he was afterwards known in Knockdane 
as Stubbs. It is he with whom this history deals. 
The young ones opened the other galleries of 
the old ' earth/ and slept in dormitories away from 
the nursery. But in June, when the nights were 
short, and the badgers sometimes went hunting 
before the sun was well set, and stayed out until the 
dawn had broken over the hills, now and then it 
happened that morning overtook one of the family 
far from home, and, blinded by the early sunshine, 
he was obliged to seek some hide-up for the day. 
By August, Stubbs was almost full-grown, and 
his knowledge of field-craft was profound. He 
could detect a nest of young rabbits hidden any 
distance underground, and once he had located 
the place, no power on earth could hinder him from 
digging them out. He would work all 
night, dislodging stones and shovelling 
earth, if at the end there 
was a chance of a meal of 
rabbits. If, during 
