226 STUBBS THE BADGER 
for the winter's sleep. The last-named clearance had 
only just been effected, and the dormitory was in 
apple-pie order before the fox's intrusion. How- 
ever, the badger is nothing if not persevering, and 
Stubbs and Grunter decided to make one last effort 
to oust the invader. They entered the other gallery 
one night, prepared to turn their unwelcome lodger 
out of doors ; but the fox had opened up the ancient 
rabbit burrow to serve as his back door in case of 
emergency, and when the indignant badgers arrived, 
they found him ' not at home.' They congratulated 
themselves on having ousted him so easily, and 
began to refurnish their chamber. There happened 
to be a spell of warm dry weather just then, and 
the fox lay out in the woods without once returning 
to Larch Hill, so that they met with no hindrance. 
There is a clearing about two hundred yards from 
the mouth of the ' earth,' overgrown with dead 
grass. Here the badgers repaired for their harvest- 
ing. They tore up quantities of dry grass and moss, 
and twisted them into long wisps deftly enough. 
By the time Stubbs had made a selection of what 
he considered the finest and driest bedding, the 
clearing looked as though a herd of pigs had been 
rooting there. The path to the ' earth ' was littered 
with balls of grass and moss. Several times Grunter 
started home with a heavy load, but by the time 
she had reached the burrow she had dropped all 
