for though the forest preserve had many va¬ 
cation visitors in it, few of them ever came 
near that part of the pond where the lodges 
were located. 
Such visitors as did approach the pond, usu¬ 
ally reported that they had found little to re¬ 
ward them for their trouble; for the woods 
near the canal had been partly flooded by the 
lengthening of the dam. Moreover, the lodges 
were so located among the willows as to make 
it impossible for any visitor to get even a 
glimpse of them, unless he wished first to wade 
waist deep in the pond. As very few persons 
would take so much bother, the beavers were 
but seldom disturbed. 
Furthermore, a trip through the neighbor¬ 
hood of the lodges was to be made only with 
a great deal of noise. At the first sound made 
by an invader, the beaver who was standing 
guard at that moment was sure to thwack, 
and then every member of the colony at once 
disappeared. Thus the beavers on Patou were 
seldom disturbed, and their season of idle¬ 
ness was an exceedingly pleasant one. 
The young beavers had nothing to do ex¬ 
cept to eat, to sleep and to play. Naturally, 
their growth under such conditions was rapid; 
so that the end of August found O-Go, Ilg, 
and Ela weighing about fifteen pounds each. 
Their strength had increased accordingly; and 
94 
