him from giving the alarm at once. He waited a 
moment, sitting bolt upright to sniff the air; 
then half-minded to flee, but filled with curi¬ 
osity, he moved slowly towards the man. 
Wallace heard him, and gave the low whistle, 
with which he had formerly been accustomed 
to call O-Go to him. At that sound, memory 
stirred still more strongly in the mind of the 
little beaver. He trembled with excitement and 
with fear; yet he did not leave, but, as though 
drawn by some power beyond his control, he 
came to the ranger’s feet. 
Had Wallace, even then, made any sudden 
movement, O-Go would have fled, but the 
ranger was too wise to commit such an error. 
He began to talk quietly to O-Go, and at the 
same time to lower his hand. In that hand lay 
a small potato. Its smell completed the awak¬ 
ening of O-Go’s memory, and he accepted the 
gift. Then he submitted to being petted. 
Thereafter, whenever it was possible for 
Wallace to do so, he visited the slashing. Al¬ 
ways he brought with him a potato or two; 
so that O-Go came to look for his visits. Soon 
the two were as friendly as ever, and O-Go did 
not flee, even when some other beaver, catch¬ 
ing the man-odor, gave the alarm. Learning 
to disregard any warning is a dangerous thing 
for a wild animal, and loss of the fear of 
man is particularly likely to lead to disaster. 
105 
