share the home of the widowed one. She knew 
the fate that had befallen her mate, for she 
had been beside him at the moment when the 
trap had snapped about his foot. But she 
had been unable to help him. She had brought 
other members of the colony, but they, too, 
had been powerless to save him. 
The loss of one member of the colony was 
serious enough, but the thing that worried the 
old beavers was the knowledge that there were 
probably many other traps waiting for the 
unwary. Father Beaver, Uncle Castor, and 
Chisel-tooth knew this very well indeed, for 
they had lived during the bad days before the 
forest preserve had been marked out. They 
had, as a consequence of that fact, a very good 
idea of the situation, for they had witnessed 
more than one grim struggle for existence. 
It was clear to all the old beavers that some¬ 
thing must be done about this matter of traps, 
if the colony was to continue. Therefore, Father 
Beaver, Uncle Castor and Chisel-tooth started 
out that same night. Because of their past 
experience, they had a pretty definite idea of 
what was to be done. 
First of all, they swam out to the dam, and 
then floated slowly along it. They were seek¬ 
ing for something which they could use to 
make traps harmless to beavers. Whenever 
they came upon a bit of driftwood, they ex¬ 
its 
