scribable manner. Its top was a smoothly packed 
expanse of mud, on which a solitary beaver 
sat sentinel. He both saw and smelled the two 
visitors; but, as they were of his own kind, 
he neither dived nor gave warning. 
The pond, which O-Go and Thwacker 
found there, was not so large as the one from 
which they had come, but its size was suffi¬ 
cient for the needs of its colony, which was 
housed in a single large lodge. O-Go and 
Thwacker had never seen a beaver house of 
such great size, for those on Patou Pond were 
single-family lodges, while this one was occu¬ 
pied by three distinct groups. 
If the beavers of the upper dam were sur¬ 
prised at the visit of the two young friends, 
they in no way showed it; but permitted O-Go 
and Thwacker to go where they would, mak¬ 
ing no protest even when the strangers passed 
in and out of the lodge. Had O-Go and 
Thwacker wished to do so, they might have 
settled down in that colony as part of its regu¬ 
lar membership. 
This, however, the two friends had no in¬ 
tention of doing; their visit was entirely one 
of curiosity. Perhaps, they would come again; 
but, just now the night was too far advanced 
for them to delay longer. They climbed down 
the dam, and drifted slowly with the stream, 
returning to the lodges of their parents. 
135 
