y and kept well out of his way. Neither knew that the
other was an ally. Meanwhile the beavers continued their work with
greater caution. The water in the pond had now risen to a point where
the engineers had begun the construction of three lodges. On the third
day the destructive instinct of the otter began its work. He began to
examine the dam, close down to the foundation. It was not long before he
found a weak spot to begin work on, and with his sharp teeth and small
bullet-like head he commenced his drilling operations. Inch by inch he
worked his way through the dam, burrowing and gnawing over and under the
timbers, and always through the cement. The round hole he made was fully
seven inches in diameter. In six hours he had cut it through the
five-foot base of the dam.

A torrent of water began to rush from the pond as if forced out by a
hydraulic pump. Kazan and Gray Wolf were hiding in the willows on the
south side of the pond when this happened. They heard the roar of the
stream tearing through the embrasure and Kazan saw the otter crawl up to
the top of the dam and shake himself like a huge water-rat. Within
thirty minutes the water in the pond had fallen perceptibly, and the
force of the water pouring through the hole was constantly increasing
the outlet. In another half hour the foundations of the three lodges,
which had been laid in about ten inches of water, stood on mud. Not
until Broken Tooth discovered that the water was receding from the
houses did he take alarm. He was thrown into a panic, and very soon
every beaver in the colony tearing excitedly about the pond. They swam
swiftly from shore to shore, paying no attention to the dead-line now.
Broken Tooth and the older workmen made for the dam, and with a snarling
cry the otter plunged down among them and out like a flash for the creek
above the pond. Swiftly the water continued to fall and as it fell the
excitement of the beavers increased. They forgot Kazan and Gray Wolf.

Several of the younger members of the colony drew themselves ashore on
the windfall side of the pond, and whining softly Kazan was about to
slip back through the willows when one of the older beavers waddled up
through the deepening mud close on his ambush. In two leaps Kazan was
upon him, with Gray Wolf a leap behind him. The short fierce struggle in
the mud was seen by the other beavers and they crossed swiftly to the
opposite side of the pond. The water had receded to a half of