g a
bit of dry thicket close by, to be a hiding-place for Jabe and himself
that night, a bunch of spruce and fir where he knew the beavers would
not come for supplies, he hurried back to the camp for a bite of
dinner, giving wide berth to all the ponds on the way. Building a tiny
camp-fire he fried himself a couple of slices of bacon and brewed a
tin of tea for his solitary meal, then lay down in the lean-to, with
the sun streaming in upon him, for an hour's nap.

The night having been a tiring one for his youthful nerves and
muscles, he slept heavily, and awoke with a start to find the sun a
good two hours nearer the horizon. Sleep was still heavy upon him, so
he went down to the edge of the brook and plunged his face into the
chilly current. Then, picking up an axe instead of his rifle, he
returned up-stream to the dam.

As he drew near, he caught sight of a beaver swimming down the pond,
towing a big branch over its shoulder; and his conscience smote him at
the thought of the trouble and anxiety he was going to inflict upon
the diligent little inhabitants. His mind was made up, however. He
wanted knowledge, and the beavers would have to furnish it, at
whatever cost. A few minutes of vigorous work with the axe, a few
minutes of relentless tugging and jerking upon the upper framework of
the dam, and he had made a break through which the water rushed
foaming in a muddy torrent. Soon, as he knew, the falling of the
pond's level would alarm the house-dwellers, and bring them out to see
what had happened. Then, as soon as darkness came, there would be a
gathering of both households to repair the break.

[Illustration: "HE CAUGHT SIGHT OF A BEAVER SWIMMING DOWN THE POND."]

Hiding in the bushes near by, he saw the water slowly go down, but for
half an hour the beavers gave no sign. Then, close beside the break, a
big fellow crawled out upon the slope of the dam and made a careful
survey of the damage. He disappeared; and presently another came, took
a briefer look, and vanished. A few minutes later, far up the pond,
several bushy branches came to the surface, as if they had been
anchored on the bottom and released. They came, apparently floating,
down toward the dam. As they reached the break, the heads of several
beavers showed themselves above water, and the branches were guided
across the opening, where they were secured in some way which the
watcher could not see. They did not so very greatly diminish the
waste, bu