he first. It seemed that the
dam-builders were not content to depend altogether on the crooked,
scraggly alder-growth all about them, but demanded in their
foundations a certain proportion of the straighter timbers and denser
branches of the birch. It was quite evident that they knew just what
they were doing, and how best to do it.

While the building was going on, yet another pair of beavers appeared,
and the work was pressed with a feverish energy that produced amazing
results. The Boy remembered a story told him by an old Indian, but
not confirmed by any natural history which he had come across, to the
effect that when a pair of young beavers set out to establish a new
pond, some of the old ones go along to lend a hand in the building of
the dam. It was plain that these workers were all in a tremendous
hurry; and the Boy could see no reason for haste unless it was that
the majority of the workers had to get back to their own affairs. With
the water once fairly brought under control, and the pond deep enough
to afford a refuge from enemies, the young pair could be trusted to
complete it by themselves, get their house ready, and gather their
supplies in for the winter. The Boy concluded to his own satisfaction
that what he was now watching was the analogue, in beaver life, to one
of those "house-raising" bees which sometimes took place in the
Settlement, when the neighbours would come together to help a man get
up the frame of a new house. Only, as it seemed to him, the beavers
were a more serious and more sober folk than the men.

When this wilderness engineering had progressed for an hour under the
watchers' eyes, Jabe began to grow very tired. The strain of physical
immobility told upon him, and he lost interest. He began to feel that
he knew all about dam-building; and as there was nothing more to learn
he wanted to go back to camp. He glanced anxiously at the young face
beside him--but there he could see no sign of weariness. The Boy was
aglow with enthusiasm. He had forgotten everything but the wonderful
little furry architects, their diligence, their skill, their
cooperation, and the new pond there growing swiftly before his eyes.
Already it was more than twice as wide as when they had arrived on the
scene; the dam was a good eight inches higher; and the clamour of the
flowing stream was stopped. No, Jabe could see no sympathy for himself
in that eager face. He was ashamed to beg off. And moreover, he was
loy