m better by seeing than by me trying to tell you
about them."

"How about otter?" asked Hal.

"Steel traps for them, and we have to be some pertic'lar how we set 'em.
There's nary a critter that I know of more suspicious of man," replied
Alec. "In the fall and spring we get 'em with water sets. I got one this
fall up at one of the beaver dams. I cut a hole in the middle of the dam
so that the run-off from the pond was all through this but not enough to
lower the pond and bring the beavers to stop up the hole. I made the
passage only eight or nine inches wide and set the trap in the water at
the upper end. The first otter to come along tried to go through that
opening and I had him. Sometimes when we find a point of land running
out into a lake or big stream we'll find an otter trail across it where
the critter has taken a short cut. Then we set a trap in the water at
one end. Water sets are best, because there is no human scent. In the
winter we set under the ice, and I'll show you a couple of sets of that
kind before you go back."

"And foxes?" prompted Upton.

Alec grinned. "They're worse than otter," he confessed. "Ye think ye ken
all about the critters, and then ye meet up with one that just gives ye
the laugh, like the silver that's hanging around here. I've tried every
set I know of for that feller, but he's still grinning at me. And this
crust ain't going to help matters any. It's bad enough in dry snow, but
with a crust there won't be anything doing. In the fall I use water sets
where I can. One of the best is at a shallow spring, four or five feet
across. About a foot and a half from the shore put a moss-covered stone,
or a sod, so that it will come just above the level of the water.
Half-way between this and the shore set the trap, covering the jaws,
springs and chain with mud or wet leaves from the bottom. The pan should
be just under water and on this place a little piece of moss or sod so
that it will come an inch above the water. On the outer stone or sod put
a small piece of bait and a little scent. Mr. Fox comes along, smells
the bait and promptly investigates. He disna like to wet his feet, and
the bit of covering on the pan of the trap looks like a good
stepping-place. Then you have him.

"Ye must take care to leave everything in a perfectly natural state. I
wade up the outlet and take care not to touch the banks. Some trappers
boil the traps in hemlock boughs to kill the scent. Others just leave