a full two minutes he stood listening. But he heard nothing
further and nothing moved within his range of vision. Charging it up to
an overwrought imagination and chiding himself for a silly chump he
moved on.

Presently he discovered fresh rabbit sign, and this drove everything
else out of his head. Slowly he moved forward, his rifle cocked and
ready. Profiting by his experience with Pat the day before he scanned
every little irregularity in the surface of the snow with suspicious
eyes. Presently he discovered a little mound ahead of him and a bit to
one side of the path he was following. It seemed to Sparrer that it was
if anything a trifle whiter than the surrounding snow. Study it as he
would, to his untrained eyes it bore no resemblance to an animal. But
presently he noticed two dark spots, and it flashed over him that they
were eyes, intently watching him. Slowly he started to raise his rifle,
but at the first movement the white mound dissolved into a long legged
animal which bounded behind a stump and was gone before he could get his
gun to his shoulder.

Disappointed, but resolved that the next one should not get the jump on
him Sparrer kept on. Sign was plentiful everywhere, and his hopes ran
high. So fearful was he of another rabbit's repeating the surprise of
the first one that as he stole forward he kept his gun at his shoulder,
until at last he was forced to lower it from sheer weariness. But in
spite of his care and watchfulness he saw no more game and at last sat
down on an old log to rest. He was tired and if the truth be known
somewhat discouraged. He was too new at the hunting game to realize that
his was no more than the usual experience of the hunter and that his
chances of success, if no better, were no worse than in the beginning.

CHAPTER XIV

THE SILVER FOX

The log on which Sparrer was seated was near the edge of the swamp and
commanded a view of the small upper pond, while he himself was more or
less screened from observation from that direction by a fringe of young
birch and alders. He had sat there perhaps ten minutes, and was just
beginning to realize that he would have to move on in order to keep warm
when his eyes, idly scanning the farther shore, detected something
moving among the trees beyond the farther end of the little dam.

Instantly he was all attention, his eyes glued to the spot. He forgot
that he was beginning to feel chilled. A warm glow of excitement rushed
over