and shining silver fox, face to face; the fox
desperate, showing his rows of beautiful teeth, but sinking belly deep
in the snow as he strove to escape. Already he was badly wounded. In
any case he was at the mercy of the lynx who, in spite of his greater
weight, had such broad and perfect snowshoes that he skimmed on the
surface, while the fox's small feet sank deep. The lynx was far from
fresh, and still stood in some awe of those rows of teeth that snapped
like traps when he came too near. He was minded, of course, to kill his
black rival, but not to be hurt in doing so. Again and again there was
in some sort a closing fight, the wearied fox plunging breathlessly
through the treacherous, relentless snow. If he could only get back to
cover, he might find a corner to protect his rear and have some fighting
chance for life. But wherever he turned that huge cat faced him, doubly
armed, and equipped as a fox can never be for the snow.

No one could watch that plucky fight without feeling his sympathies go
out to the beautiful silver fox. Rolf, at least, was for helping him to
escape, when the final onset came. In another dash for the woods the fox
plunged out of sight in a drift made soft by sedge sticking through, and
before he could recover, the lynx's jaws closed on the back of his neck
and the relentless claws had pierced his vitals.

The justification of killing is self-preservation, and in this case the
proof would have been the lynx making a meal of the fox. Did he do
so? Not at all. He shook his fur, licked his chest and paws in a
self-congratulatory way, then giving a final tug at the body, walked
calmly over the snow along the shore.

Quonab put the back of his hand to his mouth and made a loud squeaking,
much like a rabbit caught in a snare. The lynx stopped, wheeled, and
came trotting straight toward the promising music. Unsuspectingly he
came within twenty yards of the trappers. The flint-lock banged and the
lynx was kicking in the snow.

The beautiful silver fox skin was very little injured and proved of
value almost to double their catch so far; while the lynx skin was as
good as another marten.

They now had opportunity of studying the tracks and learned that the fox
had been hunting rabbits in a thicket when he was set on by the lynx.
At first he had run around in the bushes and saved himself from serious
injury, for the snow was partly packed by the rabbits. After perhaps an
hour of this, he had wea