movements, and Henry soon saw that he was an able
master who tolerated neither impudence nor trifling. In his town
everybody had not only to work, but to work when, where and how the
leader directed. It gave the hidden forest runner keen pleasure to
watch the village with its ordered life, industry and happiness.

He felt once more his sense of kinship with the animals. He was a
thoughtful youth, and it often occurred to him that the world might be
made for them as well as for man.

The beaver was an animal of uncommon intelligence and he could learn
from him. The big gray fellow was a general of ability, perhaps with a
touch of genius. All his soldiers were working according to his
directions with uncommon skill and dispatch. Henry concentrated his
attention upon him, and presently he had a feeling that the leader saw
him, had known all the time that he was lying there in the thicket, and
was not afraid of him, convinced that he would do no harm. It added to
his pleasure to think that it was so. The old fellow looked directly at
him at least a half dozen times, and presently Henry was compelled to
laugh to himself. As sure as he was living that big old beaver had
raised his head a little higher out of the water than usual, and
glancing his way had winked at him.

He forgot everything else in the play between himself and the beaver
king, and a king he surely was, as he had time to direct, and to direct
ably, all the activities of his village, and also to carry on a kind of
wireless talk with the forest runner. Henry watched him to see if he
would give him the wink again, and as sure as day was day he dived
presently, came up at the near edge of the pool, wiped the dripping
water from his head and face and winked gravely with his left eye, his
expression being for the moment uncommonly like that of a human being.

Henry was startled. It certainly seemed to be real. But then his fancy
was vivid and he knew it. The circumstances, too, were unusual and the
influences of certain remarkable instances was strong upon him.
Moreover, if the king of the beavers wanted to wink at him there was
nothing to keep him from winking back. So he winked and to his great
astonishment and delight the old king winked again. Then the beaver,
feeling as if he had condescended enough for the time, dived and came up
now on the far side of the pool, where he infused new energy into his
subject with a series of rapid commands, and hurried forwa