n the broad feet of the animal could be seen long and
strong curving claws. Its snout was sharp as that of a greyhound--though
not so prettily formed--and a white stripe, passing from its very tip
over the crown, and bordered by two darker bands, gave a singular
expression to the animal's countenance.

It was altogether, both in form and feature, a strange and
vicious-looking creature. Norman recognised it at once as the
"blaireau," or American badger. The others had never seen such a
creature before--as it is not an inhabitant of the South, nor of any
part of the settled portion of the United States.

The badger when first seen was creeping along with its belly almost
dragging the ground, and its long snout projected horizontally in the
direction of the marmot "village." It was evidently meditating a
surprise of the inhabitants. Now and then it would stop, like a pointer
dog when close to a partridge, reconnoitre a moment, and then go on
again. Its design appeared to be to get between the marmots and their
burrows, intercept some of them, and get a hold of them without the
trouble of digging them up--although that would be no great affair to
it, for so strong are its fore-arms and claws that in loose soil it can
make its way under the ground as fast as a mole.

Slowly and cautiously it stole along, its hind-feet resting all their
length upon the ground, its hideous snout thrown forward, and its eyes
glaring with a voracious and hungry expression. It had got within fifty
paces of the marmots, and would, no doubt, have succeeded in cutting off
the retreat of some of them, but at that moment a burrowing owl that had
been perched upon one of the mounds, rose up, and commenced hovering in
circles above the intruder. This drew the attention of the marmot
sentries to their well-known enemy, and their warning cry was followed
by a general scamper of both tawnies and leopards towards their
respective burrows.

The blaireau, seeing that further concealment was no longer of any use,
raised himself higher upon his limbs, and sprang forward in pursuit. He
was too late, however, as the marmots had all got into their holes, and
their angry "seek-seek" was heard proceeding from various quarters out
of the bowels of the earth. The blaireau only hesitated long enough to
select one of the burrows into which he was sure a marmot had entered;
and then, setting himself to his work, he commenced throwing out the
mould like a terrier. In