when some whim caused him to turn about as if to
retrace his steps. The lucivee was close behind, but with a motion like
the bounding of a rubber ball he quickly vacated the spot and again
stood peering from behind a tree.

And now the Hermit witnessed an amusing performance. Some strange freak
seemed to possess the porcupine, for he slowly circled the tree behind
which the lynx crouched, stopping every few steps to sniff at the bark
or to peer up into the branches. For a moment the big cat held his
ground, but the sight of the queer apparition bearing down upon him was
too much for his high-strung nerves. With a snarl he scrambled up the
tree, where he crouched upon a branch, glaring down at the animated
leaf-pile. Kagh shambled around the tree, his nose to the ground as if
hunting for something. Then he continued on his placid way, disappearing
down the gray vista of the forest, apparently ignorant of the fact that
there was a lucivee in the woods.

[Illustration: He crouched upon a branch, glaring down at the animated
leaf-pile.]

A sudden puff of wind now carried the scent of the man to the crouching
lynx. By a stiffening of the animal's muscles the Hermit knew that his
presence had been detected. As the branch was close enough to bring the
cat within springing distance, he deemed it time to assert himself.
Accordingly, he sprang to his feet with a shout, while the lynx,
horrified at the sudden clamor, dropped to the ground. Shrinking off
into the shadows the lucivee vanished as completely as if swallowed up
by the earth.

The setting sun was casting long shadows among the trees and the air was
fast growing chill with the coming of night when the Hermit climbed the
rail fence into his clearing, to be met by an enthusiastic Pal. The man
had learned what it was that had been haunting his trail and, his mind
at rest, he felt no further uneasiness. He did not believe that the lynx
would attack him, at least while food was abundant. Though he rarely
carried a gun, he always bore his mattock or something which could be
used as a weapon in case of need.

The big cat, too, had come to know all he desired of the man whose
footsteps he had been dogging for days. His savage nature craved the
deeper solitudes and the next evening found him journeying northward,
away from the settlements with their danger from men and guns. Wood mice
were plentiful and once the lynx caught a deer, dropping upon it from an
overhanging branc