ut of sight when the dog appeared, passing his master
as unheedingly as if the latter had been a part of the tree against
which he leaned. At the foot of the inclined trunk Pal stopped, plainly
puzzled. No trace of the alluring scent could he catch, though he
eagerly nosed all about the tree and even partly up the trunk. Not
having the agility of the woodland creature, however, he could not
proceed far enough to recapture the scent. So he was obliged to content
himself with ranging the neighborhood in the hope of picking up the
trail, a fruitless search from which he was at length recalled by the
whistle of his master. And though the trail invariably ended in some
such manner, Pal never seemed to weary of the chase.

As a rule a fox frequents a somewhat restricted territory in which, if
he is strong enough, he rules supreme, driving away all trespassers.
Silver Spot, however, was an unusual fox in many ways and often
demonstrated his individuality by wandering far afield.

Late one afternoon, while ranging the woods several miles to the east of
the home den, he paused beside a clear forest stream to drink. As he
raised his head from the refreshing water, his alert ears caught a faint
stir. Soundless as a shadow he melted into the bushes at his back just
as a queer procession came into view. At the head, advancing with an air
of slow dignity, walked a shining black animal with two broad white
stripes down her back and fur so long that it rippled silkily in the
breeze; behind, in a row, came five little ones, exact counterparts of
their mother. Upon a flat stone at the edge of the stream they all
crouched for a drink. Silver Spot did not offer to molest them, but
watched curiously as, their thirst quenched, they again took up their
slow march. He even followed at a discreet distance, watching the
youngster who brought up the rear and who often had to be hustled back
into the line from which his curiosity had led him.

Night found Silver Spot in an upland pasture at the edge of the forest,
a place of black stumps and thickets of juniper and wild berries,
silvered over with the radiance of the full moon. He drifted lightly
across the pasture, alert for any adventure which the night might
present, and brought up beside a rude building from which came an
enticing odour. Silver Spot had not tasted chicken since, as a cub, he
had rushed to meet his mother returning from a foraging expedition, but
the recollection of the delic