  White and soft over the wide, sloping upland lay the snow, marked across with the zigzag gray lines of the fences, and spotted here and there with little clumps of woods or patches of bushy pasture. The sky above was white as the earth below, being mantled with snow-laden cloud not yet ready to spill its feathery burden on the world. One little farm-house, far down the valley, served but to emphasize the spacious emptiness of the silent winter landscape. Out from one of the snow-streaked thickets jumped a white rabbit, its long ears waving nervously, and paused for a second to look back with a frightened air. It had realized that some enemy was on its trail, but what that enemy was, it did not know. After this moment of perilous hesitation, it went leaping forward across the open, leaving a vivid track in the soft surface snow. The little animal’s discreet alarm, however, was dangerously corrupted by its curiosity; and at the lower edge of the field, Meanwhile the enemy, a large mink, was following on the trail with the dogged persistence of a sleuth-hound. Sure of his methods, he did not pause to see what the quarry was doing, but kept his eyes and nose occupied with the fresh tracks. His speed was not less than that of the rabbit, and his endurance was vastly greater. Being very long in the body, and extremely short in the legs, he ran in a most peculiar fashion, arching his lithe back almost like a measuring-worm and straightening out like a steel spring suddenly released. These sinuous bounds were grotesque enough in appearance, When the mink reached the second thicket, his keen and experienced craft penetrated at once the poor ruses of the fugitive. Cutting across the circlings of the trail, he picked it up again with implacable precision, making almost a straight line through the underbrush. When he emerged again into the open, the rabbit was in full view ahead. The next strip of woodland in the fugitive’s path was narrow and dense. Below it, in a patch of hillocky pasture ground, sloping to a pond of steel-bright ice, a red fox was diligently hunting. He ran hither and thither, furtive, but seemingly erratic, poking his nose into half-covered moss-tufts and under the roots of dead stumps, looking for mice or shrews. He All at once he crouched flat upon the snow, quivering with excitement, like a puppy about to jump at a wind-blown leaf. He had seen the rabbit emerging from the woods. Absolutely motionless he lay, so still that, in spite of his warm coloring, he might have been taken for a fragment of dead wood. And as he watched, tense with anticipation, he saw the rabbit run into a long, hollow log, which lay half-veiled in a cluster of dead weeds. Instantly he darted forward, ran at top speed, and crouched before the lower end of the log, where he knew the rabbit must come out. Within a dozen seconds the mink arrived, and followed the fugitive straight into his ineffectual retreat. Such narrow quarters were just what the mink loved. The next instant the rabbit shot forth—to be caught in mid-air by the waiting fox, and die before it had time to realize in what shape doom had come upon it. All unconscious that he was trespassing upon another’s hunt, the fox, with a skilful jerk of his head, flung the limp and sprawling victim across his shoulder, holding it by one leg, and started away down the slope toward his lair on the other side of the pond. As the mink’s long body darted out from the hollow log he stopped short, crouched flat upon the snow with twitching tail, and stared at the triumphant intruder with eyes that suddenly blazed red. The trespass was no less an insult than an injury; and many of the wild kindreds show themselves possessed of a nice sensitiveness on the point of their personal dignity. For an animal of the mink’s size the fox was an overwhelmingly powerful antagonist, to be avoided with care under all ordinary circumstances. But to the disappointed hunter, his blood hot from the long, exciting chase, this present circumstance seemed by no means ordinary. Noiseless as a shadow, and swift and stealthy as a snake, he sped after the leisurely fox, and with one snap bit through the great tendon of his right hind leg, permanently laming him. As the pang went through him, and the maimed leg gave way beneath his weight, the fox dropped his burden and turned savagely For perhaps half a minute the two lay motionless, though quivering with the intensity of restraint and expectation. Then, with lightning suddenness, the fox repeated his dangerous rush. But again the mink was not there. As composed as if he had never moved a hair, he was lying about three yards to one side, glaring with that same immutable hate. At this the fox seemed to realize that it was no use trying to catch so elusive a foe. The realization came to him slowly—and slowly, sullenly, he arose and turned away, ignoring the prize which he could not carry off. With an Having thus recovered the spoils, and succeeded in scoring his point over so mighty an adversary, the mink might have been expected to let the matter rest and quietly reap the profit of his triumph. But all the vindictiveness of his ferocious and implacable tribe was now aroused. Vengeance, not victory, was his craving. When the fox had gone about a dozen feet, all at once the place where the mink had been crouching was empty. Almost in the same instant, as it seemed, the fox was again, and mercilessly, bitten through the leg. This time, although the fox had seemed to be ignoring the foe, he turned like a flash to meet the assault. Again, however, he was just too late. His mad rush, the snapping of his long jaws, availed him nothing. The mink crouched, eying him, ever just beyond his reach. A gleam of something very close to fear came into his furious eyes as he turned again to continue his reluctant retreat. Again, and again, and yet again, the mink repeated his elusive attack, each time inflicting a deep and disastrous wound, and each time successfully escaping the counter-assault. The A few seconds later the mink once more delivered his thrust. Feinting towards the enemy’s right, he swerved with that snake-like celerity of his, and bit deep into the tender upper edge of the fox’s thigh, where it plays over the groin. It was a cunning and deadly stroke. But in recovering from it, to dart away again to safe distance, his feet slipped, ever so little, on the shining surface of the ice. The delay was only for the minutest fraction of a second. But in that minutest fraction lay the fox’s opportunity. His wheel and spring were this time not too late. His jaws closed about the mink’s slim backbone and crunched it to fragments. The lean, black shape straightened out with a sharp convulsion and lay still on the ice. Though fully aware of the efficacy and finality of that bite, the fox set his teeth, again and again, with curious deliberation of movement, into the limp and unresisting form. Then, with Charles G. D. Roberts’ THE BACKWOODSMEN Illustrated Cloth 12mo $1.50 “‘The Backwoodsmen’ shows that the writer knows the backwoods as the sailor knows the sea. Indeed, his various studies of wild life in general, whether cast in the world of short sketch or story or full-length narrative, have always secured an interested public.... Mr. Roberts possesses a keen artistic sense which is especially marked when he is rounding some story to its end. There is never a word too much, and he invariably stops when the stop should be made.... Few writers exhibit such entire sympathy with the nature of beasts and birds as he.”—Boston Herald. “When placed by the side of the popular novel, the strength of these stories causes them to stand out like a huge primitive giant by the side of a simpering society miss, and while the grace and beauty of the girl may please the eye for a moment, it is to the rugged strength of the primitive man your eyes will turn to glory in his power and simplicity. In simple, forceful style Mr. Roberts takes the reader with him out into the cold, dark woods, through blizzards, stalking game, encountering all the dangers of the backwoodsmen’s life, and enjoying the close contact with Nature in all her moods. His descriptions are so vivid that you can almost feel the tang of the frosty air, the biting sting of the snowy sleet beating on your face, you can hear the crunch of the snow beneath your feet, and when, after heartlessly exposing you to the elements, he lets you wander into camp with the characters of the story, you stretch out and bask in the warmth and cheer of the fire.”—Western Review. L. W. Brownell’s PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE SPORTSMAN NATURALIST Illustrated Cloth 8vo $2.00 net “It often occurs that he who finds delight in woodcraft finds also a pleasure in preserving by photography what he finds to interest him in his wanderings in the open. To such this book appeals with a peculiar force, for the author is evidently at once familiar with wood and field life and an adept with the camera.”—Boston Transcript. Photography for the Sportsman Naturalist is in THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN LIBRARY SERIES The other volumes in the series are The American Thoroughbred, American Yachting, Bass, Pike, Perch, and other Fish, Big Game Fishes of the United States, The Deer Family, Guns, Ammunition, and Tackle, Lawn Tennis and Lacrosse, Musk-Ox, Bison, Sheep, and Goat, Riding and Driving, Rowing and Track Athletics, Salmon and Trout, The Sporting Dog, The Trotting and the Pacing Horse, Upland Game Birds, and The Water Fowl Family. The price of each volume is $2.00 net. PUBLISHED BY Ernest Ingersoll’s LIFE OF ANIMALS: THE MAMMALS Colored Plates and Photographic Illustrations Cloth 8vo $2.00 net “Bountifully illustrated with new colored plates drawn and painted by the author’s daughter, and with more than a hundred photographs, many of them taken by the author himself, the text of the volume gives a succinct and lucid account of the life of the mammals,... their ancestry, their place in nature, their means of livelihood, and their general characteristics.”—New York Herald. “An exceedingly entertaining and informing book containing the latest information concerning the whole group of mammals, that branch of animal creation most interesting to man because he is one himself. There are numberless works on this topic or related ones, but we know of none that is so comprehensive as this in a single volume.... There is an amazing amount of information written simply but with authority. Every man, woman, and child who takes up this book will hate to put it down for a moment.”—Philadelphia Inquirer. “There are pictures and anecdotes for the little ones of the family, adventures and curious habits to attract the eager minds of older lads, guiding information and suggestion for the student, and the whole is treated in the light of the latest facts. Many novelties, apart from the simple, homely, almost humorous method of handling a truly scientific subject, characterize the volume. Nowhere else is so intelligently traced the relation between the past (fossil history) and the present of the families in this most important of all animal tribes; nowhere else will be found explained many curious customs, such as the origin of the habit of storing winter food, how the opossum came to ‘play ’possum,’ and why beavers dam up streams. The book is written from the American point of view, yet the whole world is covered and the newest material has been utilized. It would be difficult to find a book on natural history which could make a stronger appeal to the reader, old or young, who is interested in natural history than this volume by Ernest Ingersoll.”—Brooklyn Daily Eagle. “There is not a page of the whole volume but is full of interest, and the many splendid photographs of the existing and prehistoric mammals add greatly to the value of the book. One lays it down with reluctance and with the feeling that the author has added largely to the sum of human knowledge.”—Toronto Globe. “A large and admirable book.... Interesting as fiction, scientifically exact, simply expressed, this well-prepared volume will almost literally repeople the earth for many readers. Those who already love natural history will rejoice in its fascinating richness of information, while it would be difficult to imagine a more readable and comprehensive introduction to the numerous big and little brethren of the woods and fields.”—Chicago Record-Herald. PUBLISHED BY Lieut.-Col. J. H. Patterson’s IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA Illustrated Cloth 8vo $2.00 net “Nyika merely means wilderness, and its grip is conveyed very forcefully to the pages of Colonel Patterson’s book, which holds the reader as closely as the Nyika holds those who venture into it.... Colonel Patterson has a particularly interesting way of describing things he sees.... The whole volume is filled with exciting incidents and many illustrations from photographs of odd animals and queer people.”—Boston Transcript. THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO AND OTHER Illustrated Cloth 8vo $2.00 net “The account of how Colonel Patterson overcame the many difficulties that confronted him in building his bridge across the Tsavo River makes excellent reading, while the courage he displayed in attacking, single-handed, lions, as well as rhinoceroses and other animal foes, was surpassed by his pluck, tact, and determination in quelling a formidable mutiny which once broke out among his native workers.”—New York Herald. Theodore S. Van Dyke’s THE STILL HUNTER Illustrated, Cloth 8vo $1.75 net “A vivid account of the most exciting sport in the world.... The record of years of experience.... It is crammed full of valuable advice for the deer hunter, and has the advantage of having been written before hunting became more of a pastime than a serious business, requiring untiring energy, great patience, cool nerves, and perfect sight.”—Chicago Tribune. Edwyn Sandys’ SPORTING SKETCHES Cloth 12mo $1.75 net “Mr. Sandys is a real sportsman with a wide experience, and he writes agreeably and without effort to make his work unusual or picturesque. It is just the sort of description you would expect from a man who had really done the things narrated.... He describes in such manner that even one who has never held gun or rod cannot but partake of something of the writer’s enthusiasm.”—Chicago Tribune. PUBLISHED BY OUTDOOR STORIES FOR BOYS AND GIRLS By J. W. Fortescue Cloth, 16mo, $.80; Leather, $1.25 By Jack London Illustrated by G. Varian Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 By Charles Major Illustrated by A. B. Frost Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 UNCLE TOM ANDY BILL Illustrated. Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 By Edwyn Sandys Illustrated. 12mo, $1.50 TRAPPER JIM Illustrated. 12mo, $1.50 By Ernest Ingersoll Illustrated by William McCullough Cloth, 12mo $1.50 By Stewart Edward White Colored Illustrations by Joseph Gleeson Cloth, 12mo, $1.20 net By Mabel Osgood Wright Illustrated with Photographs Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net GRAY LADY AND THE BIRDS Colored Illustrations Cloth, 12mo, $1.75 net PUBLISHED BY This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will be renamed. |
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