in spreading them out to gloat over, but I think his chief joy was in
the collecting. And when some comrade was found possessed of a novelty
that stirred his cupidity, the pleasure of planning a campaign to secure
possession, the working out of the details, and the glory of success,
were more to Waddy than any other form of riches or exploit.

[Illustration]

The Pack-rat is the Waddy of the mountains, or Waddy was the Pack-rat of
the school. Imagine, if you would picture the Pack-rat, a small creature
like a common rat, but with soft fur, a bushy tail, and soulful eyes,
living the life of an ordinary rat in the woods, except that it has an
extraordinary mania for collecting curios.

There can be little doubt that this began in the nest-building idea, and
then, because it was necessary to protect his home, cactus leaves and
thorny branches were piled on it. The instinct grew until to-day the
nest of a Pack-rat is a mass of rubbish from one to four feet high, and
four to eight feet across. I have examined many of these collections.
They are usually around the trunks in a clump of low trees, and consist
of a small central nest about eight inches across, warm and soft, with a
great mass of sticks and thorns around and over this, leaving a narrow
entrance well-guarded by an array of cactus spines; then on top of all,
a most wonderful collection of pine cones, shells, pebbles, bones,
scraps of paper and tin, and the skulls of other animals. And when the
owner can add to these works of art or vertu a brass cartridge, a buckle
or a copper rivet, his little bosom is doubtless filled with the same
high joy that any great collector might feel on securing a Raphael or a
Rembrandt.

I remember finding an old pipe in one Rat museum. Pistol cartridges are
eagerly sought after, so are saddle buckles, even if he has to cut them
surreptitiously from the saddle of some camper. And when any of these
articles are found missing it is usual to seek out the nearest Rat
house, and here commonly the stolen goods are discovered shamelessly
exposed on top. I remember hearing of a set of false teeth that were
lost in camp, but rescued in this very way.

A FREE TRADER

"Pack" is a Western word meaning "carry," and thus the Rat that carries
off things is the "Pack-rat." But it has another peculiarity. As though
it had a conscience disturbed by pilfering the treasure of another, it
often brings back what may be considered a fair exchange. T