nger
signal.

"It's of no use for me to try to follow him," thought the hunter. "It is
too dry for me to track him. He may not be so badly scared, after all.
I'll just find a good place and wait."

So the hunter found an old log behind some small trees and there sat
down. He could see all around Paddy's pond. He sat perfectly still. He
was a clever hunter and he knew that so long as he did not move he was
not likely to be noticed by any sharp eyes that might come that way.
What he didn't know was that Lightfoot had been watching him all the
time and was even then standing where he could see him. And another
thing he didn't know was that Paddy the Beaver had come out of his
house and, swimming under water, had reached a hiding-place on the
opposite shore from which he too had seen the hunter sit down on the
log.

So the hunter watched for Lightfoot, and Lightfoot and Paddy watched the
hunter.

CHAPTER XVI

VISITORS TO PADDY'S POND

That hunter was a man of patience. Also he was a man who understood the
little people of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows. He knew that if
he would not be seen he must not move. So he didn't move. He kept as
motionless as if he were a part of the very log on which he was sitting.

For some time there was no sign of any living thing. Then, from over the
tree tops in the direction of the Big River, came the whistle of swift
wings, and Mr. and Mrs. Quack alighted with a splash in the pond. For a
few moments they sat on the water, a picture of watchful suspicion. They
were looking and listening to make sure that no danger was near.
Satisfied at last, they began to clean their feathers. It was plain that
they felt safe. Paddy the Beaver was tempted to warn them that they were
not as safe as they thought, but as long as the hunter did not move
Paddy decided to wait.

Now the hunter was sorely tempted to shoot these Ducks, but he knew that
if he did he would have no chance that day to get Lightfoot the Deer,
and it was Lightfoot he wanted. So Mr. and Mrs. Quack swam about within
easy range of that terrible gun without once suspecting that danger was
anywhere near.

By and by the hunter's keen eyes caught a movement at one end of Paddy's
dam. An instant later Bobby Coon appeared. It was clear that Bobby was
quite unsuspicious. He carried something, but just what the hunter could
not make out. He took it down to the edge of the water and there
carefully washed it. Then he cli