ere is something aboot it that gets down
into a man and calls him, and he has to hit the trails and is no happy
until he does.

"The fur that we get in this country is muskrat, mink, otter, marten,
fox, lynx and once in a while fisher. Sometimes we get a few skunks, but
not many so far in as this. We used to get beaver, but it is against the
law to take the beasties at any time now."

"Which is the most valuable?" Hal interrupted.

"Black or silver fox. They're worth so much they don't count. I've
trapped ever since I was knee high to a speckled fawn and haven't taken
one yet. I dinna ken what they're worth, but I've heard that more'n
$2,500 has been paid for an extra prime skin."

"What makes 'em worth so much? Is it because the fur is so extra fine?"
asked Upton.

"Fine nothing!" Pat broke in. "If there is any poorer wearing fur than
fox I wish you'd show me. A large prime red fox will bring only four
dollars to perhaps six or seven in a year when fur is scarce and high,
and the fur of a black fox isn't any different or better. All that
difference in price is because once in a blue moon Nature gets tired of
red and tries black for a change, and people with more money than brains
pay the price because it is rare and they can wear something that mighty
few others can have. It's fox, just the same, and it will wear out just
as quickly as if it were common every-day red. It's a fad. But the
saints defind us from any more brains till afther we have the hide av
the black gintleman thot Jim and Alec have seen here in the Hollow!"

"Money does talk, doesn't it, Pat?" chuckled Hal. "Here's hoping you get
both the fox and the long price. By the way, what's a cross fox?"

"The prettiest baste in the woods," returned Pat promptly. "He has
black legs and underparts, black tail with white tip, and gray head and
body with a dark cross on the shoulders. But he's just a sport of the
red fox, a variation in between the red and black. A perfect specimen is
worth a lot of money, but nowhere near what a black will bring. Between
the red and all black there are a lot of variations of the cross, and
the price varies accordingly. But let's get back to regular fur instead
of freaks. Have you looked over that price list I brought in, Alec?"

Alec nodded. "I see otter and fisher are quoted just the same, $15 for
No. 1 prime. I think the two otter and the fisher we've got will grade
that all right. Up here," he continued, turning to the