them over night in running water. I wear clean gloves to handle the
traps. There are a lot of dry sets, some with bait and some without, the
latter being used in frequented runways. A very good set is to find an
old moss-covered log or stump and set the trap on the highest point,
covering it so that the whole thing looks just as it did before. Then
toss a big bait like a muskrat or rabbit eight or ten feet from it. Mr.
Fox is always suspicious, and before he goes too near anything like that
he will go to the highest point to look the ground over. That's when ye
get him. Of course, there mustn't be any other high point for him to get
on."

"You spoke of scents, Alec. I've read about them. What are they,
anyhow?" asked Upton.

For answer, Alec got up and went to a corner of the cabin and brought
forth an old fruit jar. Pat grinned. "Here's some," said Alec simply as
he unscrewed the cover while the boys crowded around. They took one
whiff and then fairly tumbled over each other to get away.

"Cover it up! Take it away!" howled Hal, holding his nose. "I won't be
able to eat a square meal for a week."

"Me too!" yelped Sparrer. "Dey has some awful smells in New York, but
dis is de limit."

"Jumping crickets! I should think that stuff would drive things away and
not attract 'em!" exclaimed Upton. "What is it, anyhow?"

"Skunk fat and mice cut up and put in the jar and hung in the sun until
thoroughly rotted, and then some skunk and muskrat scent added. Sorry
you don't like it," replied Pat. "A drop or two judiciously used seems
to be a great attraction for foxes and some other critters. Alec has got
another brand if you would like to sample it--fish oil made by cutting
up fish and letting them rot in the same way. It's a mighty good scent."

"No, thanks!" cried Hal hastily. "We'll take your word for it. What
about those stretching boards?"

"I'm coming to that," replied Alec. "Raw furs are handled in two ways,
'cased' and 'open.' Mink, marten, fox, fisher, weasel, muskrat, skunk
and bob cat are 'cased.' That is what these boards are for. We skin 'em
by cutting loose around the feet and then cutting down the back of the
hindlegs to and around the vent and then skin the hindlegs carefully,
and also the tail. Then the skin is turned back and stripped off the
body wrong side out to the ears, taking as little fat as possible. The
ears are cut off close to the head, and the skin is cut loose around the
eyes and nose. The