streets had taught him that it is
possible to know too much; that some things are better forgotten as soon
as learned. He recalled what had been said about the illegality of
trapping beaver. If Pat and Alec were doing a little quiet poaching it
was none of his business. They would not thank him for interfering. Of
course the trap must be theirs. There was no one else trapping in the
Hollow. The poachers there had been so much talk about were working
miles beyond the Hollow, on the long line. He remembered now that
neither Pat nor Alec had once suggested a trip up this way. Good reason.
They wanted to avoid any embarrassing questions about those queer little
mounds, for he knew now that each one covered a trap-pan. The boughs and
the snow were to keep the holes from freezing over. He counted the
mounds. There were three at one house and four at the other.

"Youse better cover this up and make yer get-away while the going's
good," he muttered as he replaced the boughs and packed the snow over
them until the mound was as nearly as he had found it as it was possible
to make it. Then he made a hasty examination of the houses. The snow was
melted on the tops of the two around which the traps were set, sure sign
that they were inhabited. This was caused by the warm air from the
interior escaping through the air holes which are always left in the top
of a beaver house. The third was solidly crusted over, a reasonably sure
indication that it was abandoned.

Having satisfied his curiosity Sparrer started back to the dam and
followed it to the woods on the farther shore. He had intended to go
straight across the pond to the second dam, but his discovery of the
traps had aroused his sense of caution and he decided that it would be
better to keep to the woods. On the broad white expanse of the pond he
would be altogether too conspicuous should it happen that curious eyes
were watching. As he skirted the shore of the pond through the brush his
thoughts were so busy with his discovery that for the time being he
quite forgot to keep an eye out for rabbit signs. The illegality of this
attempt to catch beaver in a closed season did not impress him at first.
He had had nothing to do with game and game laws. They were entirely
outside his range of experience. In fact, he failed utterly to grasp the
purpose back of the laws and like a great many others he regarded them
as a restriction of individual liberty, and a violation as of no very