and Eleanor
were quivering with excitement, as they saw the beavers making for the
trail.

"Let's see what is wrong?" whispered Polly, cocking her rifle in case of
emergency.

"Oh, don't do that!" cried Eleanor, catching hold of Polly's arm.

"Stop! Let go--that is how accidents happen. You drag on one's arm and
the trigger, all ready to fire, is pulled accidentally. I know what I am
about, so you need have no concern."

Eleanor felt chagrined and meekly followed Polly after this. They crept
through the woods without making a sound.

The two beavers reached the clearing where Noddy and Choko were grazing,
and the moment the boss saw the burros, he turned and snapped at the
foolish scout that had brought him this journey for naught! But the
subdued laughter from the girls made the beavers rush pell-mell into
the pond to wonder whether burros could laugh like that!

On the way back to their rock of observation, Polly said, "Beavers are
slow and awkward on land so that the agile panther, the alert wildcat,
or wolves and bears, form a constant menace to them. Because of their
unwieldy and short legs, they cannot escape quickly, but in water they
are wonderful swimmers, so, water being necessary to their safety, they
build their huts on the dams that will not bear up other wild animals.
If their dams were constructed solidly, the beavers would soon be
extinct, as forest savages would crawl over and glut on the helpless
prey."

"Didn't you say we could follow those other ones that went up-stream?"
asked Eleanor.

"Yes, come on," replied Polly, leading the way for some distance before
seeing a sign of a beaver again. Then suddenly, she clutched hold of
Eleanor's arm.

"Ah, there's Grandfather, hard at work!"

"Where--which?" cried Eleanor, eagerly.

"The one with a limp and a twisted back!"

The girls had reached a place where the stream widened and here they
found a great number of beavers at work. Some cutting, some dragging,
others swimming with aspens, willows and alders, and all ordered about
by an old crippled beaver.

But despite his twisted back and decided halt in gait, he moved about
quicker than the others, showing them where to place, how to saw, when
to cut the aspens, and other important details of construction.

"There are a lot of pines, Polly--why doesn't he use them?"

"A beaver doesn't like the smelly, pitchy wood, so they never cut them
unless they have to clear a roadway from an aspen g