f the pack burst into view, eyes gleaming
savagely and cruel teeth bared. There was but one alternative and the
fox took it.

Across the clearing the door of the log cabin stood open. For some time
the Hermit had been following the course of the chase from his bench
outside the door, his first feeling of exultation at the cunning and
fleetness of his pet gradually giving place to uneasiness and then to
genuine alarm for his safety. As Silver Spot came into view so closely
pressed, the Hermit sprang to his feet, but the fox heeded him not. With
a last effort he leaped the fence, sped across the clearing and through
the door which the man closed in the very teeth of the foremost hound.
The wild creature whom he had come to love had turned to him for
sanctuary, and not in vain.

The hunt was over and, while the big fox crouched in the corner
regaining his breath, the dogs raved unavailingly without. The hunter
soon arrived upon the scene and coaxed and threatened, but the Hermit
was firm. He told of his interest in the fox since the time he had found
him, a furry cub, playing before the home den, and of how again and
again he had watched him outwit his own dog. The hunter was at length
won over and departed with his hounds, even going so far as to promise
to hunt outside of Silver Spot's domain in the future.

The Hermit waited until man and dogs had vanished from sight; then he
opened the door of the cabin and stood aside. There was a flash of
reddish fur as Silver Spot bounded forth and away to the forest, his
splendid brush once more aloft and new courage in his heart.

WHEN THE MOON IS FULL

One summer night when the moon hung so low that it seemed to have become
entangled in the branches of a giant spruce, a comical furry face
wearing a black mask across the eyes appeared at an opening high up in a
tree. A moment later Ringtail, the big raccoon, scrambled to the ground
and set off in search of food. His brown fur was long and thick, and his
big tail with its seven dark rings was the pride of his heart. In the
wilderness, life is a serious business, yet the big raccoon enjoyed to
the utmost the blessings which Providence had heaped upon him.

Not far from the home tree lay a tamarack swamp to which Ringtail now
made his way, having in mind a certain still, deep pool, bordered with
rushes and lilies and teeming with fish, frogs, and tadpoles, fare
beloved of raccoons. While yet some distance from the pool