accoon and dog. Then Pal backed off, bleeding in several
places, while the big raccoon, panting and disheveled, still stood with
back against the tree.

For a moment the two glared at each other. Then Pal's look wavered. He
glanced up into the tree and thence into the forest. Then he yawned as
if he had lost all interest in the affair and, trotting off, was soon
out of sight among the dark trees. Ringtail was free to continue his way
homeward, limping slightly but proud of his victory. Before going to
sleep he spent some time cleansing his matted fur and restoring it to
its usual soft and lustrous state.

A few nights later Ringtail met with a strange adventure, one which left
him thoroughly puzzled. He had left his hollow tree early in the
evening, very hungry after his hours of fasting. Coming upon a bed of
wake-robins, which covered the forest floor with their spotted leaves,
he stopped to dig up a few of the peppery roots. Washing them in a
near-by stream, he devoured them, blinking his eyes comically over an
unusually hot one. Then he wandered on in search of beechnuts, his
appetite only made keener by this peppery salad.

Not far from the rail fence which guarded the clearing of the Hermit, he
came upon a little open glade carpeted with moss and surrounded by great
trees. From the side opposite Ringtail a strange yellow radiance
streamed out over the glade. In its brightness a number of rabbits were
disporting themselves, jumping about as if in some queer dance, pausing
occasionally to stare into the center of that fascinating glow. Now and
then one would vanish into the darkness to right or left, but another
was sure to take its place.

Ringtail stared, the light reflected from his bright little eyes. Slowly
he crept nearer, lured by that strange radiance, fearful, yet unable to
resist. The rabbits vanished at his approach, while a tiny wood-mouse
which had stolen up, fled with a squeak of panic. But for once Ringtail
had no eyes for plump wood-mice. He stared a moment, then moved aside
into the darkness where his eyes were not so blinded, and looked about
him.

The light came from a small object set upon the ground. Ringtail walked
all around it, passing within a few feet of a spot where the Hermit sat
concealed in a thicket of wild cherry. The man had secreted himself
behind his dark-lantern in such a way that the wind would blow toward
him, so no scent of human presence reached the inquisitive raccoon, wh