far from
the domain of the bear whose claim he had preempted.

[Illustration: And then occurred a memorable battle.]

Mokwa, too exhausted to follow, glared after him until he had vanished
among the trees; then, much the worse for his fight, he turned again to
the spoils, now doubly his by the right of conquest as well as of
discovery. The owners of the hive, too busy to molest him, went on about
their work of salvaging the contents and Mokwa made a wonderful meal,
although he licked up a number of bees in his eagerness for the honey.
Then, glutted with the feast, he crept away to lick his bruises and
recover from the fray.

Mokwa fell asleep with the pleasant assurance that no more would the
hated signature appear above his own on the hemlock trunk. The spring
had called him to great adventure, but the summer had led him home and
left him master of the forest.

THE ADVENTURES OF KAGH, THE PORCUPINE

As the moon swung clear of the pointed fir tops and shone full upon a
tall spruce tree in the wilderness, a dark object, looking not unlike a
great bird's nest upon one of the branches, suddenly came to life. Kagh,
the porcupine, had awakened from his dreamless slumber and, though
scarce two hours had elapsed since his last satisfying meal upon tender
poplar shoots, he decided that it was time to eat. With a dry rustling
of quills and scratching of sharp claws upon the bark, he scrambled
clumsily down the tree. Then, with an air of calm fearlessness which few
of the wilderness folk can assume, he set off toward the east, his short
legs moving slowly and awkwardly as if unaccustomed to travel upon the
ground.

Now, when Kagh left the spruce tree, it seemed he had in mind a definite
goal; yet he had not gone far when his movements took on the aimlessness
characteristic of most of a porcupine's wanderings. Here and there he
paused to browse upon a young willow shoot or to sniff inquiringly at
the base of some great tree. Once he turned sharply aside to poke an
inquisitive nose into a prostrate, hollow log, where a meal of fat white
grubs rewarded his search.

Kagh emerged from the thick, tangled underbrush upon a faint trail,
invisible to all save the keen eyes of the forest folk. Here travel was
easier and he made better time, though it could not be said that he
hurried. He had not gone far upon the trail when he heard behind him a
soft pad, pad. At the sound he paused a moment to stare indifferently,
expect