ent to visit his new friends.
The Swift One and I were good comrades, but, try as I would, I could
never find her tree-shelter. Undoubtedly, had nothing happened, we
would have soon mated, for our liking was mutual; but the something did
happen.

One morning, the Swift One not having put in an appearance, Lop-Ear
and I were down at the mouth of the slough playing on the logs. We had
scarcely got out on the water, when we were startled by a roar of rage.
It was Red-Eye. He was crouching on the edge of the timber jam and
glowering his hatred at us. We were badly frightened, for here was
no narrow-mouthed cave for refuge. But the twenty feet of water that
intervened gave us temporary safety, and we plucked up courage.

Red-Eye stood up erect and began beating his hairy chest with his fist.
Our two logs were side by side, and we sat on them and laughed at him.
At first our laughter was half-hearted, tinged with fear, but as we
became convinced of his impotence we waxed uproarious. He raged and
raged at us, and ground his teeth in helpless fury. And in our fancied
security we mocked and mocked him. We were ever short-sighted, we Folk.

Red-Eye abruptly ceased his breast-beating and tooth-grinding, and ran
across the timber-jam to the shore. And just as abruptly our merriment
gave way to consternation. It was not Red-Eye's way to forego revenge so
easily. We waited in fear and trembling for whatever was to happen. It
never struck us to paddle away. He came back with great leaps across the
jam, one huge hand filled with round, water-washed pebbles. I am glad
that he was unable to find larger missiles, say stones weighing two
or three pounds, for we were no more than a score of feet away, and he
surely would have killed us.

As it was, we were in no small danger. Zip! A tiny pebble whirred
past with the force almost of a bullet. Lop-Ear and I began paddling
frantically. Whiz-zip-bang! Lop-Ear screamed with sudden anguish. The
pebble had struck him between the shoulders. Then I got one and yelled.
The only thing that saved us was the exhausting of Red-Eye's ammunition.
He dashed back to the gravel-bed for more, while Lop-Ear and I paddled
away.

Gradually we drew out of range, though Red-Eye continued making trips
for more ammunition and the pebbles continued to whiz about us. Out
in the centre of the slough there was a slight current, and in our
excitement we failed to notice that it was drifting us into the river.
We pad