El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-12-18
The Little RED Rascal
CBy F. St Mars.)

4" HE fox came slowly down the
ride" in the wood. and the
moonlight feH upon him, so thai
you could see his lean jaws. his long
oleancut legs, his ripping, steely mus
cles. and the sweeping brush" with
its white tip. quite plainly.
This you could have seen in the case
Of any ordinary fox, but this one had a
kind of saddle, a type Of coloring not
usual among foxes. and one which
marked him. For the rest, ne was old,
he was big as foxes go. and what he
did not know about woodcraft and
hunting craft. thieving and raiding,
was Of no use 10 anybody
His path brought him-not without
twice having to turn aside because OF
the steel traps-to the end Of the wood.
and he launched out into the open coun-
try where the farms were. 1t was fear
fully cold so cold that a fine powdery
snow or sIAet law on the ground
every twig and blade of grass shone
in the moonlight like silver by reason
Of the frost upon it. and the breath
Of the beast rose like smoke upon the
cold frost
NOW there are two ways OF approach
ms farm. There is the foxes way,
and ordinary peoples way. The fox
approached that farm flat on his belly,
with his brush" lifted just off the
ground. and his head low. Every few
strides he stopped. glanced around,
shifted the air ana listened.
He was much iii the position of
soldier who is deliberately entering the
camp of an enemy. All the caution
he ever knew, or could think of at the
moment, he needed then. anG ne knew
it. The farms about there had received
Nisits from our 1Tiend before, you see.
everything ABOUT the place was as still
as death, put that proved nothing.
Who knows what might or might not
pc lurking IN the inky shadows cast
by the outbuildings, ana who could
guess2
An! The fox checked in his stride.
as II suddenly frozen by that awful
cold then leaped suddenly backward,
1t was trap. but 1 have no idea
now he knew it was there, for there
was nothing TO see-just nothing at
all II was, indeed. hidden under the
ground, being what is known as a box
trap, that Is 10 say box sunk in the
ground with lid that reVolves and
slides down into the trap carrying with
1t anything which may be so unfortu-
Eate as to tread upon {.
The farmer had even sprinkled fine
snow over the lid, but 1 fancy the
fox's whiskers and the inCb scribable
delicacy Of his upper lip told him that
the earth directly in front of his nose
did not smell quite so good as brown
English soil should, and so he had be-
come suspicious. Anything the least
little thing out of the ordinary will
arouse the suspicion Of the wild folk
At last he reached the shelter of the
stackyard, and was thankful TO snug
gle into the quite warmth of a hollow
beside a haystack for a while and be
out of that pestilential wind. Here. too.
ne could keep quiet and see what was
going on.
There would not seem to be much Of
interest TO watch in a farmyard at
uead OF a cold night would there? In
Sailly, however, there was quite a lot
lfst 10 recover after the alarm Of the
IoA passage were the mice: the Mace
seemed to become alive with them.
F.ats appeared next, in single scouts
Ilrst' then in companies. Thev began
TO harry the mice, the sparrows ro0sf-
ing under the beams of the farm build
lhgs, and finally each other-horribTe
orutes, cannibals and worse.
AIter them-in two senses of the
cat She nearly gave
the fox away by a fiendish sGuavl1
let out because she had ATTEMPTED tn
lie up in the very hollow in which
ne lay and received sharp, silent snap
for her pains.
Then there was the owl. who spread
terror and confusion among the rats
and the stoat who slid by like a long.
brown shadow; and the weasel a very
wlll-o-the- wisp Of n beast seen and
gone and seen again; and the bull. who
came blowing and stamping round the
outside hedge, looking for something I
70 fight and. finally, the little lean. I
IuruVe. half-starved mongrel. that /
came slouching round, seeking what he 1
might devour.
The fox did not see this last visitor I
arrive, however He was at business /
with the fowlhouse near by at the /
time. Indeed, he had, since there was 1
none other cDen. Dug himself ont an 4
of his own beneath the boards |
ana had barely got his nose into the 4
mole when the little monEreI came !
round tho corner and caught hold OF his \
tail-his MAGNIFICENT brush" 7 don't !
know II that dog really quite knew