Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1915-11-18

own Kazan understood nothing Of
them. He had killed two of the crea-
lures that had dared to invade their
home. To the little beavers he had
been as merciless as the gray lynx
that had murdered Gray VOLTS first
children on the top of the Sun Rock.
Now that he had sunk his teeth into
the flesh of his enemies his blood was
filed with a frenzied desire to kill.
He raved along the edge Of the pond.
snarling at the uneasy water. under
which Broken Tooth had disappeared.
All of the beavers had taken refuge
in the pond, and it surface was heav-
ing with the passing of many bodies
beneath. Kazan came to the end o.
, the dam. This was new Instructive
ly he knew that it was the work OF
Broken Tooth and his tribe and for a
! few moments he tore fercely at the
matted sticks and limbs. Suddenly
there was an upheaval of water close
to the dam, fifty feet out from the
bank, and Broken Tooth's big gray
head appeared. For a tense half
minute Broken Tooth and kazan
measured each other at that distance
Then Broken Tooth drew his wet
shining body out of the water to the
| top of the dam, and squatted fiat, fac
| ing Kazan. The old patriarch was
alone Not another beaver had
shown himself.
The surface of the pond had now
become quiet. Vainly Kazan tried to
discover a footing that would allow
him TO reach the watchful invader.
But between the solid wall of the dam
and the bank there was tangled
| framework through which the water
rushed with some violence. Three
times Kazan fought to work his way
through that tangle, and three times
his efforts ended in sudden plunges
into the water. All this time Broken
Tooth did not move. When at last
Kazan gave up the attack the old en-
gineer slipped over the edge oil the
dam and disappeared under the water.
He had learned that Kazan, like the
| lynx could not fight water and ne
spread the news among the members
of his colony.
Gray Wolf and Kazan returned to
the windfall and lay down In the
warm sun. Half an hour later Brok.
en- Tooth drew himself out on the
opposite shore of the pond He was
followed by other beavers. Across
the water they resumed their work
as if nothing had happened. Inc tree
cutters returned to their trees. Hall
dozen worked in the water, carry
ing loads of cement and twigs. me
middle of the pond was their dead
line. Across this not one OF them
passed. A dozen times during the
hour that followed one of the beavers
swan up to the dead line and rested
there, looking at the shining little
bodies of the babies that kazan had
killed. Perhaps it was the mother,
and nerhaps some finer instinct I'M
known to Kazan told this to Gray
Wolf. For Gray Wolf went down
twice to sniff at the dead bodies, and
each time-without seeing-she Went
when the mother beaver had come TO
the dead line.
The first fierce animus had worn
itself from Kazan's blood. and he now
watched the beavers closely. He had
learned that they were not lighters
They were many to one and yet they
ran from him like a lot Of rabbits.
broken Tooth had not even struck at
him. and slowly it grew upon MIN that
these invading creatures that used
both the water and land would nave
to he hunted as he stalked the rabbit
and the partridge. Early in the after
noon he slipped off into the bush, fol-
lowed by Gray Wolf. He had often
begun the stalking of rabbit by
moving away from it and he employed
this wolf trick now with the beavers.
Beyond the windfall he turned ana
began trotting up the creek, with the
wind. For a quarter of mile the