The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1926-05-14

FIVE minutes they seemed to have no
particular object In view. Then Beav-
er-tooth himself struck straight for the
shore and climbed out. Others fol-
lowed him. Half dozen workers dis
appeared in the canals. AS many more
waddled out among the alders and
willows Eagerly Baree watched for
Umisk and his chuIns. At last he saw
them, swimming forth from one of the
smaller houses. They climbed out on
their pIayground-the smooth bar
above the shore of mud. Baree
wagged his tail so hard that his whole
body shook, and hurried along the
dam.
When he came out on the level strip
of shore, Umisk was there alone. nib
bling supper from long, freshly cut
willow. The other little beavers had
gone into thick clump of young al
ders.
This time Umisk did not run. He
looked up from his stick. BARGE
squatted himself, wiggling in a most
friendly and ingratiating manner. For
a few seconds Umisk regarded him.
Then. very coolly. he resumed his
supper.
Just as In the life Of every man
there is one big. controlling influence,
either Tor good or for bad. so in the
life of BARGE the beaver pond was
largely an arbiter of destiny. Where
he might have gone if he had not dis
covered it, and what might have hap
pened to him, are matters OF conJec-
ture. But 1t held him. 1t began to
take the place of the old windfall, and
in the beavers themselves he found
companionship which made up, in
way, for the loss of the protection and
friendship of Kazan and Gray Wolf.
This companionship, If it could be
called that, went just so far and no
farther, With each day that passed
the older beavers became more accus-
toned to seeing Baree. At the END
Of two weeks, IL Baree had gone away,
they would have missed him-but not
In the same way that Baree would
have missed the beavers. 1t was
matter of good-natured federation on
their part. With Raree it was differ-
emit. He was stili uskahis, as Nepeese
would have said; he still wanted moth
ering; he was still moved by the Pup
pyish yeaPnings which he had not yet
had the time to outgFow: and when
night came--to speak that yearning
quite plainly-he had the desire to go
into the big beaver house with Umask
and HIS chums, and sleep.
During the fortnight that followed
Beayer-tooth's exploit on the dam Ba-
rec ate his meals q mile up the creek.
where there were plenty Of erawfish.
But the pond was home. Night always
found him there. and large part OF
his day. He slept at the end OF the
dam. or on top of 1t on particularly
clear nights, and the beavers accepted
him as q permanent guest. They
worked in his presence as IL he did
not exist.
He still could not induce Umisk and
the other young beavers to join him in
play, and after the first week or so he
gave up his efforts. In fact. their play
puzzled him almost as much as the
dam-building operations OF the older
beavers. Umisk. for instance, was fond
of playing in the mud at the edge OF
the pond. He was like a very small
boy. Where his elders floated timbers
from three inches to foot In diane
ter to the big dam, Umisk brought
small sticks and twigs no larger
around than lead pencil TO his play
ground, and built make-believe dam
of his own.
Umisk would work an hour at
time on this play-dam as industriously
as his father and mother were working
on the big dam. and BARGE would lie
fat on his belly a few feet away.
watching him and wondering nightly.
He could see some reason for nibbling
at stIcks-he liked to sharpen his teeth
on sticks himself; but 1t puzzled him
to explain why Umisk so painstakingly
stripped the bark from the sticks and
swallowed 1t.
Another method Of play still further
discouraged Baree's advances. A short
distance from the spot where he had
first seen Umisk there was a shelving
bank that rose ten or twelve feet from
the water, and this bank was used by
the young beavers as a slide. 1t was
worn smooth and hard. Umisk would
climb up the bank at point where 1t
was not so steep. At the top Of the
slide he would put his tail out fiat be-
hind him and give himself shove.
shooting down the toboggan and land
ing in the water with big splash.
One afternoon, when the toboggan
was particularly wet and slippery
from recent use, Baree went up the
beaver-path to the top Of the bank,
and began investigating. Nowhere
had he found the beaver-smell so
strong as on, the slide. He began
shifting and incautiously went too far.