Evening star., 1936-08-16
Mosozins Section

The night that followed was one of
, torture and it, together with his re-
lease by the man, next morning, left
lasting impression on his brain. Al
though expecting the worst, he had
been handled gently, and every wild
thing knows the difference between
the touch OF mercy and that of vio-
lence. The experience had resulted in
an overpowering curiosity to see more
of this silent trapper. Corvus took to
following Murray constantly.
Nearly a month went by. Murray
was having good fortune with the
mink, but he saw no reason for limit
ing his attention to them. The island
was rich in wlld-life, and he decided to
enlarge his range and penetrate the
island further than the fringe of the
back beach.
He came one morning, ready for
exploration, lett his pack in palmetto
near the landing and plunged into the
semi-tropical jungle which covered the
interior. An hour or two later he came
out on the shore of a small lagoon, and
skirting the edge, found a narrow
beach at one end. In the damp soil
there he found something at which he
stared in surprise and pleasure.
Bear" he murmured. "sure as fate,
bear track. The first sign I've seen in
many a year What luck" Murray
bent down and followed the great i'm
prints through the grass until they
faded out on the leaf-strewn floor of
the jungle; then he returned to the
lagoon. sat down on an old pine stump
and looked again at the first tracks he
had found
Wonder if that old trap of mine
will hold hm?" he asked himself. The
springs amt what they used to be.
but it's worth tryin'. I'll just bring it
over and set it for luck"
A few days later, Joe returned to the
lagoon and set to work. Several yards
from the old stump he cleared an area
of grass and made slight depression
! in the ground. Then drawing from the
sack huge contrlvance, he carried it
to the spot and laid it therein. 1t was
monstrous thing. with serrated steel
jaws. and after putting it in the de-
PRESTON he stood erect, reached into
his pocket on his hip. and groped there
moment unhurriedly, then with
growing lmpatience He pulled out the
handkerchief. shook it vigorously and
again explored the pocket without
success.
Thunder. he muttered. I've lost
that Jack screw. There's no hole in the
pocket either. Where on earth could
it be-"
The loss of the small tool was
serious. Without it, the huge springs Of
the trap were all but unmanageable,
as it was quite out of the question to
force them down by hand. 1t was gone.
however. beyond any doubt, and Muir
ray looked about him and picked out
stout oak sapling with which to con-
struct pry. After considerable diff
ficulty he got leverage enough and,
using his feet as well as his hands, set
the springs; the jaws gaping widely.
A Finally the setting was complete ex-
cept for the bait. Joe rose from his
kneeling position and reached for the
bag. AS he did so. his right foot struck
clod, throwing the toe of his boot be-
hind his other heel and, losing his
balance, he pitched forward. Even as
he fell he tried to twist aside. but it
was too late, His body cleared the
trap, but the right knee struck full
upon the pan. In an instant those huge
jaws leaped upward and together;
hoarse yell broke from him and he
struck the ground and twisted over on
one side.
Stunned by the catastrophe, Muir
ray lay motionless for moment; then
f no yyrithad n hoi,t and ctr,,0Ulad ,,r> ~,