7
THE NATIONAL SUNDAY MAGAZINE
A BASKET OF FISH By Charles C. D. Roberts
much like an exaggerated weasel, but
almost black In color. Its head was
almost triangular; Its eyes, set near
together, were bright and cruel. It
came half-way across the meadow,
then stopped, and eyed for some time
the tethered horse and the deserted
wagon. Seeing nothing to tako alarm
at, It made a wide circuit, ran behind
the cabin, and reappeared, as the fox
had done, at the corner nearest to the
wagon. Prom this point of vantage it
surveyed the situation anew, n little
spark of blood-red fire alternately
glowing and fading In Its eyes as Its
keen nostrils caught the scent of the
fish.
Satisfied at length that there was
no danger within range, the mink
glided up to the wagon. The horso It
paid no heed to. It circled tho wagon
a couple of times In a nervous, Jerky
run, its head darting this way and
that, till Its nose assured It beyond
question that the fish It scented were
In the wagon Itself. Thereupon, for
the mink lacks the fox's hair-splitting
astuteness and does not tako long to
make up Its mind, It clambered
nimbly up through one of the wheels,
and fell straightway upon the fish
basket.
MOW the tramp, courteous In his dep
1N redatlons, had taken thought to
refasten the basket. The mink was
puzzled. The hole In the top of the
basket, though he might have
squeezed his head through it, was not
large enough to let him reach the fish.
He began Jerking the basket and pull
ing it about savagely. The back of
the wagon consisted of a hinged flap,
and the fisherman had left It hanging
down. Tho basket, dragged this way
and that, came presently to the edge,
toppled over, and fell heavily to tho
ground, on its bulging side. Tho fas
tening came undone, and the cover
flopped half-open. The mink dropped
down beside It, flung himself upon It
furiously, and began Jerking out and
scattering the contents, tearing
mouthfuls from one fish after another
In a paroxysm of greed, as If he
feared they were still alive and might
get away from him.
The basket emptied and his first
rage glutted, the mink now fell to
the business of making a serlous.meal.
Selecting a fish to his taste, he. ate it
at great leisure, leaving the head and
the tall upon tho grass. Then he
picked out a larger one, as If he re
garded the first as merely an appe
tizer. As he gnawed luxuriously at the
silver-and-buff, vermlllon-spotted tit
bit, an Immense shadow floated be
tween him and the sun. He did not
take time to look up and see what it
was. It was as If the touch of the
shadow had loosed a powerful spring.
.He simply shot from his place, at
such speed that tho eye could not dis
tinguish how he did It, and in the
minutest fraction of a second was
curled within the empty fishing bas
ket, which still lay on Its side, half
open. A pair of long, black, sickle
curved talons, surmounted by thickly
feathered grey shanks, clutched at the
place where he had stood.
Furious at having missed her strike,
the great horned owl, that tigress of
the air, flapped up again on her
soundless, downy wings, and swooped
suddenly at the basket, as if trying to
turn It over. As her talons clawed at
the wlckerwork, feeling for a hold,
the head of the mink, on its long,
snaky neck, darted forth, reached up,
and struck its fine white fangs Into
her thigh.
But the great owl's armour of
feathers, though it looked so soft and
fluffy, was in fact amazingly resist
ant. The mink's long teeth reached
the flesh, and drew blood: hut he
gained no grip. That steel-muscled
thigh was wrenched from his Jaws,
leaving him with an embarrassing
mouthful of down. He Jerked his head
Continued from Page -I)
Into cover again, Just as the bird
made another lightning clutch nt
liini.
For all his rage, the mink kept his
wits about him. He knew tho owl for
one of his most dangerous rivals and
adversaries. He knew that he could
kill her If once he could reach her
throat, or get his grip fixed on one of
her mighty wings, close to the base.
But that if kept him prudent. Ho was
too well aware that In an open combat
he was more than likely to get his
neck or his back Into the clutch of
those Inexorable talons, and that
would be the end of him. Discreetly,
therefore, he kept himself well within
the basket, which was large enough to
hold him comfortably. He snarled
shrilly through the Uttlo square hole
In the cover, while his assailant,
balked of her prey and furious with
the smart of her wound, pounced once
more upon tho basket and strove to
claw an entrance. A chance blow of
one of her pounding wings drove the
lid the basket being still on Its side
completely to. The sorrel horse
under the birch tree swung round on
his tether, and rolled his eyes, and
snorted, deeply scandalized at such
goings-on about his familiar wagon.
It was Just at this point In the
mink's adventure that the fox re
turned to the clearing. He had had
rather poor luck with the wood-mice,
and his chops watered with the mem
ory of those trout In tho wagon. Some
thing of an expert in dealing with
traps, he made up his mind that ho
would try to circumvent this one.
The sight that met his shrewd eyes
as he emerged warily from the cover
of the fir woods amazed him. He
halted to take It In thoroughly. He
saw the basket lying on the ground,
and the angry owl clawing at It. The
fish he did not see. He concluded that
they were still In the basket, and that
the owl was trying to get nt them.
This particular kind of owl, as ho
knew, was a most formidable antago
nist; but with his substantial weight
and his long, punishing Jaws, ho felt
himself much more than a match for
her. His eyes flamed green with In
dignation as he watched her trying
to steal tho prize which he had al
ready marked down for his own. He
darted .forward on tip-toe, noise
lessly, as he thought, and made a
long leap at the flapping, dusky
wings. . '
But the ears of an owl are a very
miracle of sensitiveness. They can
catch the squeak of a mouse at a dis
tance which, for ordinary ears, would
make the sharp clucking of a chip
munk inaudible. To the bird on the
basket tho coming of those velvet
footsteps were like the scamper of a
frightened sheep.. She sprang Into the
air without an effort, hung for a mo
ment to glare down'upon the fox with
her hard, round, mbonpale eyes, and
then sailed off without a sound, hav
ing no mind to try conclusions with
the long-Jawed red stranger.
THE fox was surprised to find the
trout lying scattered about the
grass, some of them bitten and man
gled. What, then, was In the basket?
What was the great owl trying to get
at, when the precious fish were all
spread out before her? Curiosity dom
inating his hunger, he stepped up to
the basket and sniffed at the hole in
tho lid. Instantly there was a shrill,
vicious snarl from within, and a wide
open, triangular mouth, set with white
teeth, darted at his nose. He drew
back hastily, and sat down on his
tall, ears cocked and head tilted to
one side, to consider.
It puzzled him greatly that there
should be a mink in tho basket. Tip
toeing cautiously around it, he saw
that the lid was slightly open, so that
the mink could come out if he wished.
But the fox did not want him to come
out. What the fox wanted was fish,
not a fight with an adversary who
would give him a lot of trouble. By
all means, let tho mink stay In there.
Keeping a sharp watch on tho lid of
tho basket, the fox backed away cau
tiously several feet, lay down, and
fell to devouring the trout. But never
for an Instant did he take his eyes oft
that slightly moving lid. He lay with
his feet gathered under him, every
muscle ready for action, expecting
each moment to find himself Involved
In a desperate battle for tho prize he
was enjoying. He could not imagine
a fiery-tempered personage like tho
mink tamely submitting to the rape
of his banquet. He felt suro that in
tho next second or two a snaky black
shape, all teeth and springs and
venom, would dart from the basket
and be at his throat. Ho was ready
but was not hankering for trouble.
Meanwhile, there behind tho basket
Hd, the mink was raging Irresolutely.
It galled him to the marrow to watch
his big, arrogant, bush-talled rival
complacently gulping down those fine
fat trout. But, well, ho had himself
already eaten one of the trout, and a
good part of another. His hunger was
blunted. He could rage within reason.
And his reason admonished him to
keep out of this fight if it could be
managed. Ho knew the whipcord
muscle underlying that soft red fur,
tho deadly grip of those long, narrow
Jaws. There is no peace-counsellor
like a contented belly. So ho snarled
softly to himself, and waited.
The fox, having swallowed as much
aB he could hold, Btood up, stretched
himself, and licked his chops. The
look which he kept upon the basket
wbb no less vigilant than before, but
there was now a tlngo of scorn In It.
There were Btlll some trout left. But
he wanted to get away. Ho snatched
up the two biggest fish In his Jaws,
and trotted off with them to tho
woods, glancing back over his shoul
der as ho went.
DEFOItE ho had gained the cover of
- the fir trees, tho mink glided forth,
planted his forepaws on the remain
ing fish, and stood Btarlng after him
In an attitude of challenge. Had the
fox returned, the mink would now
have fought. But tho fox had no
thought of returning. There was noth
ing to fight about. Ho had got what
ho wanted. Ho had no rooted objec
tion to the mink having what was
left. He trotted away nonchalantly
toward his burrow under the roots of
an old birch tree on the hill.
The mink stuffed himself till he
could not get another mouthful down.
There were still a couple of trout un
touched. He eyed them regretfully;
but he had not the fox's wit or provi
dence to carry them off and hide them
for future use. Ho left them, there
fore, with a collection of neatly sev
ered heads and talis, to mock tho fish
ermen when they should return at
sunset. Ho was feeling very drowsy.
At a deliberate pace, quite unlike his
usual eager and darting movements,
he made off down the clearing toward
the water. Beneath the bank was an
old musquash hole which ho was well
acquainted with. Only tho other day,
Indeed, he had cleared out Its Inhabit
ants, devouring their litter of young.
He crawled Into the hole, curled up
on the soft, dead grass of the devas
tated nest, and cosily went to sleep.
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26-L Irving Place New York
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