that the man-trail, which crossed the mountain two miles from the burrow, was a danger place. When Redcoat came to this trail, he would gather all his fleetness and cross at two bounds where the trail was narrow. Once, even so, the man's terrible thunder stick went "bang, bang," and small pellets pattered all about Redcoat. If he had not been going at his best pace he would have fared as badly as his mother had. He found that if he ran hard and fast enough, away into the foothills, the animals with which men chased foxes would leave him. So, his plan was usually to bolt after snarling up the track.
Thus, with protecting his brush and getting his living, Redcoat was very busy.
As the snow grew deeper and deeper and winter came on apace, the cold increased in intensity and the winds howled through the treetops on the mountainside in a dismal manner. When it was very cold for several days at a time, hunting was bad and Redcoat often went supperless to bed.
About the middle of January the loneli-
