CHAPTER IX.

THE MIDNIGHT ATTACK.

A shrunken arm—Importance of exercise—An 143 exciting discovery—Slaughter of the fowls—An ungracious crow—Curiosity excited—Speculations—Depredations of skunks—Lack of vigilance—A bounty offered—Burying the dead—Something about skunks—The trap—The wolf and deer—Chased by a wolf—The wolf and the sheep—Bears—A trip to the logging camp—Uncle Tim’s story—Depredations in the cornfield—The trap unsuccessful—Watching for the beast—His tragic end—Bruin and the boy—A juvenile hero—A neighborly visit—Wild-cats—Two kinds—A fight with a wild-cat—A walk to Mr. Preston’s—His opinion of the affair—Ella’s timidity—Quizzing—The nooning—Clinton not much affected by his loss—How a man may gain by his losses—Mr. Davenport’s experience—Our happiness not dependent on money—Our stewardship—Clinton’s money not his own—Debt due his parents—Their legal claim upon his earnings—Man’s dependence—Clinton’s pecuniary loss—His accounts—His profits—Setting the trap,