They paddled the canoe over toward the shore again to see if he would recover the branch. After several false starts he took it in tow once more and disappeared with it up the creek. When the canoe was still some distance from the shore they spied another beaver dodging around the lily pads. He was so intent on his own business that he did not seem to notice the silently moving canoe. He was evidently making his evening meal off of the yellow lily buds. Rising head and shoulders above the water, he would devour a bud with great relish, sink silently into the water and come up alongside of another juicy bud. They followed these maneuvers for some time before he took alarm, dived with a loud splash and was seen no more.
They scouted around cautiously but failed to find any more night marauders.
“We’d better go ashore now,” the doctor suggested, “and fix things up for the night. It may get dark before we are ready.”
They pulled the canoe up on the marshy shore and made their way up the stream to the spot they had picked in the morning. The mound of moss proved to be none too large, but the blankets were finally arranged so that they thought they could spend the night in comparative comfort.
“Now for a hole in the dam,” the doctor said, with suppressed excitement. “Where’s the ax?”
They soon found that a pick would have been more effective. The dam was built even better than they had thought. The sticks were woven together and plastered with a solidity that astounded them. A breach some three feet long and a foot deep was finally made, and the water came pouring out with a rush which must have appalled the beavers.
“There,” said the Doctor panting from his exertions, “that ought to bring them all to the rescue. We must keep very still and wait patiently.”
“Do you think they can smell us here?” Scott asked anxiously. “We are pretty close to the break.”
“No, I don’t think so; most of these water animals rely more on sight and hearing than on smell. They may be suspicious for a while, but they will have to fix it for fear of having their pond drained.”
It did not take the beavers long to discover the break in the dam. The watchers had scarcely settled themselves on their blankets when they heard the distant plunk of a diving beaver in the pond. There was a moment of tense silence and then another plunk nearer.