They were walking cheerily along when a singular object caught their eyes. At first sight it resembled an Indian hut; but it was much too small to be inhabited by a human being, and therefore must have been the handiwork of some animal.
"Shall we batter it down?" asked Elwood.
"No; we do not know what is in it, and there is no use of wantonly destroying the home of any dumb creature."
"It reminds me of me birthplace in ould Ireland," said Tim, with a sigh.
But Terror was not so considerate as his masters; for bursting forward he placed his snout at the lower orifice, snuffed furiously, and then clawed so savagely that the greater part of the singular fabric came tumbling to the ground. It was made of brush and twigs, and like everything constructed by instinct, was put together with great skill. Terror could not be restrained until he had inflicted great injury.
"Look! what are they?" exclaimed Howard in astonishment. "What strange-looking creatures!"
"Snapping tortles!" replied Tim, staring with an expression of the greatest astonishment at the objects.
Three animals, about the size of a musk-rat, with webbed feet, and the color of mice, came scrambling forth and scampered away for the shelter of the rocks.
Terror by this time had been brought under restraint, and was prevented from crushing them to death as they ran.
Great speculation was caused by their appearance, as none of our friends had seen anything like them, nor had they ever heard or read of such. They were, in fact, a species of mountain rat living in the vicinity of mountains and constructing their singular-looking huts with remarkable skill, often building them to a height of six feet. Their fur is very fine, and the hunters and trappers frequently take the animals for their coats, although their diminutive size, when compared with the beaver, otter, and other fur-bearing animals, prevents their being much in demand.