SETTING THE NEW TRAPS.
"Oh, I see how it works," Katy cried. "The bird, in leaping down, is almost sure to perch on the forked twig, or, at least, to strike it. That throws it out of place, and tumbles the whole cover down, shutting him in."
"Correct!" said Tug, admiringly, as he went to work on a second trap of the same kind.
This set, all left the hummock (except Jim, who agreed to take his turn, wrapped in a blanket, at watching the strings) and joined labor in making two or three more of the new ice traps, for now that the birds were plenty, they wanted to capture as many as possible.
"If only I had some sort of a spring," Tug announced, "I could make twitch-ups. I've all the rest of the fixin's, 'cause I found some horse-hairs in my 'shop' this morning; but I don't see how I am to get a springy twig or a strip of whalebone. I had some old umbrella-ribs, but I didn't bring 'em along. Wish I had."
Aleck thought over all his stores, but could remember nothing that would answer the purpose. "How about your ramrod?" he asked.
"Too stiff," Tug replied.
So they gave up talking, and attended to their work. Suddenly Aleck went to the log, split off a strip of oak, and whittled it into a thin rod. "How is that?" he said, as he handed it to his comrade.
Tug beat his hands and blew on his aching fingers a while before answering. Then he bent the rod gently, but before it was curved half as far as he needed, it broke.