In much the same way as a young hawk before it acquires its full plumage
More men than the Farmer were after him however, for the news had spread that he was worth fifty dollars, and that sum, walking around as it were, loose and unclaimed in the woods, was a decided lure to everyone. Ever since the great mystery of Farmer Slown’s lost clothes had been cleared up by the boy’s description of Striped Coat, he had become a marked individual, spoken of, oddly enough, as Striped Coat, the black skunk. Whenever the word skunk was mentioned, people soon switched the conversation to him.
The question to be solved was, where did he have his den. With that discovered, the matter of trapping or digging him out would be a simple one. The old trappers of the neighborhood said little but waited patiently for the coming of late autumn, when the leaves would no longer be on the bushes. And every day brought this danger time just that much nearer.
CHAPTER X
CAPTURED AT LAST
It was in September that Striped Coat made an important discovery; travelling further up Goose Creek than usual, he came across a log cabin, not the kind ordinarily built by summer visitors on a good stream for canoeing, but one which seemed a part of the woods itself.
Instead of being wary about approaching it, Striped Coat found it actually luring him. Coming closer, he found at one end an open door leading into a room lighted only by the dull glow from an open fire-place in front of which stood cozy chairs and a table, objects which to him seemed to offer good cover under which to hide if necessary.
For some moments he stood on the threshold, lured by the smell of food and by the interesting look of the place, but undecided whether it was safe to venture where man had evidently recently been. Finally, encouraged by the absolute quiet, he stepped in, warily, but without any fear, for real fear such as many animals showed, was something which he did not seem ever to have. Wandering silently about the room, his nostrils dulled by the smoke, he came directly in front of a man lolling comfortably in one of the chairs. The effect was almost electrical. The man’s eyes grew suddenly round and bulging and he turned a complete backward somersault, landing on his feet and then diving through the open window.
“Help!” he yelled when outside. “Mr. Henry, come quick!”
Striped Coat, who had fluffed up in readiness for anything, moved for the door, just as another man sprang in and slammed it behind him. The man stood absolutely motionless with his back against the door looking at Striped Coat who had stopped with tail over his back and every hair on end waiting for the slightest further move of this new enemy. It was a critical moment. The man won; Striped Coat would not attack, his weapon was for defense, and the man did not move even a finger.
So Striped Coat sidled to the other end of the room to find another outlet. He did not hurry, he was on his dignity and knew he was being watched. Looking up at the open window, which was out of his reach, he was just in time to see the top of the first man’s head duck out of sight. Mike had come back to watch, but knew a skunk when he saw one and was taking no chances.