<div><h1 id='ch22'>CHAPTER XXII<br/> <span class='sub-head'>THE CLEVER TRAPPER</span></h1></div>
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<p class='line0'>The trapper knows his wits must match</p>
<p class='line0'>The wits of those whom he would catch.</p>
<p class='line0'>                   <span class='it'>Little Joe Otter.</span></p>
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<p class='pindent'><span class='sc'>The</span> trapper who had tried to
run down Little Joe Otter and his
family and kill them with a club
was not one to give up easily. Of
course, he was disappointed at his
failure to get one of those Otter
coats. But he was not at all discouraged.
As soon as Little Joe
Otter and his family had disappeared
in the open water at one
end of that pond, the trapper
stopped running. He was glad to
stop, for he was quite out of
breath.</p>
<p class='pindent'>“Those Otters won’t stay in
this pond long,” said he to himself.
“They know that I know they are
here, so they will move on as soon
as they think they safely can. I
can guess just where they are
bound for. They are bound for
the big brook where there is a lot
of swift water that doesn’t freeze,
and where they will be sure of
good fishing. They will stay there
for some time. That will be the
place to set some traps. The
thing for me to do is to leave them
alone for awhile so that they will
not be at all suspicious. Then
I’ll set some traps. Their fur is
in the best of condition now, and
if I can get two or three of their
skins they will pay me several
times over for all the trouble I
may take to get them.”</p>
<p class='pindent'>So the trapper turned back and
tramped home. He didn’t go back
to that pond for two days. When
he did go back he found just
what he expected to find, and he
chuckled when he found it. It
was a trail in the snow leading
away from that pond in the direction
of the big brook. He followed
it. As he approached the
big brook he was careful to keep
out of sight. He could see that
the trail led straight to the water.
For a long time he remained hidden,
patiently watching. At last
he saw a brown head out in the
water. A moment later one of
the young Otters with a fish in his
mouth climbed out on a big, flat
rock and ate the fish.</p>
<p class='pindent'>“They are there,” chuckled the
trapper, “and they will stay, for
there are plenty of fish there. I
won’t worry them for awhile, but I
will study their habits and find out
where they are in the habit of going
and what their favorite places
are. They will be sure to have a
slide. That will be one place for
a trap. I’ll put it right at the
foot of the slide. I’ll find out
where they are in the habit of
climbing out on the bank to go up
to the top of the slide and I’ll put
a trap there. Perhaps I can discover
the den where they sleep.
That will be another place for a
trap. I suspect that those old
Otters (he meant Little Joe and
Mrs. Joe) have learned a lot about
traps, and it will not be easy to
catch them. But I ought to be
able to catch those two young Otters
without much trouble.”</p>
<p class='pindent'>So for a week that trapper
spent most of his time watching
the place where Little Joe and his
family were living, and studying
the signs to learn all he could
about their habits. But all the
time he took the greatest care that
they shouldn’t know he was about.
He knew that if he should be seen
by one of them, Little Joe Otter
would at once become suspicious.
When at last he felt he had learned
all he could he selected a dozen
cruel, steel traps and went over to
set them.</p>
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