CHAPTER 22 THE CLEVER TRAPPER

 The trapper knows his wits¹ must match

 

The wits of those whom he would catch.

 

                   Little Joe Otter².

 

The 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.

 

“Those Otters³ 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 bound⁴ for. They are bound for the big brook⁵ where there is a lot of swift⁶ 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 suspicious⁷. 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.”

 

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 chuckled⁸ 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.

 

“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 den⁹ 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 learned¹⁰ 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.”

 

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.

 

1 wits   

n.风趣( wit的名词复数 )；善于说俏皮话的能力；心智；才智v.风趣( wit的第三人称单数 )；善于说俏皮话的能力；心智；才智

参考例句：

• The authorities are at their wits' end about juvenile delinquency. 当局对青少年犯罪束手无策。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• You have to have your wits about you in a dangerous situation. 在危急的情况下，你得随机应变。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 otter   

n.水獭

参考例句：

• The economists say the competition otter to the brink of extinction.经济学家们说，竞争把海獭推到了灭绝的边缘。
• She collared my black wool coat with otter pelts.她把我的黑呢上衣镶上了水獭领。

3 otters   

n.（水）獭( otter的名词复数 )；獭皮

参考例句：

• An attempt is being made to entice otters back to the river. 人们正试图把水獭引诱回河里去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Otters are believed to have been on Earth for 90 million years. 水獭被认为存活在地球上已经9千多万年。 来自互联网

4 bound   

adj.一定的，必然的；受约束的，有义务的

参考例句：

• I feel honor bound to repay the money I borrowed.我觉得有责任归还我借的钱。
• If he signs that paper,he will be bound hand and foot.如果他签署那份文件，他就会受到束缚。

5 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

6 swift   

n.雨燕，大滚筒；adj.迅速的，快的，敏捷的，立刻的；adv.迅速地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He is swift to hear,but slow to speak.他听力敏锐，但不善言辞。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery.他康复得相当快。

7 suspicious   

adj.可疑的，容易引起怀疑的，猜疑的，疑心的

参考例句：

• A man was hanging about the house in a suspicious manner.一个男人在房子周围可疑地荡来荡去。
• He's so suspicious he would distrust his own mother.他这个人疑心太重，连自己的母亲也不相信。

8 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

9 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

10 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。