One could see that the little architect hauled all his material
up this easy slope, and thrust it out boldly around the other side.
Every mouthful was distinctly defined. After they were two feet or
more above the water, I expected each day to see that the finishing
stroke had been given and the work brought to a close. But higher yet,
said the builder. December drew near, the cold became threatening,
and I was apprehensive that winter would suddenly shut down upon those
unfinished nests. But the wise rats knew better than I did; they had
received private advices from headquarters that I knew not of.
Finally. about the 6th of December, the nests assumed completion; the
northern incline was absorbed or carried up, and each structure became
a strong massive cone, three or four feet high, the largest nest of the
kind I had ever seen. Does it mean a severe winter? I inquired. An
old farmer said it meant "high water," and he was right once, at least,
for in a few days afterward we had the heaviest rainfall known in this
section for half a century.
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