But man tried again. He _hid_ the trap cunningly under leaves or under snow; only the tempting bait was placed in sight. He thought that because the wolf could not now _see_ the trap, he would fall into it. Well, some wolves did fall into it. But a few other wolves saw the fate of their unwary brothers. So these surviving wolves again set their wits to work to discover a way of detecting the traps. Perhaps they saw the hunter's footprints; or perhaps they realized that the snow or the leaves covering the trap did not look _natural_. You remember, in Book I, how Salar's father detected a very tricky trap because the ground there did not look natural. Well, in some way, the surviving American wolves detected the traps, even when the traps were covered up. So after that they began to avoid these _hidden_ traps, and they taught their children to do the same. Man found himself beaten once more by the wolf in this battle of wits. He found that the American wolf could not be caught even by a hidden trap. That again was a great achievement for the American wolf. Why? Because even the elephant, clever as he is, gets caught at last by a tricky trap, even if he avoids it for a long time. To do better than the elephant is a triumph indeed! So far the hunter had tried to kill the wolf for the sake of the fur; and the wolf took no revenge for these years of persecution. He bore no grudge against man, and did not try to pay him off. The wolf merely wanted to live, and to be let alone. Man would not let him alone. He wanted to kill the wolf just for the sake of money. Then a new thing happened. Many people began to go West; farms and ranches began to be started. These farms and ranches had many sheep and cattle. Then the wolf had _his_ turn! He found that sheep and cattle were far easier to kill than the wild animals on which he had made a living so far. So the wolf began to raid farms and ranches at night. He still avoided man; he never let a man come near enough to shoot him; and he never touched a hidden trap. But still he began to kill sheep and cattle. Man now found the tables turned on him! Formerly he had persecuted the wolf; now the wolf persecuted, or at least tormented, _him_! So man made one last desperate effort to beat the wolf in this battle of wits. _The American Wolf Learns to Evade the Poison_ Man set his wits to work, and at last devised the use of _poison_. He selected different kinds of poison, with different tastes and different smells,--or no taste and no smell at all! He chose the nicest kinds of meat, on which to put the poison. Then he cunningly placed pieces of the poisoned meat all over the paths by which the wolves must come to raid the sheep and cattle. He thought that _now_ he would beat the wolf!