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<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 57769 ***</div>
<div class='tnotes covernote'>
<p class='c000'><strong>Transcriber’s Note:</strong></p>
<p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p>
</div>
<div class='figcenter id001'>
<img src='images/i002.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p><span class='sc'>With all the speed and power he could summon, he delivered a crushing blow</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center'>
<div><span class='xlarge'><i>Twilight Animal Series</i></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<h1 class='c001'>WHITE TAIL<br /> THE DEER’S ADVENTURES</h1>
</div>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c002'>
<div>By</div>
<div class='c003'><span class='xlarge'>GEORGE ETHELBERT WALSH</span></div>
<div class='c003'><span class='small'><i>Author of “Bumper the White Rabbit,” “Bumper the White Rabbit in the Woods,” “Bumper the White Rabbit and His Foes,” “Bumper the White Rabbit and His Friends,” “Bobby Gray Squirrel” “Bobby Gray Squirrel’s Adventures,” Etc.</i></span></div>
<div class='c003'><i><span class='small'>Colored Illustrations by</span></i></div>
<div><i><span class='large'>EDWIN J. PRETTIE</span></i></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='figcenter id002'>
<img src='images/i003.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<tr><td class='c004' colspan='3'><span class='xlarge'>THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY</span></td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c005'>CHICAGO</td>
<td class='c006'><span class='large'>PHILADELPHIA</span></td>
<td class='c007'>TORONTO</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c003' />
</div>
<div class='ph2'>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c008'>
<div>TWILIGHT ANIMAL SERIES</div>
<div>FOR BOYS AND GIRLS</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c002'>
<div>FROM 4 TO 10 YEARS OF AGE</div>
<div class='c003'>By</div>
<div>GEORGE ETHELBERT WALSH</div>
<div class='c002'>LIST OF TITLES</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='lg-container-b'>
<div class='linegroup'>
<div class='group'>
<div class='line in1'>1 BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT</div>
<div class='line in1'>2 BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT IN THE WOODS</div>
<div class='line in1'>3 BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT AND HIS FOES</div>
<div class='line in1'>4 BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT AND HIS FRIENDS</div>
<div class='line in1'>5 BOBBY GRAY SQUIRREL</div>
<div class='line in1'>6 BOBBY GRAY SQUIRREL’S ADVENTURES</div>
<div class='line in1'>7 BUSTER THE BIG BROWN BEAR</div>
<div class='line in1'>8 BUSTER THE BIG BROWN BEAR’S ADVENTURES</div>
<div class='line in1'>9 WHITE TAIL THE DEER</div>
<div class='line'>10 WHITE TAIL THE DEER’S ADVENTURES</div>
<div class='line'>11 WASHER, THE RACCOON</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center'>
<div>(Other titles in preparation)</div>
<div class='c003'>Issued in uniform style with this volume</div>
<div>PRICE 65 CENTS EACH, Postpaid</div>
<div class='c003'>EACH VOLUME CONTAINS COLORED ILLUSTRATIONS</div>
<div class='c002'>Copyright 1922 by</div>
<div>THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY</div>
<div class='c003'>Copyright MCMXVII by George E. Walsh</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c003' />
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 class='c009'>INTRODUCTION TO THE TWILIGHT ANIMAL STORIES</h2>
</div>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c002'>
<div><span class='sc'>By the Author</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c010'>All little boys and girls who love animals
should become acquainted with Bumper the
white rabbit, with Bobby Gray Squirrel,
with Buster the bear, and with White Tail
the deer, for they are all a jolly lot, brave and
fearless in danger, and so lovable that you
won’t lay down any one of the books without
saying wistfully, “I almost wish I had them
really and truly as friends and not just storybook
acquaintances.” That, of course, is a
splendid wish; but none of us could afford to
have a big menagerie of wild animals, and
that’s just what you would have to do if you
went outside of the books. Bumper had many
friends, such as Mr. Blind Rabbit, Fuzzy Wuzz
and Goggle Eyes, his country cousins; and
Bobby Gray Squirrel had his near cousins,
Stripe the chipmunk and Webb the flying
squirrel; while Buster and White Tail were
favored with an endless number of friends and
relatives. If we turned them all loose from the
books, and put them in a ten-acre lot—but
no, ten acres wouldn’t be big enough to
accommodate them, perhaps not a hundred
acres.</p>
<p class='c011'>So we will leave them just where they are—in
the books—and read about them, and
let our imaginations take us to them where we
can see them playing, skipping, singing, and
sometimes fighting, and if we read very carefully,
and <i>think</i> as we go along, we may come
to know them even better than if we went out
hunting for them.</p>
<p class='c011'>Another thing we should remember. By
leaving them in the books, hundreds and
thousands of other boys and girls can enjoy
them, too, sharing with us the pleasures of
the imagination, which after all is one of the
greatest things in the world. In gathering
them together in a real menagerie, we would be
selfish both to Bumper, Bobby, Buster, White
Tail and their friends as well as to thousands
of other little readers who could not share
them with us. So these books of Twilight
Animal Stories are dedicated to all little boys
and girls who love wild animals. All others
are forbidden to read them! They wouldn’t
understand them if they did.</p>
<p class='c011'>So come out into the woods with me, and
let us listen and watch, and I promise you it
will be worth while.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 class='c009'>CONTENTS</h2>
</div>
<table class='table1' summary='CONTENTS'>
<tr>
<th class='c012'><span class='sc'>Story</span></th>
<th class='c013'> </th>
<th class='c007'><span class='sc'>Page</span></th>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>I</td>
<td class='c013'>White Tail Jumps Stepping Stone Brook</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_9'>9</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>II</td>
<td class='c013'>Father Buck’s Failure</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_17'>17</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>III</td>
<td class='c013'>Young Black Buck’s Challenge</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_25'>25</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>IV</td>
<td class='c013'>Father Buck’s Decision</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_33'>33</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>V</td>
<td class='c013'>Young Black Buck’s Challenge to a Race</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_41'>41</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>VI</td>
<td class='c013'>Downy the Woodpecker Brings Startling News</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_49'>49</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>VII</td>
<td class='c013'>A Race With Puma and Timber</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_57'>57</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>VIII</td>
<td class='c013'>Mrs. Puma and Timber Fight</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_65'>65</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>IX</td>
<td class='c013'>Young Black Buck Has An Accident</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_73'>73</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>X</td>
<td class='c013'>White Tail’s Magnanimous Act</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_81'>81</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>XI</td>
<td class='c013'>White Tail’s Adventure in the Camp</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_89'>89</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>XII</td>
<td class='c013'>White Tail Escapes</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_97'>97</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>XIII</td>
<td class='c013'>White Tail Hears Unpleasant News</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_105'>105</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>XIV</td>
<td class='c013'>Choosing a New Leader</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_113'>113</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>XV</td>
<td class='c013'>The Great Combat</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_121'>121</a></td>
</tr>
<tr><td> </td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c012'>XVI</td>
<td class='c013'>White Tail Made Leader of the Herd</td>
<td class='c007'><a href='#Page_129'>129</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='ph2'>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c008'>
<div>WHITE TAIL’S ADVENTURES</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY I<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>White Tail Jumps Stepping Stone Brook</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>White Tail grew rapidly in size and
strength, his long, clean limbs showing taut
muscles and great springing power; and his
neck grew thick and short, which is well for a
buck, who must use it in savage thrusts when
the head is a battering ram. His horns were
short and bony, but they protruded in front
like knobs against which it would be unpleasant
to fall.</p>
<p class='c011'>But his antlers were his pride. They spread
out fan-shape on his head, crowning it with
a glory that made Mother Deer supremely
happy. At times it seemed as if the antlers
were too heavy for the head and neck, but
White Tail carried them easily, and when he
shook them in sport or anger any one could
see they were just fitted to him.</p>
<p class='c011'>In time he stood as high as Father Buck,
and a head taller than Mother Deer. The
day the tip of his antlers reached an inch above
Father Buck’s, he felt a little thrill of pride.
<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>To be as big and tall as his father had always
been his ambition. But while it pleased
Father Buck that his son was growing so big,
it made him a little sad.</p>
<p class='c011'>“You will soon be ready to take my place,
White Tail,” he said. “You’re growing taller
and stronger every day.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“That may be, Father Buck,” he replied,
“but it will be many a season before I can run
as fast and far as you, or show the same
strength in a fight. Oh, no, there’s little
chance of my equaling you for many, many
seasons.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Father Buck merely smiled and nodded his
head. “I want you to run out with me to
Stepping Stone brook,” he said simply.
“There is something I want to show you.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail was always eager for a run with
Father Buck. Nearly every day they went off
together to hunt and explore. Father Buck
had been teaching him all the ways and tricks
of the woods so that his education would be
complete.</p>
<p class='c011'>It was a cool, crisp day, and they ran
through the woods, side by side, in long, gentle
lopes until they came to Stepping Stone
brook. This was a small stream confined between
two ledges of rocks, with stones placed
in it for stepping across when one didn’t want
<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>to wet the feet. Frequently the whole herd
crossed it, using the stones so that not a foot
touched the water.</p>
<p class='c011'>When they reached the brook, White Tail
immediately took a long drink of the cooling
water, for their run had made him hot and
thirsty. Father Buck watched him in silence,
a very sad expression in his beautiful eyes.
There was admiration also, but a little sadness.</p>
<p class='c011'>“White Tail,” he said suddenly, “I have
brought you here to tell you something. Stepping
Stone brook has always been the test for
our leaders. Here it is that many a youngster
has first earned his right to lead the herd, and,
alas! many an older leader has broken his
heart here.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail looked up in surprise, and
glanced from the speaker to the trickling
waters. He was clearly puzzled by the words
he had heard.</p>
<p class='c011'>“No buck can be leader of the herd unless
he can jump across Stepping Stone brook,
clearing it from bank to bank without faltering
or stumbling. If he fails he must wait
until he can make the leap. Many, many
have tried and failed, and others—”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.
<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>He liked to take risks and attempt difficult
tasks.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I see,” he said, laughing joyfully, “you
brought me here to see if I could make the
leap. Well, I can do it! I’ll show you. I
won’t disappoint you, Father Buck.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I know you won’t, White Tail,” was the
reply. “I shouldn’t have brought you here
so soon if I thought you would fail. But I
had another purpose, too.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“What is it?” asked White Tail.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I will tell you later. Now I want to see
you take the leap. Years ago, many, many
seasons ago, I came here, and took it. There
on the rocks you can see the marks of my leap.
It was one of the longest ever made by any of
our people. I was naturally proud of it. I
shall never forget that day. I think it was
the happiest of my life—except one.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Which other one?” asked White Tail.</p>
<p class='c011'>“The day I defeated Black Buck in the final
struggle for leadership,” was the reply. “It
was a battle that lasted for hours, and all the
herd watched us. We were down, and up
again and again, struggling, fighting and
bucking until it seemed as if both of us would
die from exhaustion. But I finally won. I
got him down on his knees, and then rolled
him over, and stood there until he acknowledged
<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>my leadership. That of course was the
happiest day of my life.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail thrilled at this story, and for a
moment forgot the thing he was going to do
until his father spoke again.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Now let me see you take the brook in a
jump.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail trotted back on the embankment,
but he discovered there was little room
for a start. It was almost a standing leap.
That was why it was so hard. Across on the
other side the embankment shelved down
gradually to the shore, with grass and moss
covering the bold face of the rock.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Take your time,” Father Buck cautioned.
“Measure the distance well, and do not spring
unless you’re sure of yourself. Many a buck
that failed the first time never got his courage
up to repeat it. It is the first leap that
counts.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Reflecting long and earnestly on his father’s
words, White Tail measured the distance with
his eyes, and then drew back as far as he
could. He gathered his powerful hind legs
together, squatted down on them, pawed the
rock with his front ones, and stood a moment
in trembling anticipation. His nostrils dilated,
his eyes flashed. Then with a sudden
forward spring he darted toward the edge of
<span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>the rock, and when he reached it his hind
hoofs dug on the rock for a secure purchase.
There was a momentary hesitation, as if he
had decided not to make the attempt. Then
his body shot upward and outward across the
brook in the prettiest jump that any deer had
ever taken.</p>
<p class='c011'>He cleared the brook, with its stepping
stones, passed the opposite edge, and landed
all four hoofs firmly planted on the upper
part of the slope. He had made the jump
successfully.</p>
<p class='c011'>Father Buck crossed the stream on the
stones, and glanced down at his old mark. A
spirit of exultation seized him.</p>
<p class='c011'>“You have passed my old mark, White Tail,
beaten it by a foot,” he said. “You will some
day be leader, I know.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail was as much interested as his
father in his triumph. He examined the
marks, and then wanted to repeat the jump to
see if he could better it.</p>
<p class='c011'>“No,” cautioned Father Buck, “once is sufficient.
The second time may not be so good.
You have established your mark. We will
scratch it here with our hoofs as a challenge
to all others. Let Young Black Buck beat
it if he can. Until he does that is your mark.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail accepted this order, and made
<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>no further attempt to jump the brook. If
Young Black Buck beats it some day then he
would have a chance to try it again, and, if
possible, score a longer jump.</p>
<p class='c011'>“What was your other purpose in bringing
me here today?” he asked remembering his
father’s words.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Ah! That is the sad part of it,” sighed
Father Buck. “But you must know. I will
show you.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Just what he meant will appear in the next
story.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY II<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>Father Buck’s Failure</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>Father Buck walked across the brook again,
and took his place on the rock from which the
jump was made. White Tail immediately
concluded he was going to show him how
much farther he could jump when he was a
young buck.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I know you will beat me,” White Tail said.
“But if you do, won’t you give me another
chance?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes, if such a miracle should happen,” was
the reply.</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail stood eagerly watching, while
his father crouched as he had for the spring.
How noble he looked with his big antlered
head, with streaks of gray and white hair
curling around the roots! White Tail was
proud of him.</p>
<p class='c011'>Suddenly Father Buck rushed forward, hesitated
at the brink to get a good purchase with
his hoofs, and then up in the air and straight
<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>across his body shot. White Tail watched him
with gleaming eyes.</p>
<p class='c011'>Then something happened which startled
him. The spring had not been as powerful
as he thought, for instead of beating White
Tail’s mark, or reaching his own, Father Buck
missed the shore by a foot. His hind legs actually
splashed in the water.</p>
<p class='c011'>“What happened?” exclaimed White Tail
in amazement. “Did you slip, or—or—”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No,” replied Father Buck sadly, “it was
as I expected. I am getting old, White Tail,
and have lost my spring. I have reached the
age where I am no longer qualified to lead the
herd. If any of the other bucks knew this
they would instantly demand a new leader.
It’s the law of the herd.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“But—but—” stammered White Tail.
“You could do it again. You didn’t get a
good start.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, it wasn’t that, White Tail. It was my
age. I can no longer spring across Stepping
Stone brook. I am not fit to be leader of the
herd.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Father Buck’s proud head drooped, and
something like a tear gleamed in his eyes. It
was hard to acknowledge that he was failing,
and that in a few seasons he would be looked
upon as a useless old buck who would have to
<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>take orders from another much younger than
he. But it was the law of the herd—and the
law of life.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I can’t believe it!” exclaimed White Tail.
“I won’t believe it! I know you can leap
across the brook. You must try it again.
What I can do you can do!”</p>
<p class='c011'>Father Buck raised his head and smiled.
All the sadness left his eyes, and pride and
gratefulness took its place.</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, White Tail,” he replied. “I cannot
do it. I put in that jump all the strength I
had—and I failed. But don’t think I’m sad.
I’m not. I knew it had to come some day.
But I’m glad that my son can take my place.
I can be happy yet—and Mother Deer will
share it with me—because you have qualified
so well to be our leader. I am thankful for
that.”</p>
<p class='c011'>But White Tail was not convinced. It was
hard for him to accept the truth. Father
Buck was still to him the finest, proudest,
wisest and strongest leader he knew, and he
wanted him to continue so.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Some other day when you feel better you
will come out here and try the jump again,”
he said. “I know you don’t feel well today.
Tomorrow you will feel better.”</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>Father Buck shook his head slowly. “I
see you are hard to convince, White Tail.
But I will show you in another way. How
far is it from here to Puma’s hunting ground?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Ten miles or more.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Then we will go to it. We will race to it
at a good speed. I want you to set the pace—the
swiftest you can. You must run as if
Puma or Timber Wolf was on your trail. I
will follow. You must neither look to the
right or to the left, or back of you. Run with
all your might.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“You will follow close behind me?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I will follow you.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Now White Tail looked with glee upon this
run, for he was in fine condition. His limbs
seemed aching for a long, hard run, and his
father wanted to see how quickly he could
make the race. He would show him. He
wouldn’t disappoint him.</p>
<p class='c011'>Shortly afterward he started off, taking a
broad trail through the woods. He trotted
along merrily, and soon began running in long
leaps and bounds that carried him far and fast.
When he came to obstructions in his path he
leaped over them as easily as a boy or girl
would jump over a log.</p>
<p class='c011'>Faster and faster he flew through the
woods, his fine head set well back, and his
<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>antlers almost resting on his neck. His eyes
were kept glued to the trail ahead. He ran
so easily and smoothly that it seemed as if he
was making no effort. For the first five miles
he showed hardly any results of his wild run,
but in the last half of the distance he began
to perspire a little, and the white foam settled
on his flanks.</p>
<p class='c011'>But he never stopped or turned until he
reached the boundary line of Puma’s hunting
ground. Then he halted and whirled around.</p>
<p class='c011'>“How was that?” he asked.</p>
<p class='c011'>But Father Buck was not there. He was
alone. His father was nowhere in sight.
Startled and surprised by this he trotted back
a few paces and called to him. Then, not
finding him, he became frightened. Had
something happened to his father?</p>
<p class='c011'>Perhaps Puma had sprung out of the bushes
and killed him, or Timber Wolf had driven
him off the trail, and was even now chasing
him. White Tail was so alarmed that he retraced
his footsteps, calling every little while
for Father Buck. It was a dangerous thing
to do, for in calling he might attract Puma or
Timber Wolf. But his anxiety for his father
made him forget all caution.</p>
<p class='c011'>He found him a long way back on the trail,
lying in the bushes, panting with exhaustion.
<span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>As soon as he discovered him, White Tail ran
up to him with a little bleat of joy.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Oh, I thought something terrible had happened
to you!” he exclaimed. “What is it?
Did you stumble? You haven’t broken a leg,
have you?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, White Tail,” was the panting reply.
“Nothing has happened to me. I couldn’t
keep up with you. I tried my best. I hung
on until I fell down with exhaustion. I have
run my last race. I did it to show you that I
am growing older and that my powers are
weakening. You would not be convinced
when I failed to leap the brook. Now you
will have to believe.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Then it dawned upon White Tail that the
race to Puma’s hunting ground was simply to
show him that his father could no longer keep
up with the young bucks of the herd. It was
hard for Father Buck thus to show his failing
powers, but it was better to do it with his son
as the only witness than to fail before all the
herd.</p>
<p class='c011'>“It is my downfall, White Tail,” he added.
“But I wanted only you as witness. Now you
know. My leadership will soon end, but
when the day comes you must be able to take
my place. That will be my satisfaction, and
your mother’s. She knew that the time was
<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>approaching, and she will not be heavy-hearted.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail was terribly distressed by this
news, but after a while a fierce joy came to
him. “I shall prove myself worthy of you,
Father Buck,” he said. “Yes, I will take your
place. I will fight for it now that you and
Mother Deer want it. Yes, I will fight for
the leadership until the last breath.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Those are the words I’ve longed to hear,
White Tail. Now I am contented. We will
return to the herd. My day’s work is done.”</p>
<p class='c011'>As they trotted slowly back to the herd, they
planned for the future. Both knew that the
future race would be between White Tail and
Young Black Buck. But of this you will read
in the next story.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY III<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>Young Black Buck’s Challenge</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>Young Black Buck had, of course, been in
training all this time, for it is the law of the
deer that none shall aspire for the leadership
of a herd until he has learned all the ways of
the woods, and can out-pace and out-jump his
father and mother. All the laws of the deer
are very strict, for the safety of all depends
upon the leader.</p>
<p class='c011'>Black Buck had taken his son through the
woods, as Father Buck had taken White Tail,
showing him the dangers and pitfalls, and instructing
him how to avoid them and what
to do when danger threatened. He had taken
him secretly to Stepping Stone brook, and
made him jump it; and he had tested his speed
and endurance in a race with himself.</p>
<p class='c011'>Father Buck had no illusions about what
Black Buck was doing, and he tried to prepare
White Tail to meet Young Black Buck on
equal terms. It was like bringing up two
boys for a contest in speed, strength, endurance,
<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>wisdom and courage. It was a Spartan
education, but it was necessary for the good
of the herd.</p>
<p class='c011'>Then one day the clash came for a preliminary
trial of skill. The herd had wandered
down from the timberland to the open woods
below where the new buds of the birches offered
succulent food. There was no sign of
danger in the air, and the herd grazed peacefully
on soft young twigs and opening buds.</p>
<p class='c011'>When they had wandered to the brink of
the canyon that cut through the North Woods
below Stepping Stone brook, the leaders
paused and started to turn the young does and
fawns back. It was dangerous to permit them
to eat too close to the edge of the precipice.
If one should fall over, the rocks below would
crack every bone in its body.</p>
<p class='c011'>Black Buck suddenly raised his head, and
then whispered to his son: “Think you can
jump the canyon safely? If so it is a good
time to challenge White Tail. We may find
out then what he can do. If he balks at it,
we will know he is timid or under-trained.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Young Black Buck walked to the edge, and
gazed down it and then across it. It was a
dangerous leap, for if he missed by an inch he
would fall to the bottom thirty feet below
where the hard rocks would crush him. He
<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>sniffed the air, and then returned to his
father’s side.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I can do it,” he replied. “I’ve made longer
jumps.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes, but if you should fail you would be
killed. Make sure of yourself before you
sound the challenge. Go below, where the
canyon is not so steep, but just as wide. Practice
there alone until you have confidence. If
you fail no harm will be done. You can wait
another day.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Young Black Buck separated himself from
the herd and made his way to a point half a
mile down the canyon. On either side here
the rocks were covered with moss and turf,
and the edges dropped only a few feet. If he
failed the fall would not hurt him.</p>
<p class='c011'>Unseen by the others, he made the attempt,
and cleared the space successfully in the first
leap. Then to make sure he tried it again
and again, lighting easily on the opposite embankment
each time.</p>
<p class='c011'>Gloating with pride and triumph, he trotted
back to Black Buck, and reported. “I never
failed once. If the distance here is no greater
across I can do it easily.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“It is no greater, but if anything a few
inches less,” replied Black Buck. “If you
<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>can do it below, you will do it here. Issue the
challenge.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Young Black Buck trotted away, and, raising
his head in the air, a peculiar bellowing
noise issued from his throat. It was the buck’s
challenge to a contest. Every deer knew its
meaning, and raised a head to see who was
calling. White Tail, feeding some distance
off with Mother Deer and Father Buck, heard
it, and instantly turned his head in Young
Black Buck’s direction.</p>
<p class='c011'>“It’s Young Black Buck’s challenge,” whispered
Father Buck. “You must accept it. It
may be a challenge to a race or fight. Whatever
it is you must accept it.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I’m ready,” replied White Tail, starting
off.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Who will leap the canyon with me!” bellowed
Young Black Buck. “I shall lead
where none dare follow! None shall then dispute
my claim to leadership. Come those
who dare!”</p>
<p class='c011'>Before White Tail reached the spot, the
whole herd was crowding around the challenger.
They saw a prospect of a free entertainment,
and they bucked and butted each
other to get in front. None of the other young
bucks had accepted the challenge. One
glance at the yawning depth of the canyon
<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>had made them withdraw with sickening fear.
It looked much deeper than it was, and twice
as wide.</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail pushed his way through the
crowds until he stood before Young Black
Buck. The sight of him brought a quick remark
from the challenger’s mouth.</p>
<p class='c011'>“You, White Tail!” he exclaimed. “You
wish to accept the challenge? Beware how
you speak without thinking. Go and look
down the chasm! It means death if you fail!
Think twice before you speak!”</p>
<p class='c011'>Now when Father Buck heard the nature
of the challenge he felt a great fear. He had
never shown the canyon to White Tail, and he
didn’t know whether he could leap across it
or not. He reproached himself for omitting
this part of his training.</p>
<p class='c011'>Mother Deer’s heart gave a great throb.
If White Tail failed she knew he would be
crushed to death on the rocks below. She
could not endure such a sight. Better that her
son should lose the leadership than be killed.</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, no, White Tail,” she cried, “you must
not accept the challenge. You must not! I
can’t lose you!”</p>
<p class='c011'>Black Buck, who had been standing back
of the crowd, heard, and was greatly pleased,
for he knew now that Father Buck hadn’t
<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>taught White Tail to jump the canyon. Few
had ever taken the leap without practicing
first at the place below where there was no
danger. It was the fear of not being able to
clear the distance that caused the real danger.</p>
<p class='c011'>“You must not say that,” interrupted Father
Buck, frowning at Mother Deer. “The honor
of our family is at stake. White Tail must accept
the challenge.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Before Mother Deer could answer this,
White Tail had settled the dispute. “Whatever
you can do, Young Black Buck,” he said,
“I will do. More than that, I will lead.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“You will take the leap first?” queried
Young Black Buck. “Then, as the challenger,
I have the right of choice. You can
go first, White Tail.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“But where I go you must follow,” retorted
White Tail. “If not, you shall be forever disgraced.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“If you are afraid I’ll lead,” sneered Young
Black Buck.</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, I’ll go first!”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail didn’t even go to the edge of
the precipice to look down or to measure the
distance across. What was the use? He
would make the greatest jump of his life. If
he failed he would die knowing he had done
his best. What more could he do?</p>
<div class='figcenter id001'>
<img src='images/i032.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p><span class='sc'>It was a splendid jump</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>He ran back a short distance, and then facing
the canyon he made a swift dash for it.
At the brink he threw all his strength in a
mighty leap, and his body shot upward and
outward, forming a beautiful curve. He kept
his eyes ahead, and never once looked down.</p>
<p class='c011'>It was a splendid jump. It carried him
clear across the canyon, and landed him safely
a yard beyond the opposite edge. He knew
by the shouts that he had succeeded even before
his feet touched ground. Then with a
proud toss of his head he turned and looked at
Young Black Buck. It was his turn now.
Could he do it?</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY IV<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>Father Buck’s Decision</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>Young Black Buck was greatly chagrined
at White Tail’s great jump, for he knew that
he had crossed the canyon without any previous
training. It showed that White Tail had
courage as well as strength and skill. It was
a triumph for him that none appreciated more
than Young Black Buck and his father.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Now, Young Black Buck,” White Tail
called from the opposite side, “follow me, or
forever cease challenging.”</p>
<p class='c011'>There was nothing for Young Black Buck
to do but take the jump. All eyes were turned
on him. For the first time a feeling of fear
possessed him. He had looked down the
chasm, and knew what waited him if he fell
short. Suppose he should make a false step
or stumble at the last moment. The fall would
be terrible. If not actually killed, he would
break his legs at the very least.</p>
<p class='c011'>Black Buck saw the expression of fear in his
son’s eyes, and whispered to him: “Don’t look
below! Keep your eyes up and ahead!”</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>Young Black Buck gathered himself for
the short run, and long jump. He knew that
he had to take it, and that he had to succeed.
He ran with all his might, and then sprang
forward in a quick spring.</p>
<p class='c011'>If it hadn’t been for his nervousness, he certainly
would have cleared the chasm without
accident, but chagrin, anger and fear had possession
of him, and they were responsible for
a misstep at the last moment. When his body
was launched through the air, he knew that
he hadn’t put in the jump all the power he
had.</p>
<p class='c011'>Then too the fear of a failure alarmed him.
He glanced down, and saw the terrible chasm
yawning below to receive him. This gave his
body a side lurch, and instead of clearing the
chasm in a beautiful jump his forefeet touched
the opposite side only a foot from the edge,
and his hind hoofs missed it by an inch.</p>
<p class='c011'>No one could see the accident so quickly or
plainly as White Tail, who stood within a few
feet of him. He saw that Young Black Buck
was going to miss before his front hoofs
touched the embankment.</p>
<p class='c011'>Now the thought of his missing the rock,
and falling to the bottom of the chasm in a
broken heap, horrified White Tail so that he
forgot all his triumph and desire to win. His
<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>greatest desire was to save Young Black Buck
from an awful death.</p>
<p class='c011'>Before he reached the embankment, White
Tail jumped to the edge, and quick as a wink
stretched forth his head, caught Young Black
Buck by a prong of his antlers. He got a good
hold with his teeth, and then as the leaping
buck’s hind feet slipped down and his body
began to sway backward, White Tail braced
his feet, and jerked backward with all his
strength.</p>
<p class='c011'>It was enough to overcome the balance of
the frightened jumper. Instead of falling
backward into the chasm, he stumbled forward,
and then catching his hind hoofs on the
edge he managed to climb up the embankment.</p>
<p class='c011'>It was all done so quickly and skilfully
that the watchers on the opposite bank hardly
knew what had happened. They knew in
some way that Young Black Buck had
stumbled and nearly fallen in the chasm.
They had also seen White Tail reach forward
and grab or push him. They couldn’t very
well say just what he did.</p>
<p class='c011'>But Black Buck, seeing that his son had
failed, and angry at the thought of White
Tail’s triumph, was quick to see a way to
change defeat into triumph. Before his son
could recover his breath and stop his trembling,
<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>Black Buck roared out with all his
might:</p>
<p class='c011'>“Foul! That was a foul! White Tail got
in the way, and tried to throw my son off the
precipice!”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, No!” several shouted. “Not that!
White Tail wouldn’t do that!”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Ask my son if what I say isn’t true? He
should know!” rumbled Black Buck.</p>
<p class='c011'>Young Black Buck was almost as quick as
his father to see the chance of redeeming himself
in the eyes of the whole herd, and he
shook his head with delight. His fear and
trembling all left him.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Speak, Young Black Buck!” shouted his
father. “Did White Tail interfere with you?
Speak before it is too late!”</p>
<p class='c011'>Young Black Buck was ready with his
answer. “Yes, he stood in my way,” he replied,
“and when I reached the edge he bit
at me, and tried to push me off the edge.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail started in surprise and horror
at this accusation, for he was too stunned to
speak. Then, when he realized what the
charge meant, he said:</p>
<p class='c011'>“You know I didn’t do that, Young Black
Buck! If I hadn’t grabbed your antlers you
would have fallen over and been crushed to
death. Oh, how could you say such a thing!”</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>“That’s a fine story to tell!” jeered Young
Black Buck. “Who do you think will believe
it! You wanted to kill me so you could have
no challenger for the leadership. Well, I’m
alive, and I’ll beat you to it yet.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Now the uproar on the other side was
intense. Some believed that White Tail had
actually tried to push his rival down the
chasm, and others were equally certain that
the son of Father Buck could never be guilty
of such a crime. The commotion was approaching
the proportions of a riot when
Father Buck brought silence with a roar of
authority.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Be quiet!” he bellowed. “We must settle
this dispute right. If my son was guilty of
such a crime, I would be the first to disown
him and drive him from the herd in disgrace.
But if he is innocent, I will back him up with
all my might.”</p>
<p class='c011'>He turned fiercely on Black Buck, as he
said this, his eyes flashing and his antlers bobbing
threateningly. Black Buck was not
anxious to get in a fight with the leader, and
he backed away grumbling.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I will protect my son, too,” he breathed
angrily, “if he is right.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“That is your duty,” roared Father Buck,
“and it is your duty to denounce him if he’s
<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>in the wrong. Will you do that also?”</p>
<p class='c011'>Black Buck made some inaudible reply, and
backed still further away from the flashing
eyes.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Who saw White Tail push Young Black
Buck off the edge?” asked Father Buck, addressing
the crowd.</p>
<p class='c011'>A dozen or more voices answered in the
affirmative. Without changing the expression
of his face, Father Buck then added: “Who
saw White Tail grab Young Black Buck, and
try to save him from a fall?”</p>
<p class='c011'>An equal number of voices responded
promptly. To make sure Father Buck
counted them, and then counted those who
had answered in favor of Young Black Buck.
They were the same! Twenty yeas and
twenty noes!</p>
<p class='c011'>“That makes it hard for me to decide,”
murmured Father Buck. “A tie is never a
pleasant vote for a leader, for he must decide
then one way or the other himself. In this
case it’s doubly hard for me.”</p>
<p class='c011'>He stopped and looked at the herd, and
then added: “You know me, and you know I
would be the last to decide in favor of my
son if I thought he was wrong. Therefore,
in giving my decision, I know you will think
I’m doing justice. Then I say to you that I
<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>saw White Tail help Young Black Buck up
the slope. Had it not been for his help one
of our number would be down below there
dead.”</p>
<p class='c011'>There was a silence, and a shudder passed
through the whole herd. Father Buck’s decision
did not affect them so much as the
thought of what might have happened. They
were glad that it had ended this way, with no
bones broken. White Tail was exonerated in
their eyes.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY V<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>Young Black Buck’s Challenge to a Race</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>White Tail was so angry at Young Black
Buck for accusing him falsely that for a
moment after Father Buck’s decision, he
couldn’t find his tongue to speak. He simply
glared at Young Black Buck, and for the first
time there came into his mind a desire to
punish his accuser. He knew then that he
would have to fight his antagonist some day,
and the battle would be a long and hard one,
with neither side giving any terms.</p>
<p class='c011'>When the excitement had quieted a little,
he turned to Young Black Buck, and said:
“You know that you spoke falsely, and knowing
it your conscience should trouble you.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Young Black Buck grinned. “But nobody
else knows it,” he replied. “Therefore my
conscience don’t trouble me much.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Some day,” added White Tail, “you will
pay for this. We want no deceiver as the leader
of the herd. I’ll battle you for the position.”</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>“Oh!” sneered the other. “That’s a pretty
speech, White Tail. But we can’t battle for
the leadership until Father Buck has failed
in the chase or hunt. He’s leader until then.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“But the day will come when it will be
between you and me.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“And then,” replied Young Black Buck,
airily, “I’ll see that you get the worst licking
you ever had.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, I think it will be the other way.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail crossed the chasm again and
joined the herd. There were plenty to
sympathize with him, and they expressed
themselves frankly. But there were not lacking
others who admired Young Black Buck,
and felt that he had been unjustly accused.</p>
<p class='c011'>Mother Deer whispered in her son’s ears:
“Never mind, White Tail. We have to learn
to take such things in life unselfishly. Right
always triumphs in the end. Don’t let it
worry you.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“It doesn’t worry me, Mother Deer. But
it makes me feel angry.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Further conversation was stopped by Father
Buck announcing that the herd would go to
the lower timberland to graze on the succulent
grass that bordered Puma’s hunting ground.
The grass was in the rich, tender stage, and
the deer enjoyed it as a sort of luxury. The
<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>fact that Puma had selected this spot as his
special hunting ground could not keep the
deer away, and Father Buck’s announcement
was hailed with delight.</p>
<p class='c011'>“We must keep together,” he cautioned,
“with the does and fawns inside, and the bucks
outside, for Puma may be abroad, although
he’s not to be feared so much in the day time.
If he’s asleep in his lair we won’t disturb
him.”</p>
<p class='c011'>The spice of danger added to the zest of
the adventure. The grass always had a much
sweeter taste and a richer flavor when it was
gathered right under the nose of Puma. The
young bucks kicked up their heels and ran
ahead. While they were not anxious to draw
Puma from his lair, they wanted to show to
the fawns and does they were unafraid.</p>
<p class='c011'>“If Puma comes for me I’ll show him a
clean pair of heels!” boasted one.</p>
<p class='c011'>“And I,” said another, “will give him a
race that he’ll never forget.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Little did they know of what they were
boasting. Puma the Mountain Lion never
laid any great claim to swift, long distance
running. He knew he was no match for the
fleet deer in this respect.</p>
<p class='c011'>But he had ways and tricks of his own. His
favorite method was to hide among the thick
<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>foliage of the trees, and when a buck or doe
passed underneath to spring upon its back.
Once caught in this way no deer had a chance
to escape. All the speed in the world would
not avail the poor creature then.</p>
<p class='c011'>Puma was a terrible hunter. At night
time he roamed about the dark woods and
scented out his sleeping prey, and with one
blow from his great paw he could break the
back of a buck or crush the skull of a smaller
animal. He could climb a tree like a cat,
and crouch flat in the bushes out of sight to
spring up as swiftly as a deer leaping a chasm.</p>
<p class='c011'>All the older deer knew the ways of Puma,
some from terrifying experiences, and others
only from hearsay. Ever since Father Buck
had been leader of the herd, they had avoided
Puma, and not one had fallen a prey to his
voracious appetite. Perhaps they didn’t fully
appreciate this, for continued safety from
danger often makes us think there is no real
danger after all.</p>
<p class='c011'>So when he proposed leading the herd
down to the succulent grass, bordering the
woods where Puma hunted, he took great precaution
to avoid any risk. Several of the
older bucks were sent ahead scouting, and they
returned at intervals to report.</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>Father Buck led them down to the broad,
shallow stream that he and White Tail had
crossed that day on their return from Puma’s
hunting ground. But instead of wading down
the river a short distance, the leader kept
them wading until they had skirted the hunting
ground of Timber Wolf. He had almost
as much fear of Timber as of Puma.</p>
<p class='c011'>They kept to the left bank of the stream,
and then crossed a shallow ford where the
grass and reeds grew in such dense masses.
They began feeding at once, but not until
bucks had been sent inland to scout for Puma.
They returned to report that Puma was not
abroad. They had crossed and re-crossed his
old trails, but there was no fresh scent in the
air.</p>
<p class='c011'>“He’s probably sleeping after a good night
of hunting,” Black Buck remarked. “I don’t
think there’s any danger.”</p>
<p class='c011'>But the leader was taking no chances. He
posted scouts in the woods and on high rocks
where they could watch, listen and smell.
Then the rest of the herd enjoyed their feast
of rich grass and reeds. They munched
greedily at them, their eyes filled with happiness,
and making as little noise as possible.</p>
<p class='c011'>Now Young Black Buck should have been
satisfied to eat and enjoy himself with the rest
<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>but after he had filled his stomach he began
to feel so much better that he trotted around
from one group to another in the most restless
manner. Seeing White Tail feeding alone, a
sudden desire to get even with him for the
morning’s work seized him.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Ho, White Tail!” he called. “I challenge
you to a race. We’ll scare up Puma maybe,
but that will give us a good chance to show
him how little we are afraid of him.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Is it wise to arouse him?” asked White
Tail.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Wise!” sniffed Young Black Buck. “Must
you ask that question whenever you want to
do something? But if you’re afraid to race
me through his hunting ground well and good.
I’ll go alone.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I’m not afraid,” replied White Tail, “and
I will accept your challenge if the older ones
say it is all right.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Young Black Buck reported the matter to
the leaders, and after a consultation Father
Buck announced: “We’re ready to go home,
and if Puma is aroused we’ll flee. Perhaps
it’s a good plan to give Young Black Buck
and White Tail a chance to see Puma. They
will be on the lookout for him, and when
he appears they can run home. Yes, they
<span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>must learn some day to meet him, and it is
well that it should be today.”</p>
<p class='c011'>With the consent of the leader of the herd
the two young bucks started off into the lower
woods to make a complete circuit of Puma’s
hunting ground. It was a long, wild run,
and they would need all their strength and
powers. Father Buck started them off, and
they disappeared in the woods like two arrows
shot from a bow. What happened to them in
the race will be told in the next story.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY VI<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>Downy the Woodpecker Brings Startling News</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>Swift as the wind, and almost as silently,
White Tail and Young Black Buck swept
through the low timberland, skirting the edge
of Puma’s hunting ground so they could circuit
it and return to the starting point. Like
two good long-distance runners, neither made
an effort to take the lead at first.</p>
<p class='c011'>It was to be a test of endurance rather than
of short sprinting. Silently, side by side, they
ran at first, leaping over fallen logs and trees
in long graceful jumps, and spurting in sharp
bursts of speed where the trail was broad and
open.</p>
<p class='c011'>It was not until they had covered the first
mile, that first one and then the other attempted
to take the lead. Young Black Buck shot
ahead first, taking advantage of an open trail,
but a moment later White Tail leaped over
a clump of bushes and rushed ahead. Young
<span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>Black Buck pushed in the lead again at the
first opportunity.</p>
<p class='c011'>Neither took these short spurts seriously,
for they indicated nothing. Not until they
had covered the second mile did they begin to
let out in real earnestness. Black Buck then,
to see whether White Tail was beginning to
show any strain, rushed ahead, and spread
himself out in a long, steady lope.</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail kept close behind him until his
speed began to slacken, and then to show that
he was still fresh and strong he dashed ahead
and took the lead. Then followed another
mile of hard running. Both bucks were beginning
to perspire freely now, and the white
lather showed on their flanks.</p>
<p class='c011'>But neither one was winded or anywhere
near the end of their strength. White Tail
felt that he could keep up the gait nearly all
day. He felt singularly fresh and strong.
They had made half the circuit before either
could try to outdistance the other.</p>
<p class='c011'>The rest of the race would decide which
was the champion. Either they had to run
abreast of each other until the end, or one
had to take the lead. Suddenly, to White
Tail’s surprise, Young Black Buck slowed
down, and said:</p>
<p class='c011'>“We’re on even terms up to this point,
<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>White Tail. Suppose we rest awhile, and
then go on. The woods are so beautiful here,
and I want to see what kind of a place Puma
lives in. He’s around here somewhere, I
suppose.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes, I came here one day with Father
Buck, and he showed me where Puma was. I
smelt him and heard him.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“How exciting!” exclaimed Young Black
Buck. “I wonder if we’ll hear and smell him
today. I want to know what he looks like.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I’m not so interested in that,” laughed
White Tail. “I don’t want to get so close to
him that he can see me.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, but we might see him, and then steal
silently away without being caught.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail wasn’t so sure of that. He had
a wholesome dread of Puma’s hunting powers.</p>
<p class='c011'>“We might stumble upon him and he see us
first,” he added. “He’s very sly, and can hide
so no one can see him.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“But we could smell him first.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Not if we were on the wrong side of the
wind. Have you noticed which way the wind
is blowing?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Why, yes, from the right.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Then we don’t have to fear anything on
that side. We must keep our eyes and ears
open on the left.”</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>“It’s my opinion,” said Young Black Buck
slowly, “that Puma’s greatly over-rated. Why,
he hasn’t killed one of the herd as long as
any one can remember.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, but that’s because Father Buck has
been such a wise leader.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Young Black Buck sniffed in scorn. “I
don’t know that he’s been any better or wiser
than other leaders,” was the retort. “If my
father had been leader Puma or Timber Wolf
wouldn’t have caught a deer. They wouldn’t
have dared. They’re all afraid of him.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail felt that this boasting wouldn’t
get them anywhere, and would in the end lead
to unpleasant words; but he knew that if
Puma or Timber Wolf heard it they would
laugh in glee.</p>
<p class='c011'>“If you’re rested suppose we go back,”
White Tail said. “We’re going to make
quicker time back. I’m going to run my best.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“And I too. I’m going to beat you. I’m
sorry you got tired out, and had to rest. Well,
I’m ready.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail could afford a smile at this
remark, for Young Black Buck had made
the request to stop for a short time. Tired
out! Why, he felt as fresh and strong as when
they started. He would punish Young Black
<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>Buck by making his defeat as unpleasant as
he could.</p>
<p class='c011'>But before either one could start for the
return trip there was a noise among the leaves
of the spruce tree under which they were
standing, and with visions of Puma crouching
among the branches ready to drop down upon
them their hearts gave a great bound and
almost stood still. In another moment they
would have been off like a shot, but there was
a flutter of wings, and Downy the Woodpecker,
who had made the noise with his beak,
spoke.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Hist! Listen!” he called. “Listen, White
Tail—and you too, Young Black Buck!”</p>
<p class='c011'>Both of the runners stopped and looked up
among the branches of the trees where Downy
was sitting.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Puma is on your trail,” Downy added.
“He caught your wind way back there, and
he’s been trailing you ever since. I saw him,
and hurried to tell you.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Thank you, Downy,” replied White Tail.
“It’s time we were off. He can never catch
us if he’s behind.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I didn’t say he was behind you,” replied
Downy. “He was on your trail, but Puma’s
too wise to follow you that way. You don’t
know him. When he picked up your trail, he
<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>followed you by the wind. While you were
running around in a circle, he’s been cutting
across it. He’s between you and the herd.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“In that case,” said Young Black Buck in
a frightened voice, “we’ll take a wide circuit,
and he’ll miss us.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Again Downy shook his head. “You are
young,” he said, “and don’t know how Puma
hunts. He hunts with his mate, and she’ll be
off to the right to head you off.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Then what can we do?” asked Young
Black Buck, his legs shaking and his voice
trembling.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I really don’t know what to say. I came
here to tell you of your danger. I can’t tell
you what to do.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Couldn’t we go back a little on our track,
and then get around Puma and his mate?”
asked White Tail, struggling hard to keep
cool.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I’m afraid if you do that you’ll run into
Timber Wolf and his family. Puma gave
him the alarm, and he’s out with his whole
pack to cut you off in that direction.”</p>
<p class='c011'>By this time Young Black Buck was so
excited and frightened that he hardly knew
what to do. To be cornered by Puma and
Timber Wolf, with all the yelping pack, was
a terrible thing, and there seemed no way of
<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>escape. A sudden rustling in the bushes made
him jump nearly five feet away. Even White
Tail leaped to one side.</p>
<p class='c011'>But it wasn’t Puma or Timber Wolf. It
was Washer the Raccoon, and what Washer
had to propose will appear in the next story.
Washer was considered a very wise, shrewd
animal, and perhaps he had a way for them
to escape.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY VII<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>A Race With Puma and Timber</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>Washer the Raccoon poked his nose out of
the bushes, and looked blinkingly at White
Tail and Young Black Buck, while Downy
the Woodpecker gazed down at all three with
an expression in his eyes that plainly said:
“Well, I’m glad I’ve got wings, and can fly
away if I want to.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Goodness!” grunted White Tail. “You
frightened the life out of us, Washer! We
thought you were Puma or Timber creeping
upon us.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Well, I’ve been mistaken for Groundy and
Billy Mink, but never for Puma or Timber
before,” replied Washer. “It must be that
you’re excited or have a bad conscience. I
wonder which it is.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Not the latter, I hope,” answered White
Tail. “But as for being excited, I think we
have good reason for that. Downy just
brought us word that Puma and Timber, with
<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>their families are on our trail, and have us
surrounded.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Washer sat up on his hind legs, and leaned
against a tree. His shrewd, golden eyes
flashed brightly in the sunshine, and his
double row of white teeth glistened every
time he opened his mouth.</p>
<p class='c011'>“If that’s the case,” he said, “I think it’s
about time I took to my hole. I have no love
or respect for Puma and Timber.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Neither have we,” said Young Black
Buck, “but we have no hole to run in. What
are we going to do?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“If you only had wings I could answer
that question,” interrupted Downy. “I know
what I’d do.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“And if you had a hole you could crawl in,
I could advise you,” added Washer.</p>
<p class='c011'>Of course, this brought no relief to either
White Tail’s or Young Black Buck’s harassed
minds. They weren’t interested in what
Downy or Washer would do. They wanted
to know what they could do to escape the
terrible trap.</p>
<p class='c011'>Suddenly to make their situation more
desperate, a distant howl rent the air. It was
Timber Wolf calling to the pack. Almost
instantly there was an answering cry on the
<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>left, then another in front, and a third on
the right.</p>
<p class='c011'>“It’s the pack’s hunting cry,” exclaimed
Washer. “They’re calling to each other as
they close in. Yes, they’ve picked up your
scent, White Tail.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Young Black Buck got so frightened and
excited that he leaped around in a circle, uttering
plaintive little whimpers. “I’m going to
run,” he said, “even if I do nothing but go
around and around in circles. I can’t stand
still.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“You’d better save your strength, Young
Black Buck,” advised White Tail. “You may
need all of it for the race, for it is clear to
me that we must trust to our heels to beat
them.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“What’s that?” exclaimed Young Black
Buck, as a snarl in the distance alarmed them.</p>
<p class='c011'>“It’s Puma and his mate creeping up from
this direction,” said White Tail more alarmed
than ever. “With Puma and his mate in the
rear, and Timber’s pack in front and on either
side, what chance have we?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Wait a minute!” exclaimed Washer
quietly. “I think I can suggest a way. My
hole is right on the edge of Black Ravine. I
built it there so I could watch the sun rise
<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>every morning. It’s a beautiful place, even
if I do say so.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail and Young Black Buck turned
to him, and waited impatiently for him to
proceed. Washer was aggravatingly slow.
They were not a bit interested in the beautiful
view he had from his hole.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Black Ravine drops down fifty feet, and
if I should ever forget myself and fall over
the edge it would be the last of me,” Washer
continued, deliberately picking his teeth with
a twig. “Yes, I told Mrs. Washer several
times it was a beautiful but dangerous spot
to bring up our children. They might tumble
into the ravine.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Never mind the ravine, Washer,” interrupted
White Tail. “You said you had a
way for us to escape. Please tell us what
it is.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I was coming to that. You’re very impatient,
White Tail. And the ravine has a
good deal to do with my plan. It’s twenty
feet across from side to side. Can you jump
twenty feet?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Why, I don’t know, but maybe if—”</p>
<p class='c011'>“All right then,” Washer interrupted. “I’ll
show you the way to Black Ravine in front of
my house. If Puma or Timber pursue you all
you got to do is to leap across the ravine.
<span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>Timber couldn’t follow you, and I don’t think
Puma can jump that far. If he couldn’t you’d
have a big head start. Puma and Timber
would have to go a mile down the ravine
before they could cross. It’s wider in front
of my house than at the ends.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Washer’s plan dawned upon their minds
in an instant, and both bucks sprang up as if
to start for Black Ravine at once.</p>
<p class='c011'>“We’ll do it!” exclaimed White Tail. “I’ll
make the jump if I fall in the ravine. It’s
better that way than to be pulled down by
Puma or Timber.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“It’s much better not to fall at all,” was
Washer’s quiet remark. “But now don’t get
excited, or you’ll jump from the frying-pan
into the fire. How do you know if one of
Timber’s family isn’t watching the ravine?
He may be.”</p>
<p class='c011'>This suggestion dashed their hopes, and
sent the cold chills down their backs. No one
could tell where the wolves and pumas were
scattered. They were closing in upon them
on all sides. They might surprise the cornered
bucks before ever they could reach Black
Ravine.</p>
<p class='c011'>“The only way I can suggest,” added
Washer, “is for Downy to fly ahead, and report
<span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>to us where they’re hiding. You could
do that, Downy, couldn’t you?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Why, certainly. I’d be glad to.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Then I wouldn’t waste any time.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Downy immediately flew away in the
direction of Black Ravine, while White Tail
and Young Black Buck waited impatiently
for his return. It seemed a long, long time
to them, and every few moments they could
hear the call of Timber and his pack. They
were drawing nearer and nearer until
finally it seemed as if one was in the bushes
not a dozen rods away.</p>
<p class='c011'>Downy came back finally, and said:</p>
<p class='c011'>“It’s all right, but you must hurry. They’re
closing in so that if you don’t reach Black
Ravine soon they’ll head you off. This way!
Follow me!”</p>
<p class='c011'>He flew off to the right, but swift as he was
White Tail and Young Buck were hardly a
yard behind him. They fairly flew across
the ground, leaping low bushes and trees in
their flight. Washer, being much slower,
decided not to follow. He knew another hole
where he could hide until the danger was
over.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Here they come!” screamed Downy suddenly.
“Now run for your lives! There’s
Black Ravine ahead!”</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>At the same instant Timber and his pack
broke cover, and started for the fleeing bucks
in the open. Close on their right was Puma
and his mate. They set up a yelping and
howling that made the blood of the deer
curdle. It had to be a short race, for other
wolves ahead threatened to cut them off.</p>
<p class='c011'>But there was Black Ravine. Neither
White Tail nor Young Black Buck knew how
wide it was, or whether they could cross it,
but when they reached the edge they shot out
in one mighty leap and landed on the opposite
side. Could Puma follow? In the next story
you will find out what he did.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY VIII<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>Mrs. Puma and Timber Fight</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>The leap across Black Ravine carried
White Tail and Young Black Buck away
from the yapping jaws of Timber Wolf and
his pack. Not one of them dared to follow.
They could no more do it than fly. They
stopped at the edge and howled woefully as
they saw their prey escape.</p>
<p class='c011'>But not Puma the Mountain Lion. He
was a wonderful jumper himself and the
sight of the escaping bucks made him wild
with rage. Besides, he was terribly hungry,
and he was disappointed in not catching at
least one of the bucks.</p>
<p class='c011'>When he came to the edge of the ravine
he hesitated a minute, snarling, spitting and
whisking his long tail. He was so angry
that he knocked one of the wolves over when
he got in his way. For a moment there was
a savage outcry, and Timber threatened to
pounce upon Puma’s back; but the fear of
his powerful claws dissuaded him.</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>“Get away from the edge, you snarling,
sniveling sons of cowards!” Puma growled.
“When did a wolf ever bring down a buck in
fair play? You howl and snap, and make a
great fuss, but you’re cowards at heart! Let
me show you what a Mountain Lion can do.
Back! Back from the edge, I say!”</p>
<p class='c011'>The wolves obeyed, but not without much
snapping of teeth and angry growls. Puma
walked back a few paces, and turned to face
the cliff. Then with a sudden run and spring
he took the long leap.</p>
<p class='c011'>Ordinarily Puma would have hesitated a
long time before attempting to jump across
Black Ravine, but he was wild with anger
and disappointment. Besides, he knew
Timber and his pack were watching him, as
well as his own mate. He was puffed up with
pride to show what he could do.</p>
<p class='c011'>But, alas! pride had its downfall. Puma
had miscalculated the distance. He realized
this before he was half across, and to make
up for it he began squirming and jerking in
mid-air as if that would help him. It did in
a way, for cat-like he had the wonderful
facility of actually jumping and leaping
forward with his feet off the ground.</p>
<div class='figcenter id001'>
<img src='images/i070.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p><span class='sc'>Twenty feet down, Puma saw a small stunted tree</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>But it was of no avail. He still lacked sufficient
force to carry him to the other side.
He stretched one fore-paw far out, hoping to
grasp the edge, and it did touch the rock,
but it only scratched and scraped it.</p>
<p class='c011'>When he found himself falling downward,
he thrust out the other fore-leg and clawed at
the steep side of the cliff. But there was
nothing for him to hold to. The rocks were
so hard that his claws could get no purchase.</p>
<p class='c011'>Down he went another yard. The edge
of the cliff was over his head, and fifty feet
below was the hard bottom of the ravine. A
fall there would surely dash out his brains and
break every bone in his body.</p>
<p class='c011'>Twenty feet down, doubling, whirling and
screaming, Puma saw a small stunted tree
growing from a cleft in the side. He made
one mighty lunge for this, and caught it. He
landed with a thud against it, and clung to its
branches for dear life. He was so shaken
by the fall that for a moment he could do
nothing but blink and gasp. The tree had
scratched him in a dozen places, and the hard
rocks bruised and hurt his body. One paw
was bleeding, and the other was so sore that
he held it up in the air.</p>
<p class='c011'>Over his head, some twenty feet, was the
top of the cliff, with its sides so steep that no
Puma could hope to crawl up them. Below
was the bottom which seemed equally difficult
<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>to reach. Opposite, looking down at him,
were Timber and his family.</p>
<p class='c011'>“What a lucky fall for you, Puma,” jeered
Timber. “And what a poor jump! White
Tail and Young Black Buck cleared it easily,
and you couldn’t cross it! Now, braggart,
what are you going to do to get out? You
can hang there and rot before I’ll help you!
Ho! Ho! You call my tribe cowards! Then
I call you and yours dirty braggarts! You
couldn’t—”</p>
<p class='c011'>A rumbling growl at Timber’s left caused
him to turn suddenly. Puma’s mate was facing
him, with her eyes spitting fire, and her
great right claw raised to strike.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Son of a coward,” she thundered, “how
dare you speak that way to one of my family!
Puma may be caught down there, but you have
me to reckon with!”</p>
<p class='c011'>Timber immediately saw his mistake. He
had forgotten Mrs. Puma, who was almost
as ferocious as Puma. She was smaller, but
fully as quick and lithe. Timber’s manners
immediately changed, and he became as meek
and fawning as he was before threatening and
defiant.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I didn’t refer to you, Mrs. Puma,” he
whined. “Of course, I know you are much
stronger and quicker than Puma, and—”</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>“You lie, you sniveling cur!” interrupted
Mrs. Puma. “For the tail of a deer I’d knock
you in the ravine for my mate to eat for his
supper.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Timber slinked back from the edge. He
knew that one blow from that upraised paw
would send him hurtling through space. But
once back from the edge his manner changed
again. Mrs. Puma stood near the edge now,
and surrounding her was the half circle of
wolves. All of Timber’s pack had arrived,
and they were as thirsty as he for blood. They
were ten to one.</p>
<p class='c011'>It flashed through Timber’s mind that this
was a good time to settle an old score with
Puma. He had never taken kindly to Puma’s
lordly ways in dividing the hunting ground
between them. Puma had always claimed
more than his share of the prey. Sometimes
he had eaten three quarters of a carcass, and
only turned over a small portion to Timber’s
family.</p>
<p class='c011'>And they were a hungry family, half starved
at times when the hunting was poor. All his
old grievances came back to him, and he felt
that here was a chance to settle the dispute for
good. Puma was caught in the ravine, where
he might starve and die. Why not then push
Mrs. Puma after him?</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>“Oh, Mrs. Puma,” he said, “you flatter me.
My family aren’t such cowards as you think.
Just to show you turn around and see them.
They’re all here—the whole pack!”</p>
<p class='c011'>Mrs. Puma whirled about and saw the
semi-circle of snarling, snapping wolves. Then
for the first time in her life she felt afraid.
She might kill two or three of Timber’s family
before they conquered her, but eventually
they would drive her over the cliff. But it
was no time to show fear. That would be the
signal for the wolves to close in on her.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I see them—the whole pack,” she snarled.
“And every one of them a coward! Not one
dare touch me unless the others push him
within reach of my claws. See, the whole
pack jumps and screams when I strike.”</p>
<p class='c011'>With a vicious drive of her paw she made
those nearest leap back in fear. She followed
this up with another drive. Timber saw that,
unless he acted at once, his family would
become panic-stricken. Raising himself on
his hind feet ready for a spring, he opened his
mouth, and uttered the hunting cry of the
pack. Then at a given signal they attacked all
at once.</p>
<p class='c011'>They darted forward with yelps of defiance,
Timber leading. But what a surprise awaited
them! Mrs. Puma had guessed their actions,
<span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>and with a mighty spring in the air she leaped
clear over the backs of the encircling crowd.
It was a wonderful spring, and nothing but
fear could have made her do it. It landed
her safely back of the wolves.</p>
<p class='c011'>Then before they could turn and charge
again, she took another spring, and was safe
in the branches of a tree. “Some other day,
thou dog of a coward!” Mrs. Puma said. “I’ll
sleep here until you get tired of waiting.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Having got Mrs. Puma out of trouble we
will follow White Tail in the next story.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY IX<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>Young Black Buck Has an Accident</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>It is hard work to starve out Puma the
Mountain Lion when treed, and perhaps
harder yet to imprison him on the side of a
steep cliff. Timber Wolf knew this, and after
the escape of Mrs. Puma up the tree, he grew
uneasy, and decided that it was safer for him
to lead the pack back to their own hunting
ground.</p>
<p class='c011'>When they had gone Mrs. Puma leaped
down to the ground, and ran to the edge of
the ravine to see what had become of her mate.
She was not greatly surprised when she saw
that he had slowly made his way to the bottom
of the chasm, and was looking up to see where
she was. With a little cry of joy she trotted
down to the end of the ravine to rejoin him.</p>
<p class='c011'>Meanwhile, of course, White Tail and
Young Black Buck were running like the
wind, anxious to get as far away from their
pursuers as they could. They didn’t know
<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>what had happened at Black Ravine, and they
couldn’t stop to investigate. The fear that
the wolves and Mountain Lions might still be
on their trail kept them going until they were
nearly exhausted.</p>
<p class='c011'>One mile, two miles, three miles they ran
without stopping or looking around, fear lending
speed to their legs. Then something happened
which brought them to a sudden halt.
Young Black Buck stumbled, and plunged
headfirst to the ground. When he tried to
get up again, he groaned with pain, and held
a fore-leg in the air as if it hurt him.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Oh, I’ve broken my leg!” he cried. “I
can’t run another step. They’ll catch me now,
I know! I can’t escape them!”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail, whose momentum had carried
him some distance ahead, stopped and turned
around.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Let me see it,” he said, sniffing at the leg.
After quickly examining it, he added; “No,
it isn’t broken—only sprained. Can’t you
stand on it?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, not for an instant. Oh, what will become
of me! Hark! Isn’t that Puma growling?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No,” replied White Tail, listening with his
head flung back and his nose in the air.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Then it’s Timber calling, I’m sure it is.”</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>White Tail listened again. He was trembling
himself, for the fright and exhausting
run had made him very nervous.</p>
<p class='c011'>“It’s something, but I don’t think it’s
Timber Wolf. He hasn’t had time to run
around the end of Black Ravine.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“But he’ll be here soon,” whined Young
Black Buck.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Then we must be going. We can’t stay
here. You must run on three legs. You can
do it.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Not so fast as Timber Wolf or Puma can
run on four legs. Oh, you won’t leave me,
White Tail, will you? I shall die of fear if
you do. I’ve always been your friend.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I won’t leave you yet,” replied White
Tail. “Lie down in the bushes, and I will
run back and see if I can find Timber or
Puma. If they’re coming—”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Don’t leave me,” interrupted Young Black
Buck.</p>
<p class='c011'>Just then, when White Tail was uncertain
what to do, and so nervous that he couldn’t
stand still, Downy the Woodpecker appeared.
He fluttered in a tree just as if he had been
there waiting for them all the time.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Oh, Downy,” cried White Tail, “where
are they? Are they on our trail yet? Did
they get across Black Ravine?”</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>Downy finished hauling a grub out of its
hole in the tree bark before he answered.
“No,” he then said, “they didn’t get across
Black Ravine, but Puma got in it. And he’s
there now, screaming with rage.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“He jumped and fell in it?” asked Young
Black Buck.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes,” nodded Downy. “He tried to show
Timber’s family what he could do, and he
made a pretty sight of himself. He missed
the opposite side by a few inches, and if it
hadn’t been for a small tree growing on the
rocks he would have fallen to the bottom, and
been killed.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I wish he had,” said Young Black Buck.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Well, he wasn’t,” added Downy, “so it’s
no good wishing for what didn’t happen.
He’ll roll down, and get on his feet again.
It’s pretty hard to kill Puma.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“What did Timber and his pack do?”
asked White Tail.</p>
<p class='c011'>“They did just what you might expect of
them. They jeered and laughed at Puma, and
then Mrs. Puma interfered.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I thought that Timber and Puma were
friends,” said White Tail.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Such selfish friendship as they had for
each other doesn’t amount to much. It only
takes a little for them to fall out and begin
<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>fighting each other. And that’s just what
happened. Timber thought it was a good
time to attack Mrs. Puma, and his whole pack
jumped at her.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“And what happened then?” breathlessly
asked White Tail.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Mrs. Puma jumped too, and as she could
jump faster and farther than Timber she got
away and ran up a tree. There I left her,
with the wolves howling underneath.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I think then they’ll give up the chase,”
remarked White Tail. “It’s very fortunate
for us, for Young Black Buck has sprained
his leg, and will have to limp the rest of the
way.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I can’t limp far on three legs,” whined
Young Black Buck. “And we are far
away from the herd, aren’t we, Downy?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes, so many miles I can’t count them.
You’ve been running away from where you
started, and it will take you a long, long time
to get home.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail and Young Black Buck were
greatly distressed by this information, for
night was coming on, and to be caught after
dark away from the herd in the heart of a
strange woods was a most unpleasant outlook.
White Tail might have made it by hard running,
but Young Black Buck could never do
<span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span>it, and White Tail wasn’t going to leave him
alone in the woods. He was too loyal for
that.</p>
<p class='c011'>“There doesn’t seem to be any choice in
the matter,” White Tail said. “We’ve got to
stay here, and make the best of it.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“But you could get home alone, White
Tail, if you started right away,” suggested
Downy. “It will be moonlight early in the
evening, and you can find your way once you
reach the shallow stream.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes, I know the way, but I couldn’t leave
Young Black Buck behind. No, I couldn’t
think of it. We’ll find a resting place among
the bushes, and stay here until morning. Then
maybe his leg will be better.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Downy nodded his head, and began pecking
away at the bark of the tree for another grub.
Young Black Buck looked thankfully at the
speaker, but said nothing.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you soon,”
Downy remarked after a while. “I’m a long
distance from my home, and I don’t see that
I can help you any by staying.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No,” smiled White Tail, “except to give
us warning of danger when it comes.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“There’s no danger now unless—”</p>
<p class='c011'>He stopped and listened attentively.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Unless what, Downy?”</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>“I don’t know that I should say it, for I
don’t want to frighten you, but there are man
hunters in this woods. They’ve pitched a
camp a few miles back of here. But if they
haven’t dogs with them they won’t find you.
Just keep quiet here in the bushes until
morning.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“We certainly will,” replied White Tail.
“I dread the man hunters as much as Puma
and Timber, especially if they have dogs.”</p>
<p class='c011'>And all through the night, he thought and
dreamt of the man hunters, but nothing happened
until morning, and then the distant
baying of a dog startled him.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY X<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>White Tail’s Magnanimous Act</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>White Tail could not mistake the sound of
the dogs in the distance. Neither could Young
Black Buck, who was instantly on his feet.
The dread sound had more to do in curing the
sprained foot than the night’s rest, and he
followed White Tail, trotting around and
sniffing the air in every direction.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Are they coming this way?” Young Black
Buck asked.</p>
<p class='c011'>“It’s hard to tell,” replied White Tail. “I
haven’t picked up their scent yet, but I don’t
need to. I hear them.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“We must be going before they find us.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Is your lame leg strong enough?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes, it’s all right again—a little lame, but
not much. Which way shall we go?”</p>
<p class='c011'>Unconsciously Young Black Buck had been
depending upon White Tail ever since danger
first threatened them, and this was a sure sign
that he recognized qualities of leadership in
<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>his rival that he did not possess. And White
Tail had accepted it without giving it much
thought.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I think,” he said finally, “they’re off to the
right where Downy said the white hunters
had their camp. Then we should go to the
left.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“But that will take us to the hunting
grounds of Puma and Timber Wolf,” protested
Young Black Buck.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes, I know, but we can swing around
north of them before we reach their woods.
At any rate we can’t run right into danger.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail took up the lead, and Young
Black Buck followed. They stole away in
the woods almost as silently as shadows. A
well worn trail led into the darkest and
thickest part of the forest, and as this kept
going straight away from the man hunter’s
camp they stuck close to it.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Maybe this is Puma’s trail,” Young Black
Buck remarked after they had gone a considerable
distance. “No deer have been this
way.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, of course not. This isn’t our woods,
but Puma hasn’t been here. I could smell
him.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Then Timber Wolf and his pack made it.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, it hasn’t Timber’s smell either.”</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>White Tail had his nose close to the ground,
and while he couldn’t quite make out whose
trail it was he felt confident that it wasn’t that
of either Puma or Timber.</p>
<p class='c011'>Still it is always dangerous to follow an
unknown trail. It’s against the law of the
herd for the leader to do so, and had White
Tail known it he would have taken to the thick
woods. But he thought he was doing right,
for it was much easier to travel faster in this
way.</p>
<p class='c011'>He was jogging along cautiously when the
trail became suddenly very strong and fresh.
He stopped and flung up his head. That
animal odor that had caught his nose, startled
him.</p>
<p class='c011'>But the sight which met his eyes startled
him more than the strange odor. There standing
directly in the broad trail, grinning at
them, was Buster the Bear. What a shock it
gave him! Buster seemed to tower up so big
that he looked like a giant of a bear.</p>
<p class='c011'>With a snort of fear, White Tail turned and
sprang out of the trail, clearing a clump of
bushes in a beautiful jump, and calling to
Young Black Buck to follow. The latter
didn’t need this advice, for he was already
out of the trail, running for dear life.</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>Now back in the broad trail, Buster, who
had been nearly as much surprised as they,
suddenly roared with glee, his fat sides shaking
and wobbling. “Ho! Ho!” he laughed.
“What a scare I gave them! And I didn’t
open my mouth. I wonder what they’d done
if I’d roared like this.”</p>
<p class='c011'>He let out a roar that shook the leaves off
the bushes, and made White Tail and Young
Black Buck run harder than ever. To them
it seemed as if that roar was trying to catch
them, and they couldn’t dodge its echo.</p>
<p class='c011'>But, of course, Buster wasn’t pursuing them.
In the first place, he knew he couldn’t overtake
them, and in the second he wasn’t particularly
hungry and rarely killed deer or bucks.
He was too kind-hearted for that. But he
did enjoy a joke, and he thought it was a huge
one to scare them half out of their wits.</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail and Young Black Buck ran
without knowing which way they were going.
In fact they might have run straight into the
camp of the man hunters if they hadn’t been
stopped by the sudden baying of the dogs.</p>
<p class='c011'>This time the dogs were so close that they
couldn’t expect to throw them off their scent.
In fact, one of them saw White Tail’s head,
and immediately gave the signal. He rushed
<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>for them with wild yelps of delight, and two
others followed him.</p>
<p class='c011'>The two bucks swung around in another
direction, and ran pell-mell through the
woods. The fear of the dogs made them forget
Buster. Indeed White Tail realized his
mistake now. He knew that Buster could not
overtake him in a race, but the dogs of the
man hunters might. They would follow them
night and day until exhaustion killed one or
the other.</p>
<p class='c011'>“We’re in for it now,” White Tail said to
his companion, breathing hard. “The dogs
are fresh, and we’re not. We must find a river
to throw them off our scent.”</p>
<p class='c011'>But finding a river in a strange woods was
not an easy thing to do. So far as they knew
there was no river there. They were completely
turned around, and hardly knew
which direction to take to reach home.</p>
<p class='c011'>Young Black Buck soon began to show signs
of weariness, and his lame leg hurt him again.
In vain White Tail urged him on, but he
couldn’t run any faster. The dogs would
certainly soon overtake him.</p>
<p class='c011'>Then White Tail did a magnanimous thing.
He couldn’t bear to leave his companion behind
to be pulled down by the dogs, while he
escaped. No, no, that would never do for
<span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>one who some day expected to be leader of
the herd!</p>
<p class='c011'>“Young Black Buck,” he said, running
along by the side of the panting creature, “you
run straight on as hard as you can. I’m going
to stop here until the dogs see me. Then I’ll
lead them off to the left. So long as they
can see me they’ll follow me and forget the
scent. When I get them far enough away I’ll
run faster, and get away from them. You understand?”</p>
<p class='c011'>Young Black Buck nodded his head. He
was too tired to reply in words. “Then go
on! I’ll wait here until the dogs come up.”</p>
<p class='c011'>It was a risky thing to do, but White Tail
felt that alone he could outrun the dogs. At
any rate he was going to do that much for his
companion.</p>
<p class='c011'>He didn’t have long to wait. The baying
hounds soon appeared, and catching sight of
White Tail they started for him with yelps
of delight. White Tail sprang away in the
bushes, but not so fast that the dogs lost sight
of him. He noticed that all three were chasing
him. Then, when some distance away
from the fork in the trail, he increased his
speed.</p>
<p class='c011'>In a very short time he was out of sight
again, but the hounds were on his scent. They
<span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>had lost Young Black Buck’s, and there was
no chance of their picking it up again.</p>
<p class='c011'>Away on the wind White Tail flew. His
tremendous strides carried him far in the
lead. Mile after mile he covered, his proud
head flung back, his nostrils distended. It
was a killing pace, but the dogs held on behind.
How long could he stand it? Another
mile, and the pace began to tell on him. He
was growing weary and exhausted. But the
dogs were still coming!</p>
<p class='c011'>When he began to fear he could not escape,
it began to rain, falling gently at first, and
then more heavily.</p>
<p class='c011'>In the next story you will read of how the
rain helped him.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY XI<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>White Tail’s Adventure in the Camp</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>The rain made White Tail’s difficulties
worse, for the logs and stones were so slippery
that he stumbled time and again, and to avoid
a fall he had to slacken his pace. The dogs
on the other hand, kept up their pace, as the
slippery things did not seem to bother them,
and they began to gain on the fleeing buck
very rapidly. Their deep baying drew so
near that White Tail became startled.</p>
<p class='c011'>But all this time the rain was planning to
help the buck, although he did not know it at
the time. He was feeling very uncomfortable,
as well as frightened. The steady downpour
soaked him to the skin, and the driving
wind splashed the rain-drops in his eyes, half
blinding him.</p>
<p class='c011'>When the dogs drew so near that White
Tail felt they would soon see him, he turned
abruptly around, and ran at right angles to
his former course. He had not tried dodging
before, but had kept on a straight course.</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>To his surprise he heard the barking of the
dogs grow suddenly fainter, and then very
confused. The fact was the heavy downpour
of rain had nearly blotted out his trail, and
the dogs could not readily pick it up again.
So long as he kept on in straight course, the
dogs had followed him.</p>
<p class='c011'>But now, by dodging, White Tail found he
could easily elude them, so faint was the scent
he left behind. The rain washed that away,
and completely baffled the dogs.</p>
<p class='c011'>It was a great blessing, for White Tail was
badly winded. He was so tired that as soon
as he left the dogs far in the rear he sought
shelter from the rain. He was almost exhausted
with his efforts, and a bed of leaves
or grass would be the greatest blessing in the
world.</p>
<p class='c011'>Directly ahead of him, he saw an old deserted
open camp standing in a partial clearing.
It was built of pine logs, with the bark
left on, and a roof and three sides. The front
was left open, with an old camp-fire place of
stones and rocks a few feet away.</p>
<p class='c011'>At first White Tail stopped and looked at
the camp suspiciously. If the man hunters
lived in it, he should avoid it as he would
Puma or Timber, but if it were deserted
there would be no harm in seeking shelter
<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>under its roof. He watched, listened and
sniffed for a long time before he dared approach
it.</p>
<p class='c011'>Then by degrees he walked closer until he
had a chance to look inside. There was no
one there, and it had not been inhabited for a
long, long time. White Tail could tell this
by the absence of any odor.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I think it’s safe,” he muttered after another
close examination. “I’ll spend the night
here. I’m dreadfully tired, and so wet I’m
cold and shivery.”</p>
<p class='c011'>He walked under the sheltering roof, and
found a bed of sweet-smelling spruce boughs
in one corner. They were perfectly dry, and
White Tail gave a grunt of satisfaction. It
was a dry shelter, with a soft, dry bed already
prepared for him. He dropped down on it
with a sigh of intense relief.</p>
<p class='c011'>It rained hard all night. White Tail could
hear the floods of water pouring on the roof
of his shelter, but under it the place was dry
and warm. Darkness came early in the woods,
and it was soon pitchy black.</p>
<p class='c011'>He felt perfectly safe if none of the night
prowlers appeared. The rain, however, was
a protection to him, for even Puma and Timber
rarely ventured forth in such a storm.
They preferred to do their hunting on clear,
<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>dry nights when the scent of their prey was
clear and distinct.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I don’t think anybody will disturb me until
morning,” White Tail said, “and I can rest
here in peace.”</p>
<p class='c011'>But of course you can never tell what may
happen in the wildwoods. Suppose Puma
or Timber Wolf should be caught away from
home in the rain! If they were, and saw the
open camp, they would very naturally seek it
for shelter just as White Tail had done.</p>
<p class='c011'>It was quite early in the evening when
White Tail was awakened from slumber by a
thump, thump outside. It came nearer and
nearer. White Tail was so frightened that
he could scarcely breathe. He trembled in
every limb. Some animal was coming around
the side of the open camp.</p>
<p class='c011'>Before White Tail could leap to his feet to
run, a head was thrust around the corner, and
a pair of wonderful eyes looked at him. At
the same instant the owner of them caught
sight of White Tail’s.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Hello, Bumper!” White Tail exclaimed,
when he recognized Bumper the White Rabbit.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m White Tail the
Deer.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Well, I’m mighty glad of that,” replied
Bumper, approaching. “You gave me an
<span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>awful start at first. I thought you were Mr.
Fox or Sneaky the Wolf or Puma.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“And I thought you were Timber Wolf or
the man hunters or their dogs.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Seeing that we were both wrong then,”
said Bumper, “we might share this camp between
us. You have no objection, I hope.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, I’m glad to have company. I’m
dreadfully excited and alarmed.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Then he told the White Rabbit about his
adventures, ending up with the pursuit by the
dogs, and his escape to the deserted camp.</p>
<p class='c011'>“You certainly did have a hard time of it,”
said Bumper when he had finished. “And
you’re a long way from home. I do hope you
can get back without accident. What’s that?”</p>
<p class='c011'>Bumper stopped, and White Tail raised his
head in alarm. There was a scream outside,
and then a wild commotion in the bushes.
The next moment something came rushing in
the camp, and flopped down right at White
Tail’s feet.</p>
<p class='c011'>It was Rusty the Blackbird. “Help! Help!
Oh, help me!” Rusty cried. “Great Horn the
Owl is after me! Here he comes now!”</p>
<p class='c011'>And out of the darkness swept a shadowy
figure that hardly made any noise; but the
moment it saw White Tail it stopped and
circled around his head. White Tail raised
<span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>his head, and swung his big antlers threateningly
at Great Horn.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Look out,” he said, “or I’ll hit you! Don’t
come any nearer, Great Horn!”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Is that you, White Tail?” asked Great
Horn. “I didn’t know you were here. Well,
I won’t disturb you. I’m after Rusty there
at your feet. Let me have him, and I will
leave at once.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“You will leave at once without Rusty,”
replied White Tail. “He’s a friend of mine,
and I’m going to protect him.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Hoot! Hoot!” shouted the Owl in laughter.
“I’ll take him whether you want me to or
not.”</p>
<p class='c011'>He made a swift dive for poor Rusty, but
White Tail’s big antlers swung around and
knocked him over. One prong hurt Great
Horn so that he flew back to a safe place.</p>
<p class='c011'>“If you come nearer, I’ll hurt you worse the
next time,” warned White Tail.</p>
<p class='c011'>Great Horn sat there and considered for
some time, his great eyes blinking and winking.
“What are you doing here, White Tail?”
he asked finally. “Don’t you know you’re on
Puma’s hunting grounds? Well, if you don’t
know it you ought to. I think Puma might
be interested in knowing it. Now give me
Rusty at once or I’ll fly away, and tell Puma.”</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>This threat made Rusty tremble, and
Bumper shiver in his corner where he was
hiding under the boughs; but White Tail did
neither. “Go, and tell him, Great Horn,” he
replied. “I won’t give up Rusty. I’ll protect
my friends.”</p>
<p class='c011'>And Great Horn flew away. What he did
will appear in the next story.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY XII<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>White Tail Escapes</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>The moment Great Horn the Owl flew out
of the open camp to tell Puma of White Tail’s
hiding place, Bumper hopped from his place
in the corner, and Rusty jumped to a perch
on one of the buck’s antlers.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Oh, dear,” began Rusty, “I’ve brought
trouble upon you, White Tail! Great Horn
will guide Puma here. I wish now I’d never
flown in here.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, you don’t wish that, Rusty,” replied
White Tail. “If you hadn’t come here Great
Horn would have killed you.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“And now Puma will kill you.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Not if I can help it,” smiled White Tail.
“He’s been on my trail before, and I shook
him off.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Then he told Rusty of his adventures.</p>
<p class='c011'>“You’re wonderful, White Tail,” the Blackbird
said when he had finished. “You saved
Young Black Buck’s life, and nearly lost your
<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>own. Now you’ve saved my life, and got
yourself in more danger. I wish I could do
something to help you in return.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Probably you can, Rusty. Who knows?
I’m terribly mixed up in these strange woods.
I hardly know which way to go to find home.
Perhaps you can direct me.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes, I can do that easily.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Thanks! That’s one good turn you can do
me. Now for another. Is there any river or
stream near here that I can reach? If so I
can go to it before Puma comes, and then wade
down it to throw him off my scent.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Why, yes, there’s a shallow brook only a
mile from here. I can take you to that.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Which way shall I go—up or down the
brook?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Go down it a couple of miles until it runs
in the stream where Father Buck let the herd
feed on the rushes this morning—the place
you started from when you ran the race with
Young Black Buck.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“In that case,” replied White Tail, “I think
I’ll be going right away. I’m anxious to be
off.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“But it’s a dreadful night outside. Hear it
rain.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes, but it would be more dreadful to stay
here until Great Horn and Puma appeared.
<span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>Puma would kill me, and Great Horn would
pounce upon you.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes, of course, we must go—right away,
rain or no rain.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Bumper, who had been listening to the conversation,
hopped to the entrance, and then
came back. “If I’m any judge,” he said, “I
don’t think you’ll have such a wet trip. That
shower was the last. The clouds are breaking
away, and the moon will soon be out.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail was instantly on his feet, and
beat Rusty to the front where the two of them
gazed up at the rain clouds now growing thin
and ragged in places. They saw a star twinkle
in the east, and then another and another. The
storm was, indeed, over, and the night trip
through the woods would not be so disagreeable.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I must be off at once, Rusty,” White Tail
said. “Puma may be back any minute.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“You can’t start any too soon to suit me,
White Tail, for if Puma comes Great Horn
will be with him. Come on! I’m ready.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“It seems to me,” remarked Bumper, “you
don’t consider me at all. I’m not even invited
to go with you.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“We thought you’d prefer to stay in this dry
camp,” replied White Tail. “It’s very comfortable
<span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>here, and you can hide under the
spruce boughs.”</p>
<p class='c011'>The White Rabbit sniffed. “How long do
you suppose it would take Puma to find me?”
he asked. “When he found you’d gone, he’d
eat me up instead. A rabbit makes only a
mouthful for Puma, but it’s better than nothing.
No, I’m going with you.”</p>
<p class='c011'>So the three started forth, leaving the
shelter of the camp for the wet trail of the
woods. And how wet everything was! The
trail was soaked with water, and every leaf
and bough was dripping with moisture.
Every bush they touched threw a shower of
rain-drops all over them.</p>
<p class='c011'>Rusty led the way, hopping and flying from
bush to bush, with Bumper following next,
and White Tail bringing up the rear.
Bumper was as familiar with the woods as
Rusty, and White Tail really followed him,
although at times the White Rabbit took short
cuts through narrow paths which the buck
could not tread.</p>
<p class='c011'>It was very quiet and solemn in the woods.
After the rain the stillness seemed intensified
by the occasional splatter of water, as some
overladened tree branch dipped its load and
let it fall to the ground. No birds or animals
<span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>were abroad, and they made half the distance
without accident or alarm.</p>
<p class='c011'>Then back of them came a fearful roar that
startled the echoes of the wildwoods. It was
Puma the Mountain Lion.</p>
<p class='c011'>“He’s found we’ve escaped!” cried Rusty.
“Oh, do hurry! He’ll pick up your trail, and
Great Horn will find me. Hurry! Hurry!”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Wait a minute!” exclaimed White Tail.
“Can’t you find a hiding place, Rusty?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes, many of them, but I must show you
the way to the shallow brook.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, you tell me how to find it,” interrupted
White Tail. “I can run much faster alone.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“It’s straight ahead, White Tail.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Then find a hiding place in the bushes.
Good-bye, and thank you!”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Are you going to leave me, White Tail?”
asked Bumper.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes, Bumper, for you travel too slow for
me. You must find a burrow, and run for it.
There must be one around here.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes, there’s a good one not far from here.
But don’t you need me?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, Bumper, I can outrun you, and if you
come along Puma may overtake me. Good-bye,
and thank you! I’m off now.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Bumper waited until White Tail was out of
sight and hearing. Then he sought a safe
<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>burrow, and stood at the entrance to watch
and listen. Pretty soon he heard a crash in
the bushes, as Puma came dashing along.
Close behind him was Great Horn the Owl,
flitting from tree to tree.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I wonder where Rusty is,” Great Horn
was saying. “I don’t see him anywhere.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Neither do I see White Tail,” roared back
Puma, “but I smell him. I’m on the right
trail.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I wish I could smell Rusty. My eyes are
good, but my nose isn’t as sharp as yours,
Puma.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I don’t care where Rusty is,” was the reply.
“I want White Tail, and I’m going to
catch him this time. He can’t escape as he
did before.”</p>
<p class='c011'>They swept past Bumper, and made their
way down the trail. The White Rabbit
sighed, and said: “I do hope White Tail will
escape.”</p>
<p class='c011'>And White Tail hoped so too. Meanwhile,
he was running with all his might. As soon
as he had left his two friends, he leaped
through the bushes or over them, with his
head aimed straight for the brook. He heard
the roar of Puma behind him, and this spurred
him on to greater speed.</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>When he finally reached the shallow brook,
he waded in and rapidly followed it down toward
its mouth where it joined the wider
stream. When Puma reached the brook he
was baffled. The scent he had been following
suddenly stopped.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Which way has he gone?” he growled.
“Up or down? I’ll go up, Great Horn, and
you go down. If you see him hoot to me, and
I’ll come.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Puma crossed the stream and ran up it on
the opposite side, and Great Horn flitted down
it. Of course, Great Horn found White Tail,
but what happened then will appear next.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY XIII<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>White Tail Hears Unpleasant News</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>Great Horn found White Tail a long way
down the stream, but by that time morning
was dawning, and the light began to hurt the
Owl’s eyes. He caught a glimpse of something
moving through the bushes, and flew
toward it, for he could not in the early light
see very far.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Ah! I’ve found you, White Tail!” he
cried. “I knew it was you.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“How did you know it, Great Horn?” asked
White Tail. “I know you can’t see very well
in this light. I don’t believe you can see me
yet. You only hear me.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“The idea!” snapped Great Horn. “I can
see you as well as you can see me.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I don’t believe it,” replied White Tail.
“Can you see Rusty sitting on the end of my
antlers?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Rusty! Rusty! Is he there?” exclaimed
Great Horn excitedly. Now the thought of
<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>being so near to his prey made him very hungry,
and he flew straight at White Tail’s head.
This was what the buck wanted, and when
the Owl was close enough he swung his antlers
around swiftly and caught Great Horn
on the end. The blow was enough to knock
the breath out of the bird, and he fell with a
plump in the bushes.</p>
<p class='c011'>“That’s for betraying me to Puma,” White
Tail said. “Now call to him when you can
get back your breath. I’m off.”</p>
<p class='c011'>And through the bushes he ran, leaving
Great Horn so surprised and stunned that he
couldn’t call to Puma for a long time. White
Tail had made good his escape.</p>
<p class='c011'>A few yards through the woods he came
upon the other stream, the broad river which
he knew so well. He crossed this, and made
his way up the other embankment. Then,
with the woods before him familiar to his eyes
and nose, he ran rapidly toward home. He
had made his way out of Puma’s hunting and
through the higher timberland to his home.</p>
<p class='c011'>His appearance was hailed with delight by
all his friends. “Oh, White Tail, we thought
you were dead!” exclaimed one.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Dead! Huh! Why should you think
that?” he sniffed.</p>
<div class='figcenter id001'>
<img src='images/i111.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
<div class='ic001'>
<p><span class='sc'>“That’s for betraying me to Puma,” White Tail said.</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>“Young Black Buck said you were. He
left you, and he was sure the dogs would catch
you. He was sorry for you, but you couldn’t
keep up with him, and he didn’t want to die
because you couldn’t run as fast as he.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“What!” exclaimed White Tail. “Has
Young Black Buck returned? And did he
tell such a tale?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Why, yes, that’s what he said.”</p>
<p class='c011'>With a roar of rage at this falsehood, White
Tail pushed his way into the middle of the
herd, and stood face to face before Young
Black Buck.</p>
<p class='c011'>“You have been spreading more false stories
about me, Young Black Buck!” he said. “After
the way I saved you from the dogs, you lie
about me!”</p>
<p class='c011'>Young Black Buck stood all atremble at the
sight of White Tail. He had truly believed
that the dogs would catch him, and he thought
there would be no harm in telling a story of
his escape that would hurt White Tail and
help himself.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Listen!” White Tail added, swinging
around and facing the herd. “Listen to a
story of treachery. Young Black Buck has lied
to you, and you must hear me. When he
stumbled and sprained his leg, I stayed with
him until it healed. Then when the man
<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>hunters started the dogs on our trail, we ran
together until Young Black Buck’s weak leg
crippled him again. The dogs would have
caught him, but I waited for them, and when
they saw me I led them off on my trail. Young
Black Buck escaped while I led the dogs a
merry chase. I saved his life, and he rewards
me for it by lies—nothing but lies!”</p>
<p class='c011'>The commotion that followed these words
was great, and the herd gazed from one
speaker to the other.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I challenge you to deny it!” continued
White Tail, facing Young Black Buck. “See
he cannot deny it! He knows it to be the
truth!”</p>
<p class='c011'>Young Black Buck, indeed, looked guilty.
His limbs were trembling, and his head
drooping. For once he had no ready story
to explain his lies.</p>
<p class='c011'>“To punish you for it, Young Black Buck,
I challenge you to a fight!” went on White
Tail, now so enraged that he wanted to punish
his rival.</p>
<p class='c011'>It was then that Black Buck interfered.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Cease your quarreling over such petty
things,” he said. “There are greater things
for the herd to consider than this.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“What can be greater than a question of
honor?” interrupted White Tail boldly.
<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>“Your son has spread falsehoods about me,
and I challenge him to prove it by fighting.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“And I tell you to cease your quarreling,”
added Black Buck. “You may need your
strength for a different kind of challenge.
Know you not what has happened?”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail looked mystified. Suddenly it
occurred to him that he hadn’t seen Father
Buck or Mother Deer. They hadn’t come
forth to greet him. Had anything serious
happened to them?</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, I don’t know what has happened,”
White Tail admitted. “I have been away,
and know nothing.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Then listen!” replied Black Buck. “Our
leader has failed. He stumbled in the chase,
and missed his footing. When we crossed
the brook he failed to clear it. He is no
longer our leader. He’s old and broken.
Tomorrow we meet at the Council Tree to
choose a new leader.”</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail stood dumbfounded. Father
Buck had been disgraced! He had fallen and
missed his footing! He had failed to cross
the brook in a single jump! He was to be
deposed as leader!</p>
<p class='c011'>It seemed incredible, and White Tail was
on the point of saying so when he remembered
the words of Father Buck, and his prediction
<span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>that some day he would fail through old age
and weakness. The thing had happened then
in his absence. White Tail was glad of that,
for it would have been hard for him to witness
the leader’s downfall.</p>
<p class='c011'>Without another word to Black Buck, he
whirled around to hunt up Father Buck and
Mother Deer. He wanted the truth from
their lips, and not from one who found pleasure
in it. The sneer in Black Buck’s words
angered him.</p>
<p class='c011'>He found the two quietly resting under a
tree back of the herd, a little to one side as if
they had already been cast out and ignored by
those who had so recently looked up to them.
Mother Deer rose and ran to greet her son.</p>
<p class='c011'>“It is well, White Tail, that you’ve come
back at this time,” she said quietly. “You
have heard the news?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes, I’ve heard it. It is true then—that—that—”</p>
<p class='c011'>“Yes, my son,” interrupted Father Buck,
“I have led my last chase. Never again will
the herd follow me. What must come to all
of us at some time has befallen me. There is
nothing to regret. One and all must face it
sooner or later. Why should we not accept it
complacently?”</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>White Tail was surprised, and yet pleased,
by the quiet acceptance Father Buck took of
his downfall. It softened the load that he was
carrying in his own heart.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I prepared you for it, you remember
White Tail,” the old leader continued. “Well,
tomorrow they will choose a new leader.
They will demand that I step aside. But until
then I’m leader, and no one shall dispute that
right.”</p>
<p class='c011'>He rose and shook his huge antlered head,
looking for all the world like a leader, and
when he bellowed an order every one started.
He was not yet deposed. In the next story
what happened at the Council Tree will be
told.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY XIV<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>Choosing A New Leader</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>The call for a meeting at the Council Tree
was issued to the herd by Father Buck himself.
It was his duty to do this, for the law of the
herd is that a leader is still in command, and
his word must be obeyed, until he has been
deposed and another chosen.</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail had been twice at the Council
Tree before, but never on such a momentous
occasion as this. His own initiation into the
secrets of the council was nothing compared
to the choosing of a new leader. He felt the
weight of responsibility that was laid upon
him, for the time had come for him to succeed
his father or fail forever.</p>
<p class='c011'>The choosing of a leader did not happen
often. Once in a life time was the average.
Unless something happened to a leader to cut
him down accidentally in the prime of his life,
or Puma or Timber pulled him down in the
chase, no successor was chosen until he grew
too weak and decrepit to lead. The event
was, therefore, an important one, and long to
<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>be remembered by those who took part in it.</p>
<p class='c011'>Father Buck had led the herd for so many
seasons that none but the older ones could remember
when he was not their leader. In all
those days and seasons he had been shrewd,
wise and courageous so that few accidents
had happened to any of the deer. His had
been the most successful leadership that any
could recall.</p>
<p class='c011'>When they assembled at the Council Tree,
Father Buck was there ahead of them, standing
lonely and aloof in the place of honor
under the big tree. His lordly head, with its
great spread of antlers, was held high, so that
some of those who had come to scoff and laugh
at him felt a sudden awe. There was none of
the meekness and humility of a fallen leader
in his attitude.</p>
<p class='c011'>Black Buck and the other older bucks, who
had long years before contended with Father
Buck for leadership, were impressed by his
looks, and they took their places in the semi-circle
in uneasy silence. Suppose Father
Buck should challenge again for leadership
despite his failure of the previous day! Could
any of them win in a mighty battle with him?
They, too, were growing old, and their limbs
and eyes were not as strong and sure as when
they were young.</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>“You know the law of the herd, and of
my people,” Father Buck announced when all
the deer were there. “Yesterday I failed you.
It was the first time since I became your
leader. Now the call is for a new leader
unless I challenge for it again, and win it by
my might.”</p>
<p class='c011'>He swung his antlered head around at the
half circle of older bucks. There was a menace
and challenge in the beautiful eyes.</p>
<p class='c011'>“We want a new leader!” bellowed Black
Buck angrily. “You can’t lead us again,
Father Buck! You have failed in the chase.
Twice you failed within a day. A new leader
is what we demand!”</p>
<p class='c011'>There was a chorus of approvals, and Black
Buck gained courage by the backing his words
received, but Father Buck cut him off short.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Be silent!” he said. “I am still leader,
and my word is law! If I choose to challenge
again, the right is mine. It is the law of the
herd. Who speaks otherwise?”</p>
<p class='c011'>There was no disputing this. The law of
the herd was very simple, and it had to be
obeyed. Even Black Buck knew this, and if
he chose Father Buck could challenge and
prove his right to remain leader if he proved
himself better than all others.</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>“If you challenge again,” began Black
Buck, “you must do battle with the young
bucks as well as the others. That’s the law
isn’t it?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“It is!” replied Father Buck. “Young and
old may meet the challenger. But I first issue
my challenge to the older ones. That is my
right. I may be old and weak, my eyes may
be growing dim, and my legs less active and
sure; but I am still leader, and I issue the
first challenge. All you bucks more than
three seasons old step forth! It is to you I
issue this challenge. Come and accept it. I
will fight for the leadership!”</p>
<p class='c011'>An uneasy thrill swept the multitude. Each
turned to look the other in the eye. Who
would accept Father Buck’s challenge? Black
Buck hesitated, measuring the sturdy limbs of
the leader with his own, and comparing the
thick-set neck and head of antlers with those
of his immediate neighbors. There was not
one qualified to enter the lists and hope to
carry off the honors.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I hear no one!” shouted Father Buck.
“The challenge is not accepted. So be it!
Then we come to the second challenge. Here,
too, the law gives me the right to fight with
the younger bucks for leadership. We have
many of them—young, sturdy, bright-eyed
<span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>offsprings of ours who will some day win honors
in the chase. They have eyes as keen as
ours were at one time; limbs as straight and
strong; minds as active and intelligent. We
have taught them the ways of the woods, and
they come to the Council Tree today to prove
their rights.”</p>
<p class='c011'>He stopped and gazed around at the big
assembly. His words and commanding figure
had made even Father Buck’s worst enemies
respectful. The outcome of the meeting was
still uncertain and wrapped in mystery.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Therefore,” the leader continued after a
pause, “it is for them to decide the leadership.
I have no wish to challenge them. I could
not conquer them if I chose. It shall be as
they decide. Who of the younger ones challenges
for the high honor of leader to take
my place?”</p>
<p class='c011'>A thrill of excitement passed around, for
the crucial moment had now arrived. Father
Buck did not intend to fight to retain the leadership.
There was an instant pause in which
you could have heard a twig snap, and then
Young Black Buck, with head held high,
stepped to the center of the semi-circle. He
trotted gracefully around several times, and
then halted before Father Buck.</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>“I, Young Black Buck, son of Black Buck
of Dismal Swamp, challenge for the leadership!
I shall prove my right to it by the one
test that is required by the law of the herd—a
battle with all comers!”</p>
<p class='c011'>“It is well, Young Black Buck!” replied
Father Buck, looking at the haughty eyes of
the challenger. “You have been the first to
challenge. Is there any other?”</p>
<p class='c011'>The aged leader turned his head just a little
so that his eyes could rest upon White Tail,
but it did not need this look to inspire his son.
White Tail had already started forward, and
with no less pride and dignity than Young
Black Buck he trotted into the center of the
clearing.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I, White Tail, son of your great leader
and of Mother Deer, accept the challenge.
As I have proved greater than Young Black
Buck in the chase, in the long jump, and in
other ways, I shall prove to you in combat
that I am better fitted to lead the herd than
he.”</p>
<p class='c011'>The excitement reached a climax when
White Tail had finished his challenge, but
Father Buck raised his head again to speak.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Who next challenges! The law of the
herd permits any one under three seasons.
Who speaks?”</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>There was no answer, and no one stepped
forward. The aged leader cast his eyes slowly
around the crowd to make sure he had missed
none, and then returned to the two challengers.</p>
<p class='c011'>“So be it!” he said. “The leadership shall
be settled between these two—White Tail
and Young Black Buck. The herd must accept
the victor as their leader.”</p>
<p class='c011'>In the next story will come the combat.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY XV<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>The Great Combat</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>Now the law of the herd says that the challengers
for leadership shall fight until one or
the other is victor. If it takes hours or days
or weeks it must continue until one is beaten
and can no longer fight. The rules are simple.
He must prove himself the victor by
strength, cunning, intelligence, trickery or any
other way. The leader must be supreme so
that none again dare challenge his authority.</p>
<p class='c011'>It is always a battle royal in the woods. It
never ends in a draw, except in those few sad
but rare cases when horns and antlers get interlocked,
and neither can pull away until both
starve. Then a new challenge must be issued,
and another leader chosen. Of this, both
White Tail and Young Black Buck knew, and
above all they sought to keep their horns and
antlers from becoming interlocked. It availed
the victor little to conquer if he starved with
the vanquished.</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>When they sprang toward each other with
lowered heads, they kept a wary eye out for
the other’s twisted antlers. It was a light
charge at first, a mere test of skill and strength;
but their heads came together with a shock
that sounded throughout the woods.</p>
<p class='c011'>Then they withdrew, and trotted around
each other, waiting for a favorable opening.
Both knew that one blow against the side or
limbs of the other would cripple his antagonist
so the fight would be short. After circling
White Tail three times, Young Black
Buck launched his head straight for the flanks
of his enemy, and for a moment it looked as
if he would gain a great advantage; but at the
critical instant White Tail turned and met the
charge head-on. The clash of antlers was terrific
but neither went down.</p>
<p class='c011'>Next they butted in short, sharp swings of
the head, slashing, cutting and pounding with
all their might. It was like a close-in sparring
match between two skilled boxers, each
waiting for an opening to deliver a fatal blow.
But both were as swift in defense as in offense.</p>
<p class='c011'>They withdrew from the conflict, and trotted
around each other once more. This time
White Tail led the attack. Rearing on his
hind legs, he brought all the weight of his
body in a downward blow that made Young
<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>Black Buck shake and tremble. For a moment
neither could recover from the terrible
shock, so swift and powerful had the blow
been. A thrill of excitement went through
the assembled herd.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Well done!” exclaimed Father Buck.</p>
<p class='c011'>“But not better than my son can do!” echoed
Black Buck.</p>
<p class='c011'>To prove the truth of his father’s words,
Young Black Buck turned a complete circle,
suddenly reared, and brought his head down
in another terrific blow. White Tail received
it, and for a time their horns and antlers became
locked. They pulled and jerked,
pushed and twisted all over the open space to
free their heads. With a sudden snap, the
antlers loosened, and they were free once
more.</p>
<p class='c011'>The battle grew more vigorous now that
the two combatants were warmed to the fray.
They began to put more speed in their motions,
and more force in their blows. Confident
that neither one could take advantage of
the other, they fell back to hard hitting. In
this strength counted, and it was soon seen
that they were pretty evenly matched. Again
and again they received and administered punishment.</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>It may have seemed cruel to one not acquainted
with the laws of the wild deer, but
not so to the spectators nor to the fighters. The
leadership had to be decided in this manner,
and either combatant had the right to stop it
by yielding to the other. But neither White
Tail nor Young Black Buck had any intention
of doing this.</p>
<p class='c011'>The blood of the older ones was warmed by
the sight. Father Buck recalled the day when
he fought Black Buck for leadership, and he
was proud of his son now fighting over again
his own battles. Even Mother Deer, tenderhearted
as she was, admired and applauded
White Tail. She knew the battle once decided
in his favor would never have to be repeated.</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail suddenly delivered a crushing
blow upon his enemy’s head that brought him
to his knees. For an instant every one held
his breath, but before White Tail could take
advantage of it with another blow he slipped
and nearly fell to his own knees. Young
Black Buck was up in an instant, and made a
wild rush for his adversary. White Tail was
prepared, and received it steadily.</p>
<p class='c011'>The combat continued for an hour, two
hours, three hours, until the flanks of both
were covered with foam. And still they
butted and bucked, and fought with all their
<span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>might! Their breath was coming in short
gasps, and their eyes flashing defiance.</p>
<p class='c011'>All that morning the fight continued, with
slight intervals for rest. Then they returned
to it, each more determined than ever to defeat
his rival. Young Black Buck soon showed
signs of weakening, and his father noticing it,
called out:</p>
<p class='c011'>“Let them rest until another day! They
have done enough today!”</p>
<p class='c011'>“No! no!” shouted a dozen voices.</p>
<p class='c011'>“The combat must go on!” replied Father
Buck. “Not until they both ask for a rest
can it stop.”</p>
<p class='c011'>It was renewed with greater vigor. Growing
weak by the strain, they fell more often to
their knees. The crashing of horns in mighty
blows could no longer be resisted so easily.
They were longer in recovering from the
blows, and slower in getting to their feet.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Shall we put it off until another day?”
asked Young Black Buck suddenly to his rival.</p>
<p class='c011'>“No, it shall be settled today,” replied
White Tail, breathing hard. “I can fight for
weeks yet. I remember your lies about me,
Young Black Buck. I recall your treachery
in the woods! I think of how you lost me in
Dismal Swamp so I might be disgraced! And
<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>now you shall be punished for them! I shall
fight you until you can’t get up again!”</p>
<p class='c011'>“That will never happen, White Tail! You
can never do that!”</p>
<p class='c011'>But this boast was hard to make good.
Young Black Buck was showing weariness.
Again and again he stumbled and fell to his
knees. And each time White Tail sprang at
him and delivered a series of mighty blows
with his head.</p>
<p class='c011'>Once Young Black Buck failed to get quickly
back to his feet, and White Tail rushed
him. With all the speed and power he could
summon he delivered a crushing blow, and
knocked his rival down until all four legs were
doubled up under him.</p>
<p class='c011'>White Tail stood over him. “Call me
leader!” he snorted.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Never!” grunted Young Black Buck, and
tried to rise. White Tail knocked him flat
again before he could rise.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Call me leader!” he challenged again.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Never!” came a fainter cry.</p>
<p class='c011'>Again White Tail flattened him out, and
issued the challenge the third time, and once
more Young<a id='t126'></a> Black Buck refused.</p>
<p class='c011'>Four times White Tail flattened him on the
ground, and the fifth time Young Black Buck
could not rise.</p>
<p class='c011'><span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>“Call me leader!”</p>
<p class='c011'>There was no response. Young Black Buck
was too weak to answer. White Tail stood
over him. Three times Young Black Buck
tried to rise, but fell back. He was too weak
to respond to the challenge or to get to his
feet. The battle was over! White Tail was
victor!</p>
<p class='c011'>“Who challenges my leadership now!”
White Tail bellowed, glaring around. And
none replied! Their very silence made him
their choice. In the next story White Tail
succeeds his father and becomes leader of the
herd.</p>
<div class='chapter'>
<span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>
<h2 class='c009'>STORY XVI<br /> <span class='large'><span class='sc'>White Tail Made Leader of the Herd</span></span></h2>
</div>
<p class='c010'>By defeating Young Black Buck in combat,
White Tail was, according to the law of the
herd, chosen leader until another should grow
up and displace him. The decision on the
battlefield could not be changed or altered.
Even Black Buck and his son recognized this,
and without protest they permitted Father
Buck to complete the ceremony.</p>
<p class='c011'>“The law of the herd has been vindicated,”
he said, after White Tail had trotted around
the vast circle, and challenged in vain any
other antagonist. “White Tail shall henceforth
be your leader. To him obedience shall
be given, and any who refuses shall be driven
into exile. If there is any opposition it must
be stated now.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Black Buck’s wicked eyes flashed angrily.
He was doubly disappointed that his son had
failed, for his own defeat years before came
back to torment him. Young Black Buck was
<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>too exhausted to speak, and if there was any
protest it had to come from his father.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Young Black Buck have you anything to
say?” continued Father Buck, turning to the
defeated.</p>
<p class='c011'>Young Black Buck shook his head wearily.
There was no fight left in him.</p>
<p class='c011'>“You promise to obey the new leader?”</p>
<p class='c011'>Again the weary shaking of the head, followed
by a sign as the vanquished dropped
down and closed his eyes.</p>
<p class='c011'>“And you, Black Buck of Dismal Swamp?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“I will follow and obey the leader, as I followed
and obeyed you, Father Buck,” was the
answer. “There is nothing else for me to do.
I submit to the law.”</p>
<p class='c011'>Father Buck turned to White Tail, whose
distended nostrils and flashing eyes indicated
that he was still ready to fight for his honor.
The eyes of father and son met an instant in
an exchange of pride and happiness.</p>
<p class='c011'>“It is well then,” continued the ex-leader.
“White Tail shall henceforth be the head of
the herd. I go back to my place among the
older bucks to follow.”</p>
<p class='c011'>A certain wistfulness crept into his voice
and eyes. It was hard to yield the proud position,
to hand over the burdens and glory of
leader to another. None could do it without
<span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>a certain amount of regret—not even though
the successor was his own son.</p>
<p class='c011'>“I have led you many, many seasons,” continued
Father Buck, “and always with success.
Puma and Timber have never raided the herd
in my time. We have foiled and deceived
them, finding new pasture fields where they
could not come. We have been safe from
Loup the Lynx and Sneaky the Gray Wolf.
I have fought them both, holding them at bay
with my mighty horns, and once I remember
it was a hard fought, desperate battle with
Sneaky. But before he could call his pack
the herd had escaped, and I fled from him on
the wind.”</p>
<p class='c011'>He paused a moment, swinging his head
proudly from side to side. “And our pasture
fields have always been rich and sufficient,”
he continued. “I have led you where the food
was plentiful even in the depths of the winter.
In snow and rain we have fared well. Our
fawns and does have been safe. Not one has
been lost through bad leadership. We have
multiplied and grown strong. Today we
stand first among the great herds of the timberland.
May we continue to grow and thrive
under our new leader.”</p>
<p class='c011'>With his farewell address finished, Father
Buck stepped from under the Council Tree,
<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>and White Tail, knowing that he was expected
to assume control, trotted up to take his place.
Some noticed that, as he passed Father Buck,
he was taller and stronger in limb than the
ex-leader. The tips of his antlers towered a
full foot higher than those of Father Buck.
Even his enemies noticed this, and were satisfied
that he would prove a good leader.</p>
<p class='c011'>“Father Buck has spoken well,” White Tail
began, as he glanced proudly around at the
herd. “His leadership has been successful,
and I shall make it more so. If I fail you,
may I fall in the chase and break my neck!
If I show weakness or cowardice, may Puma
or Timber Wolf pull me down and eat out my
heart! If I show lack of wisdom and justice,
may Loup the Lynx or Sneaky trip me, and
devour me. I shall be your leader, and next
to me—”</p>
<p class='c011'>He stopped and glanced from one to another.
He had the right to choose the one
next to him in power, one who would lead the
herd if he were sick or away.</p>
<p class='c011'>“—and the next to me in authority,” he
added, “comes Young Black Buck. I have no
ill will for him. The past must be forgotten.
All I ask from him is loyalty and support.
The safety of the herd must always be his first
thought. He must give his life, if necessary,
<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>to protect the does and fawns in my absence.
Do you promise this, Young Black Buck?”</p>
<p class='c011'>Surprised by this honor thrust so unexpectedly
upon him, Young Black Buck opened his
weary eyes, and jumped to his feet. He trotted
into the circle, and once more held his head
high.</p>
<p class='c011'>“White Tail,” he began in a trembling
voice, “I don’t deserve this, but if you ask it I
shall accept. I pledge loyalty and friendship.
I shall make it the law of my life to support
your leadership and to do all I can for the
herd. Is that enough?”</p>
<p class='c011'>“It is all we can ask, Young Black Buck,”
answered White Tail. “Now, under the
Council Tree, we pledge ourselves to the service
of the herd and to each other’s support.
Let it be understood that when I am away,
Young Black Buck shall be in command, and
it is the duty of every one to follow and obey
him. It is so agreed! The Council is now
finished.”</p>
<p class='c011'>The meeting immediately broke up, and
the deer and bucks mingled together to congratulate
the new leaders, for the council had
ended happily, and there was no bitter feeling
carried away. The older ones related to the
young ones stories of other similar meetings
<span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>under the Council Tree, and the latter listened
eagerly to these tales.</p>
<p class='c011'>Father Buck and Mother Deer withdrew
silently, leaving White Tail in command, with
the whole herd crowding around him to flatter
and congratulate. There was a new spring
in the ex-leader’s steps as he trotted away, and
Mother Deer, walking along by his side, noticed
it.</p>
<p class='c011'>“You do not act like a fallen leader,” she
said, smiling. “I haven’t seen you walk so
lightly and happily for a long time.”</p>
<p class='c011'>“A fallen leader is not always to be pitied,
my dear,” Father Buck replied. “The greatest
thing he can do is to lead his people successfully,
and the next greatest thing is to rear
a son to take his place. Have I not done
both?”</p>
<p class='c011'>Mother Deer nodded and smiled. Father
Buck turned to her and affectionately licked
her neck. “And the greatest thing you could
do,” he added, “is to train your son so that he
is worthy to lead. I’m proud of White Tail,
and still prouder of you, Mother Deer. He
is your son!”</p>
<p class='c011'>A little later White Tail found them together
in the woods, talking and smiling, and
so happy in the possession of each other’s love
that neither seemed to regret the loss of authority.
<span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>And White Tail, watching them, said
to himself:</p>
<p class='c011'>“The honor of being leader of the herd is
not all mine. I owe much of it to them.
They have trained me and taught me, and suffered
for me, that I might succeed. I shall
never forget that.”</p>
<p class='c011'>And to the end of his days, which were
many, White Tail never forgot that to have
good parents was greater even than to be
leader of the herd.</p>
<p class='c011'>The next story in the Twilight Series is entitled:
Washer the Raccoon.</p>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c003' />
</div>
<div class='ph2'>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c008'>
<div>Bumper the White Rabbit</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c002'>
<div>STORY I</div>
<div class='c003'>WHERE BUMPER CAME FROM</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c011'>There was once an old woman who had so
many rabbits that she hardly knew what to do.
They ate her out of house and home, and kept
the cupboard so bare she often had to go to bed
hungry. But none of the rabbits suffered this
way. They all had their supper, and their breakfast,
too, even if there wasn’t a crust left in the
old woman’s cupboard.</p>
<p class='c011'>There were big rabbits and little rabbits; lean
ones and fat ones; comical little youngsters who
played pranks upon their elders, and staid, serious
old ones who never laughed or smiled the
livelong day; boy rabbits and girl rabbits,
mother rabbits and father rabbits, and goodness
knows how many aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces,
cousins, second cousins and distant relatives-in-law!
They all lived under one big roof in the</p>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c014'>
<div>The continuation of this interesting story will be found in</div>
<div class='c003'>BUMPER THE WHITE RABBIT</div>
<div>Price 65 Cents Postpaid</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<tr><td class='c004' colspan='3'>THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, Publishers</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c006'>517 S. Wabash Ave.</td>
<td class='c006'>Winston Building</td>
<td class='c015'>129 Spadina Ave.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c006'>CHICAGO, ILL.</td>
<td class='c006'>PHILADELPHIA, PA.</td>
<td class='c015'>TORONTO, ONT.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='ph2'>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c008'>
<div>BUSTER THE BIG BROWN</div>
<div>BEAR</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c002'>
<div>STORY I</div>
<div class='c003'><span class='sc'>When Buster Was a Cub</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<p class='c011'>In the North Woods where Buster was
born, a wide river tinkles merrily over stones
that are so white you’d mistake them for snowballs,
if you were not careful, and begin pelting
each other with them. The birches hanging
over the water look like white sticks of
peppermint candy, except in the spring of the
year when they blossom out in green leaves,
and then they make you think of fairyland
where everything is painted the colors of the
rainbow.</p>
<p class='c011'>The rocks that slope up from the bank of
the river are dented and broken as if some
giant in the past had smashed them with his
hammer, cracking some and punching deep
holes in others. It was in one of these holes,
or caves, that Buster was born.</p>
<p class='c011'>He didn’t mind the hard rocky floor of his
bed a bit, nor did he mind the darkness, nor
the cold winds that swept through the open
doorway. He was so well protected by his</p>
<div class='nf-center-c0'>
<div class='nf-center c014'>
<div>The continuation of this interesting story will be found in</div>
<div class='c003'>BUSTER THE BIG BROWN BEAR</div>
<div>Price 65 Cents Postpaid</div>
</div>
</div>
<table class='table0' summary=''>
<tr><td class='c004' colspan='3'>THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, Publishers</td></tr>
<tr>
<td class='c006'>517 S. Wabash Ave.</td>
<td class='c006'>Winston Building</td>
<td class='c015'>129 Spadina Ave.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class='c006'>CHICAGO, ILL.</td>
<td class='c006'>PHILADELPHIA, PA.</td>
<td class='c015'>TORONTO, ONT.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<div class='pbb'>
<hr class='pb c003' />
</div>
<div class='tnotes'>
<div class='chapter'>
<h2 class='c009'>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</h2>
</div>
<ol class='ol_1 c002'>
<li>Changed “more Black Buck” to “more Young Black Buck” on p. <a href='#t126'>126</a>.
</li>
<li>Silently corrected typographical errors.
</li>
<li>Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.
</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 57769 ***</div>
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