Meanwhile Bumper had been crouching in his corner, partly hidden from view by a few leaves blown into the pit by the wind. Neither Sneaky nor Loup had seen him, and Mr. Fox was so troubled by the presence of his two enemies in the pit that he gave scant attention to the white rabbit. He had no stomach now for breakfast or dinner. His one desire was to get away safely before morning.
Unfortunately for Bumper, Loup had taken up his watchful position directly in front of the small hole. If he would only move a little to one side, the white rabbit could escape. While the hole was too small for Mr. Fox or Sneaky to squeeze through, Bumper could easily get in it.
All night long Bumper kept a watchful eye on Loup and the mouth of the hole. Once the Lynx got up and yawned, stretching his great, powerful legs, but he didn’t change his place. The moon came out, partly flooding the pit with its bright light. Bumper crouched in the shadows and waited.
Mr. Fox and Sneaky were so quiet that Loup grew suspicious. He raised his head and glared around him. One side of the pit was in dark shadow, and he crept toward it to see if all was well with his victim.
This was Bumper’s opportunity. Quick as a flash he darted across the pit. In the moonlight his white coat was hardly visible. It was not until Loup heard the crunch of his feet on the sand that the Lynx was aware of his presence. Then he made a dive for him, but Bumper scooted into the hole and escaped.
“If I’d known that rabbit was down here,” growled Loup, “I’d kept watch at that hole.” Then grinning wickedly, he added: “But a rabbit or two doesn’t make much difference so long as I have you, Sneaky.”
Sneaky the Wolf made no reply, but sulked in his corner. He was debating in his mind whether it wouldn’t be better to attack Mr. Fox, and offer him as a peace offering. Perhaps Loup would be satisfied with that, and then let him go.
“Loup,” he said, “Mr. Fox is down here, too. Now if you’ll promise to let me go, I’ll catch him and give him to you for breakfast. He’s much tenderer and fatter than I, and I’m sure you’d like him.”
“Ah! Ha! So Mr. Fox is down here, is he?” said Loup, licking his jaws. “Then my breakfast and dinner’s all prepared for me.”
“But if you don’t let me go,” whined Sneaky, “I’ll help Mr. Fox to get away.”
This threat amused Loup, and he rolled over and over with laughter. “How would you help him, Sneaky?” he asked finally. “The two of you together couldn’t get out of this pit. No, no, you’re prisoners, and I’m doing you both a favor by eating you. If I didn’t you’d die down here from slow starvation. Now you see how good I am to you.”
“Perhaps you can’t jump out either,” replied Sneaky. “No, I don’t believe you can.”
“What a joke!” laughed Loup. “Just to show you, I’ll jump out, and then back again.”
He crouched for the spring, the great muscles of his hind legs knotting in big lumps. Then his body shot upward like a stone released from a spring trap. But he didn’t reach the top. Oh, no, not by a couple of yards! He clawed and scratched at the sides of the pit, but the loose sand rolled down the side and carried him with it. Dumbfounded and angered by this mishap, he made another spring, but again he fell short.
Six times Loup tried it, and failed. Then he trotted around and tried it on the opposite side of the pit. But he failed just as the others had. He couldn’t leap out of the pit, try as he would.
“What did I tell you, Loup,” exclaimed Sneaky triumphantly. “We’re all prisoners down here, and instead of fighting each other we should try to think of some way of escape. Three minds are better than one.”
“What can you suggest, Sneaky?” asked Loup, whose defiant spirit was considerably tamed now.
“Why, I don’t know. Perhaps if I could stand on your back, and Mr. Fox on mine, one of us could get out. Mr. Fox surely could, and then he could throw down something to help us out.”
“I wouldn’t trust you,” growled Loup. “Neither would I trust Mr. Fox. He’d run away, and leave us here.”
“Oh, no, I wouldn’t, Loup,” replied Mr. Fox.
Loup considered. No, he wouldn’t trust either of them. Neither would Sneaky or Mr. Fox trust him. Just because each had a bad reputation for deceit, neither dared help the other to get out. It is generally so with those who lie and deceive. There is little honor among thieves.
Meanwhile, Bumper had scurried through the hole, and found his way out under the river’s embankment. The water from the pit drained through to the river, and this accounted for the long tunnel.
“My, how thankful I am to get out with a whole skin!” he exclaimed. “It was a narrow escape.”
He cleaned the dirt from his white fur, and glanced up happily at the moon. “It will go hard with Mr. Fox and Sneaky,” he added. “I suppose Loup will kill both of them.”
He shuddered at the very thought, and hopped along in silence. In a short time he stopped again. He couldn’t get out of his mind the thought of Mr. Fox’s fate and of Sneaky’s. After all they would suffer just as much in being killed as he would. Of course, in a way they deserved it, for they intended to kill him.
“Still, I can’t bear to think of them suffering so,” he reflected, “not even if they did intend to eat me.”
Bumper was very tender hearted, and the more he thought of the terrible fate of his two enemies the less he liked it. Finally, he sat upright, and said: “I must see Buster the Bear. Maybe he can do something to help Mr. Fox and Sneaky. Anyway I must tell him.”
After that he hopped along more rapidly, and long before morning he found Buster’s den and knocked on the door. Buster wasn’t very pleased at being roused out of his sleep in the middle of the night, and he grumbled angrily.
“What do you want, Bumper? If it isn’t anything important go away, and let me finish my nap.”
“It is important, Buster, or I shouldn’t disturb you,” was the reply.
Bumper told him the story of his adventures, which pleased Buster, who soon lost all desire for sleep. Before Bumper was through he was chuckling.
“And you say Loup, and Sneaky and Mr. Fox are in the pit now, and can’t get out?” he queried.
“Yes, Buster, and I wish you could help Mr. Fox and Sneaky. They’ll be eaten up by Loup in the morning.”
“Ha! Ha!” laughed Buster. “I must get around early to see the circus. It will surely be worth seeing.”
“But aren’t you going to help Mr. Fox or Sneaky?” asked Bumper. “That’s why I called to see you.”
“Help them?” grunted Buster. “What for? They’ll eat you up some day if they get out.”
“Perhaps they will,” sighed Bumper, “but I can’t bear to think of Loup killing them when they’re prisoners. They ought to have a fair show.”
“Yes, I suppose they should. Well,” yawning and stretching, “we’ll see what can be done. I’ll go with you to the pit. I’ll be ready in a minute.”
What they saw and did in the pit early in the morning will be told in the next story.