White Tail the Deer's Adventures

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.

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.

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.

“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!”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 to reach. Opposite, looking down at him, were Timber and his family.

“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—”

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.

“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!”

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.

“I didn’t refer to you, Mrs. Puma,” he whined. “Of course, I know you are much stronger and quicker than Puma, and—”

“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.”

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.

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.

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?

“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!”

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.

“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.”

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.

They darted forward with yelps of defiance, Timber leading. But what a surprise awaited them! Mrs. Puma had guessed their actions, 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.

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.”

Having got Mrs. Puma out of trouble we will follow White Tail in the next story.