The first half of the race was lost to him; but he could not refrain from calling back to his friends: “The race is never decided until it’s finished.”
Fuzzy Wuzz and the others clapped their hands at this confident remark. Instead of losing faith in him they were more certain than ever that Bumper would win.
Well, it didn’t look so to Bumper. He felt that he could never overtake Spotted Tail and beat him to the finish. He might be a quarter of a mile ahead of him, and running like the wind. The disheartening effect of being beaten to the first stake told on his speed, and he ran only half-heartedly.
Then suddenly out of the bushes on his right sprang something red and flashing. Bumper caught sight of it, and his heart gave a great bound of fear. It was Mr. Fox!
Bumper’s fright was so great that he sprang over a clump of bushes that he never thought he could clear. Then, with his heart in his mouth, he ran for dear life. The Old Blind Rabbit’s wise remark that “fear makes a rabbit run faster than anything else” never occurred to him. He was too frightened to think of anything. But, oh, how he ran! His feet barely touched the ground. He seemed to be flying rather than running. Never—not even when the Bats pursued him—had he run so fast.
And the fox kept close behind him, gaining a few steps now and then, but losing whenever Bumper took one of his wild leaps. It was a terrible race, in which death or life was the stake. If he weakened or faltered an instant, those red, dripping jaws would have him.
When Bumper came within sight of the burrow near the big rock, he could see the rabbits waiting for the end of the race. They were talking and chatting among themselves. Spotted Tail was not in sight. Perhaps he had already finished.
“Scatter! Scatter for your life!” called Bumper, as he took a wild leap in the air.
“It’s Bumper!” some one cried. Then they caught sight of the red streak in pursuit. “Mr. Fox is after him! Run for the burrow!”
They scampered for shelter just as Bumper cleared the starting line and eluded the fox by a narrow margin. Once inside the burrow, he asked: “Where’s Spotted Tail?”