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.
He found him a long way back on the trail, lying in the bushes, panting with exhaustion. As soon as he discovered him, White Tail ran up to him with a little bleat of joy.
“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?”
“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.”
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.
“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 approaching, and she will not be heavy-hearted.”
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.”
“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.”
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.