“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.”
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 escape. A sudden rustling in the bushes made him jump nearly five feet away. Even White Tail leaped to one side.
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.
STORY VII
A Race With Puma and Timber
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.”
“Goodness!” grunted White Tail. “You frightened the life out of us, Washer! We thought you were Puma or Timber creeping upon us.”
“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.”
“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 their families are on our trail, and have us surrounded.”
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.
“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.”