“Such selfish friendship as they had for each other doesn’t amount to much. It only takes a little for them to fall out and begin fighting each other. And that’s just what happened. Timber thought it was a good time to attack Mrs. Puma, and his whole pack jumped at her.”
“And what happened then?” breathlessly asked White Tail.
“Mrs. Puma jumped too, and as she could jump faster and farther than Timber she got away and ran up a tree. There I left her, with the wolves howling underneath.”
“I think then they’ll give up the chase,” remarked White Tail. “It’s very fortunate for us, for Young Black Buck has sprained his leg, and will have to limp the rest of the way.”
“I can’t limp far on three legs,” whined Young Black Buck. “And we are far away from the herd, aren’t we, Downy?”
“Yes, so many miles I can’t count them. You’ve been running away from where you started, and it will take you a long, long time to get home.”
White Tail and Young Black Buck were greatly distressed by this information, for night was coming on, and to be caught after dark away from the herd in the heart of a strange woods was a most unpleasant outlook. White Tail might have made it by hard running, but Young Black Buck could never do it, and White Tail wasn’t going to leave him alone in the woods. He was too loyal for that.
“There doesn’t seem to be any choice in the matter,” White Tail said. “We’ve got to stay here, and make the best of it.”
“But you could get home alone, White Tail, if you started right away,” suggested Downy. “It will be moonlight early in the evening, and you can find your way once you reach the shallow stream.”
“Yes, I know the way, but I couldn’t leave Young Black Buck behind. No, I couldn’t think of it. We’ll find a resting place among the bushes, and stay here until morning. Then maybe his leg will be better.”