“Now, why did that stupid Rhinoceros come here?” growled a voice. The voice was Scrag’s.
“Yes, Crocut, you neglected to tell us about him,” grumbled the larger lion. “Now we have the Rhinoceros to account for; that makes it different.”
“But he is alone,” the Hyena sniveled. “You are two. It might have been worse.”
“We are three,” Grun Waugh sternly corrected. “If you value the meat on your bones, you will be wise and do your part.”
Crocut sighed deeply. He, the conscientious objector, was plunging into the thick of battle against his own free will. He shivered at the thought.
By this time the three animals had reached shallow water and were wading ashore. Wulli could hear them sniffing along the bank. “Here it is,” the Hyena announced. “I smell the Mammoth, also the friend I told you of. There is another man, too, but I find no scent of the Rhinoceros. Where did he go?”
“Here he is,” said Scrag. Wulli thought himself discovered and was preparing for emergencies, when the young lion added bumptiously: “I have his scent. It leads back to the water. He must have known that I was after him, or he would not have turned around and gone back to where he came from.”
“Pest,” snarled his parent; “get out of the way.” Scrag backed off and permitted Grun Waugh to sniff Wulli’s spoor. It was that of the Rhinoceros, sure enough, and it led back to the river.
“Wow, how unfortunate; he must have escaped us,” laughed the Cave Hyena, inwardly rejoicing.