At the mention of such delicious food old Rip licked his chops, and the little fox squirmed uneasily. As usual he spoke for the two:
“We certainly would have had a fine meal if we had been on one of our regular hunting trips, for as you know I always bag my game, and there is no greater hunter than—”
“Then you have had poor hunting to-day?” broke in Kaw, who did not care to hear the boastful remarks that he knew the little fox was getting ready to make.
“Yes, that’s just it,” replied the little fox. “As I was saying, we are on our way to make an important call, and though we have come a great distance, there has been nothing good to eat within sight or sound of us since dawn.”
At that moment the keen eyes of the old crow caught sight of a short line of moving animals far back along the canyon rim, but though his eyes twinkled as he realized that Fearful and his brothers were trailing the little fox, to tell him of Cho-gay’s order, he said nothing to the two hunters, who were ignorant of the fact that they were being followed.
“Well,” said Kaw, “as I flew over the sage that is just around the point ahead of you, I saw a number of jack-rabbits that were headed up the mountain. If you cut in above the trail you will head them off!”
Instantly the two hunters sprang forward toward the place indicated, each trying to be first, and neither remembering to thank the old crow for the information he had given them.
“So they are making an important call,” said Kaw to himself, as he watched the odd pair loping away up the mountain side. “It’s quite plain who they are calling upon. I wonder what kind of a plot is in the wind now.” Then he looked back far down the canyon trail, where the small line of coyotes were slowly approaching, and chuckled to himself as he flew off over the mountain.
Less than half an hour later, Rip and Sandy had managed to kill two jack-rabbits, and were trotting along the well-worn little trail that led to the cave of Wongo, the bear. Suddenly the fox, who was in the lead, stopped beside some jack-oak bushes and spoke to his companion:
“You can wait here, friend Rip, while I talk to Wongo, for you see he must not know that you are in this plan of ours. If he learns that you are interested in the escape of the mountain sheep, or I should say in eating the sheep after it has escaped, he would tell Cho-gay. If this Indian man-child hears of it, you would never get the sheep, and my brother might not be set free in time to escape Kil-fang and his pack.”