Red Ben, the Fox of Oak Ridge

by Joseph Wharton Lippincott

Gray Fox’s red eyes glared back at him furiously, as he struggled this way and that, but he could not turn to bite while those jaws kept their hold. Fear grew until he was in a panic. What if the mother fox were to return now and fall on him from behind? He threw himself on the ground, then rolled over, clawing like a cat, and dragging Red Ben down with him so suddenly that all the breath was knocked out of him and his fine hold loosened.

This gave Gray Fox a wonderful chance. He was the first on his feet. He leaped for the throat hold.

Red Ben, still gasping, was pinned to the ground, almost throttled. The big, heavy enemy had all the advantage—it never had been an equal fight, and now Red Ben was down.

Oh, if his mother would only come! That wonderful, faithful, swift little mother who could be so very fierce when he was in danger. Somehow the very thought of her gave him courage. He made one mighty kick and at the same instant snapped at the fat ear of the beast above.

Luck was with him; he nipped its tender edge, and Gray Fox gave a scream. The jaws were loosened, and in that instant Red Ben’s lightning speed saved him. He rolled over, leaped to his feet and shot away. Dizzily he circled some bushes, with the other close behind; then something warned him to stop. Gray Fox had vanished.

“Gray Fox was waiting to trap him”

Had he not been a red fox, raised by one of the wisest of mothers, Red Ben would probably have made a fatal mistake, for, well hidden behind the bushes, Gray Fox was waiting to trap him when he came around. The thing was planned so well that had Red Ben kept on, he would almost have walked into the other’s mouth.

Just in time he guessed the trick and crouched to look all around. He was out of breath; he could hardly stop his panting to listen. His neck ached and strained muscles quivered, but what mattered that, when he was free and able to match wits against wits?

Often his mother had hidden this way to catch him in their games. He remembered now that she had always lain in wait somewhere ahead, therefore Gray Fox would do the same—the safest road was that by which he had come.