by Colin Dann
Fox made Vixen tell him in detail exactly what had happened from the time he let her out of his sight. ‘So he’s not even true to his word,’ he muttered afterwards. ‘We have kept to our own area, and still he has sought us out. Well, now we know where we stand for sure.’
They heard a familiar voice calling them. ‘Fox! Vixen!’ It was Badger. He ran up to tell them that the other cubs were safely in their earth, in the care of Weasel and Mole. Then he stopped in dismay, looking down at Bold. ‘But where’s Dreamer?’ he asked.
‘What?’ gasped Vixen. ‘Wasn’t she with the others?’
‘No, only Charmer and Friendly are in the den. We thought she was with you.’ Badger looked almost as worried as the parents.
‘Then wherever can she . . .?’ began Fox.
‘She’s wandered off somewhere again,’ Bold said. ‘She’s always doing that. I’m sure she’ll be all right, Mother,’ he added comfortingly.
‘We must search for her,’ said Fox. ‘Badger, will you take Bold back to join the others?’
‘Of course, Fox. Anything I can do – you know that.’
Fox and Vixen split up to comb different areas, calling softly to their lost cub. Inside the earth, the three other cubs and their guardians waited anxiously.
It was Fox who found her. Vixen heard his cry – an angry, baffled cry of distress. She found him standing over the body of Dreamer. She was dead, and her young body had been badly savaged.
There was no doubt in their minds who had done the deed. Fox’s face was very grim. With menace he said: ‘Now indeed he will have a fight to contend with.’
The savage killing of an innocent cub was a considerable shock to the Farthing Wood community. There were those who thought it should be avenged, while others advised greater caution. Amongst the smaller animals there was widespread alarm. They had thought themselves safe and now it appeared there was a new threat to their lives.
The strongest advocates of taking revenge for the death of Dreamer were the birds – Tawny Owl, Kestrel and Whistler. Fox, however, was wise enough to recognize that, in the event of a prolonged state of conflict, they stood to suffer least. Their wings were their constant passport to safety. For a long time he brooded over what course of action to take. Vixen’s grief was an aching wound in his heart, and he itched for battle. But he did not want to further endanger the survival of his other three cubs. So for the time being Scarface’s blow remained unanswered.
Over the next few weeks the cubs were never allowed to wander far, and at night both Fox and Vixen accompanied them on their hunting trips. Soon the three were very nearly as big as their parents and Bold, in particular, was wishing to become more independent. It was Vixen who finally said to Fox: ‘We can be overprotective, you know. Shouldn’t we be encouraging them to rely more on themselves now?’
‘I suppose you’re right,’ Fox acknowledged. ‘But do you think they’re ready to meet all the dangers around?’
‘Time will tell,’ said Vixen realistically. ‘In any case, the dangers you are referring to will always be present. The cubs are aware of them, too.’
Fox relented. ‘I’ll tell them they’re free to go where they choose, but within reason. We don’t want to invite trouble.’
The next day Fox and Vixen hunted alone, and the cubs were left to their own devices. Bold was eager to explore further afield and, before he left them, he made Friendly and Charmer promise not to mention this.
With what sense of freedom and adventure he set off in the moonlight! His natural confidence made him feel he was equal to anything and he trotted along quite fearlessly. He went first to the stream of the water-rats and slaked his thirst at its edge. He had never been to the other bank and, without further ado, dog-paddled easily across. Here there were new smells, new sounds to absorb. Bold watched an owl flitting from tree to tree, calling in its metallic voice to its mate. A stoat brushed in front of him, intent on its own business. Bold caught himself a morsel and paused to eat it under a birch tree.
‘Hallo,’ whispered a voice nearby. ‘I don’t think I know your face.’
Bold looked around him and detected a movement under a gorse bush. He looked closer. ‘Oh – hallo,’ he said in reply. ‘You must be Adder.’
‘That is the case,’ said the snake.
‘My father has often talked to me about you,’ Bold went on.
‘Really? What did he say?’
‘He said you were a remarkable creature,’ Bold said innocently.
Adder chuckled. ‘Not so remarkable for a snake,’ he said. ‘But it seems we legless individuals always appear unusual to those who have them.’
‘I don’t think he was referring to that aspect at all,’ Bold assured him. ‘My father and mother have good cause to remember some of your deeds.’
Adder knew the young fox was referring in particular to a certain action on his part during the animals’ journey to White Deer Park, when he had virtually saved Vixen’s life. But it was not his way to acknowledge it. ‘I’m glad to hear it,’ was all he said. ‘For my part, I have the greatest admiration for your parents. Incidentally, I trust I am not delaying you at all?’
Bold was much too polite to say he had wanted to explore alone, and he thought Adder was a particularly interesting character to whom he might do well to listen. ‘I should be glad of your company,’ he said, more or less truthfully.
‘I heard, of course, of the tragic incident involving your sister,’ Adder told him. ‘It seems there are certain rivalries in existence in the Park. I must say I have been surprised at the somewhat subdued response from your father. At one time he would have reacted quite differently – but then he hasn’t always had the particular responsibilities he has had recently.’
Bold was surprised at the snake’s outspoken manner, but he recalled that Fox had told him that Adder had never been one to mince his words.
‘I’m sure if that scarfaced animal ever came close to our den again, my father would kill him,’ the cub said proudly.
‘Ye-e-s,’ drawled Adder, ‘possibly. The only drawback is that, if he did return, he might not be unaccompanied.’
‘Neither is my father unaccompanied,’ Bold answered hotly. ‘I’m nearly as big as he is, and I would certainly not see him fight alone.’
Adder grinned wryly. ‘I don’t doubt it for a moment,’ he assured the cub. ‘You youngsters are bound to be eager to prove yourselves.’
Bold felt the snake was amused at his ardour, but for once Adder had not intended to be sarcastic, and hastened to reassure him.
‘I should know that any offspring of Fox and Vixen would be bound to have a stout heart,’ he said.
This compliment both to himself and his parents flattered the cub.
‘Er – were you spying out the land by any chance?’ Adder enquired.
‘Not exactly,’ replied Bold innocently. ‘I just wanted to explore a little further than before.’ He did not care to admit that he was out on his own for the first time.
‘The only reason I asked,’ resumed the snake, ‘is that I know Scarface and his brood patrol these parts.’
Bold swallowed hard. Despite his determination to be courageous, he was not yet ready to face the enemy on his own. ‘Oh,’ he said quietly. ‘Er – do they cover a lot of ground?’
Adder saw how the land lay. ‘Oh, a great deal,’ he replied, a hint of his old maliciousness creeping into his feelings. ‘They seem to feel they have the right to roam wherever they choose.’
These words caused Bold to shake off his trepidation. ‘And why shouldn’t I, too?’ he said with resolution.
‘No reason at all,’ Adder consented, wondering if he was wrong to spur the cub on. ‘Feel free to go. I’ve no wish to hold you back.’
Now Bold felt that he must go on. He turned to Adder. ‘I’m grateful to you for your advice,’ he said politely. ‘Will you be in this vicinity for some time?’
‘Oh, hereabouts,’ Adder replied non-committally.
&n
bsp; ‘Well then, if I don’t return this way tonight, will you seek out my father and tell him?’
Adder loathed to be given commissions of any sort, or to feel himself bound in any way by the wishes of others. He was on the point of delivering a retort, but confined himself to pointing out that he might be moving on anyway.
‘I know Fox would appreciate it,’ Bold urged him.
Unwittingly, the cub had probably chosen the one motive that struck a chord in Adder’s scaly old heart. He owned few allegiances, but Fox commanded one of them.
‘You may count on me,’ he said simply.
Bold made his farewells and trotted forward carefully, sniffing the air in every direction as he did so. The hairs of his coat seemed to stand up independently as, with every step, he felt he was penetrating deeper into alien territory. Pretty soon, he was sure he detected the smell of a fox. He instantly flattened himself against the ground and waited.
The smell strengthened. He heard the sound of fox paws on the ground. A young fox came into view, pausing every so often and sniffing the air cautiously, just as he had done. He saw the other cub look all around as if trying to pinpoint him.
Bold realized he had nothing to fear. The other cub was just as nervous of their encounter as he was, and also far less robust in his appearance. He got to his feet quietly and waited.
The other cub spotted him and was startled. He even backed a couple of paces instinctively, snarling as he did so.
‘I mean no harm,’ Bold said clearly. ‘I’m merely looking around.’
‘Well, you shouldn’t be looking around here,’ the other cub said sullenly. ‘You’re no relation of mine, and we don’t allow strangers in our domain.’
‘But you’ve no objection, apparently, to venturing into theirs?’ Bold answered.
‘You’re one of the Farthing Wood creatures,’ said the cub. ‘That’s your domain.’
‘On the contrary,’ Bold replied coolly. ‘I’m as much a White Deer Park fox as you are. I was born here too, you know.’
The other cub was silenced by this remark.
‘What do they call you?’ Bold asked in a not unfriendly manner.
‘Ranger,’ came the reply.
‘Well, I’m known as Bold,’ said Fox’s cub, ‘and I would like to ask you: is it necessary for you and I to continue the quarrel of our parents? We might be friends elsewhere. Why not here?’
Ranger said nothing. He seemed about to respond to this gesture of good will, when his father suddenly appeared. With his customary vicious snarl, Scarface got between Bold and his own cub.
‘You are going to regret straying from the safety of your family,’ he said with measured iciness. ‘This will be the first and the last time you enter our boundaries.’
Bold stood his ground, wondering what move was going to be made. He tensed his muscles, ready to spring into flight the moment he had to. He kept an unwavering gaze on the old scarred muzzle of his enemy, ensuring that Ranger also was constantly in his circle of vision.
Ranger, in fact, appeared to be very ill at ease. He kept shifting his weight from one paw to another, looking quickly from his father to Bold and back again.
Scarface suddenly growled impatiently at him, comparing his restlessness unfavourably with the coolness of Bold. Ranger slunk back behind his father. Bold and Scarface continued to eye each other.
In a split second before the old fox launched himself forward, Bold read the intention in his eyes. He leapt nimbly aside and Scarface rushed past him a few yards before he could check himself. Bold faced him again and, this time, as he hurtled towards him Scarface signalled to Ranger to attack Bold’s rear.
But Bold was far too supple for one old and one inexperienced fox. He had his father’s swiftness and agility. He slid away from the attack and began to run back on his old path, back towards Adder.
With a wild bark of fury and frustration Scarface leapt after him. Ranger followed, more out of a sense of obedience than a desire to do so.
Bold ran easily and confidently, knowing he had the better pace. Then he heard a yelping cry behind him – an eerie wail of a cry, repeated over and over again. He quickened his pace, knowing Scarface was calling to his own kind for assistance.
Bold raced on – it was all he could do. Then, some yards ahead, he saw a flurry of movement. At the sight his blood ran cold. About a dozen foxes were running towards him, spreading out in an arc to encircle him. Behind him Scarface’s gasps rasped in his ears. He knew his case was hopeless. The other foxes surrounded him and halted his progress. Silently they awaited the arrival of their sire.
Bold looked fearfully from one pair of eyes to another. They were full of intent. There was no mercy in any of them.
Adder, who had been watching during the remainder of the night for Bold’s return, felt the first rays of the summer sun strike his body with their warmth. He knew it was time to report the cub’s absence.
Slithering as quickly as he was able through the bracken and leaf litter, he arrived at the stream-bank. Adder was a good swimmer and the stream presented no problems. He forded it easily, and climbed the other bank. But Fox’s earth was a good distance away and Adder knew it would be hours before he could reach it. His body was not constructed to travel long distances at speed. It was essential for him to find someone who could pass the message more quickly.
He knew of no Farthing Wood animal who had set up home in the immediate vicinity. Kestrel would be the perfect messenger, but there was no way in which Adder could pass it to him hundreds of feet up in the air, even should he be flying over the Park. He might encounter one of the other birds, but Tawny Owl was likely to be asleep, while Whistler spent most of his time at the waterside. But the heron was not always to be found along the banks of the stream and Adder could spare no time on what might prove to be a fruitless search. So he struggled on overland.
As luck would have it, as his mosaicked body rippled through the long grass, he came upon Hare resting on his form of flattened stalks.
‘You don’t often pass this way,’ Hare said.
There’s a reason for it,’ Adder told him, and explained the urgency of the message. ‘It’s a definite stroke of luck running into you. You’ve probably got the fastest pair of legs in the whole Reserve.’
Hare did not hesitate. He was up and bounding away through the grass without so much as a farewell. Adder found himself a warm patch of ground and decided to do some basking. He was sure events would catch up with him again later in the day.
Minutes later, Hare’s breakneck speed brought him to the entrance to Fox’s earth. Inside he found Fox and Vixen, Friendly and Charmer already deeply concerned at Bold’s failure to reappear. When they received the news that he had deliberately strayed into Scarface’s territory, they conjectured the worst.
Fox looked strained. ‘We must go after him at once,’ he resolved. ‘It may not be too late.’
‘I’ll go and alert Badger and some of the others,’ Hare offered.
‘No.’ Fox shook his head. ‘I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. This is mine and Vixen’s quarrel. We’ll deal with it ourselves. I don’t want any of our friends getting hurt on our account’
‘Very well,’ said Hare. ‘But if you need help, it would be absurd not to ask for it from any reason of pride.’
‘There are four of us here,’ Fox indicated his family. ‘Friendly and Charmer are all but fully grown. We will go, as a pack, to search for our missing one.’
‘We won’t be looking for any trouble,’ Vixen added. ‘We don’t want any fighting. Our only concern is to find Bold and bring him back.’
‘I wish you well,’ said Hare sincerely.
‘Thank you for bringing us word,’ said Vixen. ‘We may be able to thank Adder ourselves.’
Hare watched the family depart. He had little confidence, either that they would find Bold or, if they did, be able to bring him away, and all of them return unscathed right from under the muzzle of Scarface.
In the sunlight again, he sat pondering. He did not care to defy Fox’s wishes, yet he knew Badger and Tawny Owl, at least, would never forgive him if he did not warn them of the developments.
‘I suppose all I can do is to pass on to them Fox’s words,’ he said to himself, ‘and hope that they’ll respect them.’ He pondered again. ‘Of course Tawny Owl is bound to act impulsively, as usual. Perhaps I’ll just tell Badger.’
Having decided this, Hare ran quickly to Badger’s set and found him entertaining Mole. He described the situation in a few words.
‘I knew they were going to have problems with that one,’ Badger said afterwards. ‘But, after all, he’s not really a cub any more. He has a life of his own now. Of course, the maturity isn’t there . . .’
‘Oh, why won’t Fox let us help him?’ bewailed Mole. ‘I’m sure Scarface would respect the combined forces of all the animals of Farthing Wood.’
‘A lot of you are so small as not to influence his thinking in any way, I’m sure,’ Badger remarked. ‘No offence, Mole, you understand. But an old warrior like Scarface is hardly likely to take much account of you or Vole – or Toad, for that matter. He’s quite capable of making a tasty morsel of you for his supper.’
Mole looked a little hurt. ‘Well, my intentions are noble enough, anyway,’ he defended himself. ‘But there’s a lot to be said for numbers.’
‘I think Mole’s right, actually,’ Hare agreed. ‘Most of the creatures in the Park still think there’s a certain aura about us. We made that famous journey – against all odds. We are looked upon as being exceptionally resourceful – why should we be intimidated by any danger that confronts us here after all we endured before?’
‘That’s it exactly!’ cried Mole. ‘I couldn’t have put it better myself.’
‘The only thing being,’ Badger reminded them, ‘that we are required not to get involved.’
‘I suppose Fox wouldn’t have any objection if we just followed along behind at a safe distance?’ Hare queried. ‘You know – just to satisfy ourselves everything was all right?’
