Fox's Feud

by Colin Dann

  The cub, after his latest meeting with Charmer, had been so full of spirits that he had run the length and breadth of the Reserve in his new mood of confidence. The dawn had begun to break as he had lain, intently watching the activity of a ginger cat inside the perimeter of the Warden’s garden. It was an animal he had not come across before, and it was only the eventual disappearance of the cat that had set him in motion again on his homeward trail. As luck would have it, as he approached the banks of the stream again, he had chased a rabbit into the very clump of bracken that fringed the sunbathing Adder. Ranger saw the snake and immediately recalled his father’s words. He ran straight off to tell him.

  Scarface received the news without enthusiasm. ‘A snake is a snake,’ he said. ‘But I doubt if it is the one I’m interested in. He is far too secretive.’

  ‘Well, he’s lying not far from the spot where our cousin was killed,’ Ranger persisted. ‘Shall we investigate?’

  ‘I think not,’ Scarface replied sourly. ‘You look in need of a rest.’

  ‘Oh no, Father, I feel quite fresh,’ Ranger asserted.

  ‘That’s for me to decide,’ Scarface remarked bluntly, and the cub knew he was dismissed.

  The old fox sat alone and contemplated. Although it was unlikely that the basking snake was the one he wanted, he could not afford to ignore even a slender chance. There might be some way of trapping the creature into admitting its guilt. If it appeared unsuspicious of him – well, he could still kill it anyway. One poisonous snake less was no bad thing. But he wanted no companions. This exercise called for all his timeless skill and cunning. He trotted in a half circle from his den and crossed the brook downstream. Then he slunk noiselessly and slowly towards the patch of bracken Ranger had described. His paws made no sound on the ground.

  Under and through the stalks of fern went Scarface. His feet trod carefully on the soft ground, but even he was unable to avoid just the barest rustle as he brushed the dry fern fronds of last year. Adder detected nothing until the fox, in a final burst, breasted through the last clump to the clearing.

  The snake wriggled quickly to one side as Scarface leapt out at him, his teeth showing. Then a chase began as Adder bolted for thicker cover, while his pursuer jumped this way and that, trying to head him off. Escape was now the only thing in Adder’s mind – a counterattack was impossible. The element of surprise, essential when attacking a larger animal, was lost in this instance. Scarface snapped again and again, but amongst the bracken Adder was difficult quarry. The fox snarled with frustration. ‘You – can’t – get away,’ he panted. ‘You must pay – the – penalty – for daring – to attack – one of my – tribe.’

  Adder was too busy to answer, even had he the inclination. So Scarface still had no idea if he were pursing the right snake. At last, just as Adder appeared to be cornered and the fox made a lunge, the snake found a hole in the ground and shot into it. But he was not quick enough. Scarface’s ancient teeth closed on the end of his tail and held him fast. An agonizing tug of war followed. Adder grimly tried to pull himself away while Scarface’s grip tightened as he attempted to haul the snake clear of the hole. During the struggle Adder’s tail was actually bitten right through and the surprised fox was left holding over an inch of his vanished quarry in his jaws.

  Deep in the burrow, Adder nursed his wound. It was a severe one but not fatal. When the pain subsided a little he took stock of his position. He knew Scarface would now wait outside the hole, hoping for his reappearance. How long he would wait Adder could not guess. But he could outlast the fox’s appetite; of that he was quite sure. Now he thought of the trouble brought on himself by his attempt to help his friends, and he felt very aggrieved. Why had he involved himself in a dispute between foxes or, at best, between mammals? He would have done better to leave them to their own dirty work. If he survived his injury, his body would remain mutilated for all time. He thought bitter thoughts. After a time he painfully turned himself round in the burrow and was relieved to find that he was, at least, still mobile. He could smell Scarface’s scent penetrating the hole and he seethed with anger. He crawled painfully nearer the entrance.

  ‘You can wait there till you drop with hunger,’ he gasped. ‘I will stay here until I die if necessary.’

  ‘You miserable crawling worm,’ Scarface snarled. ‘Did you think you could kill me like any other fox?’ He was intent on discovering if he had cornered his true enemy.

  ‘A violent end is your just desert,’ Adder hissed back. ‘You will meet it one day, though I may not be your slayer.’

  Scarface listened closely. Still the snake had not committed himself. ‘You have slain one,’ he suggested cunningly, ‘but you will never increase your tally.’

  Adder remained silent. He was aware he must not reveal himself as the culprit for, if he did, he might never leave that place. At length he said: ‘You have wounded me but I have escaped you. You can never claim you killed me, however long you sit outside this hole.’ Then Adder said no more and Scarface knew that, eventually, he would have to leave the snake where he was.

  Still he waited a while, and as he waited he felt more foolish. He had failed to discover who the snake was and, if the real fox-killer was yet roaming free, he was wasting his time here. The day wore on and, suddenly, as softly as he had come, he went away. Adder was left alone in the burrow.

  As he lay wounded, he began to plot again. Despite his bitterness against his friends, who knew nothing of his suffering, a scheme entered his subtle brain. He had a new and more valid reason for revenge on his assailant. He had literally been caught napping by Scarface. But when the time was ripe, he would turn the tables on him and avenge this day’s work for ever.

  The nightly meetings of Charmer and Ranger continued. No whisper of the arrangement reached Fox’s or Vixen’s ears, and only Friendly had been witness to it on one occasion when he had stealthily followed his sister’s tracks. He kept to his private pact and remained silent. Charmer had no idea she had been trailed. Then one day Fox asked her to take the watch for that night.

  He had resisted Vixen’s suggestion up until then of including Charmer amongst the cubs required to do their duty. Now, after days of quiet, he decided the risk of an attack was far less likely. He believed Scarface had not yet been able to satisfy himself of the connection between the snake-biting and the Farthing Wood creatures.

  Charmer gulped when her father made his request. She was not averse to keeping watch, but she knew there was no way she could let Ranger know she would not be keeping their appointment.

  ‘Could I perhaps take my turn tomorrow night?’ she asked hesitantly.

  ‘It’s my turn tomorrow,’ Fox told her, ‘and your mother and I want to hunt tonight. What difference is there?’

  Charmer was unwilling to arouse her father’s suspicions by labouring the point, so she was obliged to concede. ‘None at all, Father,’ she answered meekly.

  Friendly heard the conversation and wondered if he should meet Ranger and explain Charmer’s absence. But that, of course, would be tantamount to admitting his own participation in the affair and that might well have repercussions. So he decided against it.

  So it was that Charmer settled herself for the night at a convenient point while feeling concern for what Ranger might think. Every moment seemed an age in the darkness. Behind her, the family earth was empty. Fox and Vixen had trotted off together and her two brothers roamed free as well. She longed for the morning, or at least someone to talk to. She could see no movement anywhere, and the only sound was of the slow rustle of leaves in the night breeze. The night wore slowly on. Then she saw Tawny Owl flutter to the ground from a nearby tree. She called to him.

  ‘Ah, good evening, Charmer, my dear,’ he said in his rather pompous way. ‘It seems you are our protector tonight.’

  ‘Yes, for the first time,’ she replied. ‘But there’s nothing around to cause any alarms.’

  ‘It’s a tedious job perching to wait for something th
at never turns up,’ the bird remarked. ‘I really can’t see much purpose in continuing these vigils.’

  ‘My father believes Scarface might be waiting for us to curtail them,’ Charmer said.

  ‘But we can’t continue like this indefinitely,’ Tawny Owl persisted. ‘We’re losing our independence.’

  ‘I suppose he would say that that would be preferable to losing our lives,’ Charmer answered loyally.

  ‘H’m. Yes, yes,’ muttered Owl. ‘But I think Fox is sometimes just a little too cautious.’

  ‘What would you do then?’ the cub asked innocently.

  ‘Me? Oh well, I would go and have a chat with Friend Scarface and see if we could come to an understanding.’

  ‘Of course, we foxes haven’t the safety element of a lofty branch to speak from,’ Charmer said cheekily. ‘We always have to stand our ground.’

  ‘Er – yes, quite!’ Tawny Owl said shortly. ‘But I’m always willing, you know. Always willing.’ He strolled up and down with his wings folded for a moment or two, rather self-importantly.

  ‘Dear old Owl,’ Charmer said to herself. ‘Always full of suggestions but never carrying any of them out.’ She smiled. ‘Shall I mention your idea to my father?’ she asked out loud. ‘Or you could yourself, if you wanted to wait? He should be back shortly.’

  Tawny Owl stopped pacing. ‘Er – no, no,’ he said hurriedly. ‘No need for that. I’ve got to get on. He knows he can always count on me without asking. Er – good night, m’dear.’ He rose into the air and flew away abruptly.

  Charmer chuckled to herself. ‘I shouldn’t tease him really,’ she thought. ‘He’s a good friend.’

  The smile died on her lips as she saw a familiar shape in the distance, moving uncertainly in a variety of directions. It was Ranger who had come searching for her. Her heart started to pound as she realized the danger that threatened him if Bold or her parents should return. She must warn him. But she dare not leave her post.

  The cub came hesitantly forward, stopping to sniff the air and then lowering his muzzle to the ground. He had, no doubt, picked up her scent. In the end Charmer stood up and Ranger spotted her. He ran quickly up to her.

  ‘Where have you been?’ he began at once. ‘I waited and waited. Then I started to worry so I – ’

  ‘Sssh!’ Charmer cut him short. ‘You mustn’t stay here. You’re in danger. My father and brothers are out hunting and may come back at any moment. You’ve got to leave me.’

  Ranger looked at her in bewilderment. ‘But why didn’t you come? he asked. ‘I thought some mishap had overtaken you.’

  ‘I can’t explain now,’ she said quickly. ‘I’ll do so tomorrow. But, please – go!’

  ‘I met Bold before,’ he protested. ‘He’s no savage. We understand each other . . .’

  ‘You don’t understand!’ she interrupted him sharply. ‘If he sees you, there’s no knowing what he might do. You’re out of bounds and – ’ Even as she spoke she saw Bold only a matter of yards away, trotting purposefully back to the den. ‘Go! Go!’ she wailed.

  Ranger looked round, following her gaze. But he was too late. Bold had seen him. He raced up and immediately stationed himself in front of his sister protectively.

  ‘I see I returned just in time,’ he growled. ‘You’ve come too far out of your way on this occasion.’

  Ranger stepped back a pace but made no further move. ‘Don’t mistake me. I mean no harm. But I can defend myself.’

  ‘We shall see, we shall see,’ Bold whispered menacingly as he began to circle round the strange cub. ‘Charmer, go back to the earth.’

  ‘No, no,’ she cried. ‘Let him go, Bold. He came in friendship.’

  Her brother paused. ‘Oh, what is this? How do you come to talk of friendship with an enemy? What has been going on here?’

  ‘Nothing has been going on,’ Ranger was swift to reply. ‘You sound like my father. Why do you feel enmity towards me? I’ve done none of you any wrong. I came to talk to Charmer in peace.’

  Bold swung round on his sister. His eyes blazed. ‘So you invite the enemy right into our camp?’ he snapped. ‘This is how you guard your friends!’

  ‘There was no invitation, Bold,’ said Ranger evenly. ‘Your sister had no knowledge of my approach.’

  ‘Were you asleep, then,’ Bold demanded of his sister, ‘that a strange fox could come almost up to our earth unawares?’

  ‘No, I was wide awake,’ she retorted. ‘I saw him come.’

  ‘You saw him and gave no alarm?’ Bold barked. ‘You are a fine sentry, sister!’

  ‘I know Ranger to be no threat,’ she explained calmly.

  ‘Oh, and so you would have thought the same if his father had been behind him with a dozen other foxes?’ Bold was furious. ‘You were put in a position of trust,’ he growled. ‘Now, how do you justify yourself?’

  Friendly now joined the scene and saw how things were. ‘Come away a second,’ he whispered to his brother. ‘There’s something you should know.’ But what he told Bold only made the cub more angry. He rushed back and leapt at Ranger.

  ‘You’ll leave my sister alone!’ he snarled, and snapped at the smaller cub viciously.

  Charmer ran between them despairingly. ‘Don’t fight! Not over me,’ she pleaded.

  It was at this juncture that Fox and Vixen appeared. ‘Bold! Charmer! Stand away!’ Fox commanded. ‘What is happening here?’

  ‘Your daughter is a traitor,’ Bold panted. ‘She defends our enemy against her own brother!’

  ‘It’s not so, Father,’ Charmer almost wept. ‘I want no one to fight over me.’

  Fox and Vixen exchanged glances. Friendly decided to act as mediator. ‘Charmer and this strange cub, Ranger, are friends,’ he said simply. ‘Bold feels they shouldn’t be. I believe Ranger to be quite harmless.’

  Fox looked at each cub carefully. Then he spoke to Ranger. ‘I know you to be one of Scarface’s cubs,’ he said. ‘Is this true what I hear?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Ranger. ‘I make no secret of it. Charmer and I met by chance and we have become friends.’

  ‘I see,’ said Fox coolly. Then he turned to the vixen cub. ‘I left you on guard. Is this how you break my trust?’

  ‘But I didn’t,’ sobbed Charmer. ‘I have been at my post all night. Tawny Owl will vouch for me. Ranger was foolish enough to come in search of me, even into such a dangerous situation.’

  Vixen smiled at her daughter. ‘There’s no real harm done,’ she said soothingly to Fox. ‘I think we’d better hear this story from the beginning. Ranger, you return to your own family for the present. We have some talking to do in our own den.’

  ‘I’ll go at once,’ he said politely.

  ‘Is he to go free?’ Bold cried. ‘To go back and inform his father we keep watch for him every night?’

  ‘I want no battles,’ Ranger said hotly. ‘I shall tell him nothing.’

  Fox pondered for a moment. ‘Very well,’ he said. ‘I shall hold you to your word. You are on your honour. But if ever I find out you have tricked us, it will be the worse for you.’

  Ranger cast one sad glance at Charmer and turned on his heel. They watched him go. Then Fox led his family into their earth.

  Some time later, when Charmer had explained everything, Vixen nuzzled the frowning Fox. ‘These things happen, my love,’ she said kindly. ‘We never prepared ourselves for such a turn of events.’

  Ranger’s father, meanwhile had been brooding over his course of action. The episode with Adder had put him in a very black humour. It seemed to Scarface that every encounter with his enemies ended in frustration. He had not managed to kill the snake and he longed to give vent to his pent-up fury in some way. In his own mind Fox and his friends were to blame for everything that went wrong for him, and he seethed with anger and jealousy. His mate, his cubs and his other dependents kept well clear of him in his latest mood. They expected an eruption and went about uneasily, scarcely conversing, and wished the storm would break.
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  On the night of Ranger’s altercation with Charmer’s family, the cub returned to find Scarface’s tribe gathered to listen to their scion’s intentions. He slunk to the back of the group when his father was looking aside.

  ‘I can wait no longer,’ Scarface was saying. ‘These creatures are a threat to us all as long as they live. I intend to dispose of every one of them. We will attack them in the daylight hours when they are unguarded. It will be a swift attack, in full force, and those that are hidden will be searched out. I want complete destruction of every one of them, their homes and even their memory. I hope I am understood?’

  No voice disputed.

  ‘It is arranged, then,’ pronounced Scarface with satisfaction. ‘In two days we will assemble here as the light breaks. Now go and strengthen yourselves for the struggle.’

  As the group broke up, Ranger wandered off alone to think. His heart told him he should warn Charmer so that, if she felt as he did, at least the two of them could escape the battle, even if it should mean leaving the Reserve. Why should they suffer for their parents’ enmity? Only their lives mattered now. Ranger cared not a jot for Charmer’s brothers, nor for her father and mother, and he had no conception of their bonds with the other animals who had come with them to the Park. That was his first reaction. Yet he knew Charmer would never agree to desert her family. She would be less selfish for the future of the pair of them, even if she wished to be his mate. Then, what of his own family? He owed them some loyalty. Could he really be coward enough to run away as they fought for their existence? The more he thought, the more he returned to the same conclusion. Somehow he must prevent this battle.

  It would be useless to try and change his father’s mind, even for the sake of unity in the Reserve. Scarface was blinded by his hatred for Fox and his desire to be the undisputed authority over the Park’s inhabitants with the sole exception of the Great Stag. But what if he gave warning to Charmer to move her family to a place of safety? Yet, after recent events, would she still come to their meeting place or would she be forbidden? If she were not there the next night it would be too late to avoid the collision.