by Colin Dann
Daylight came and Ranger was still undecided. He felt that many lives might depend on his action, and the full weight of the realization bore down on him. At length he resolved to go that night to the meeting-place and, should Charmer not appear, he must once again go in search of her. Then, worn out with anxiety, he lay down and fell into an uneasy sleep.
It was dark when he awoke and Ranger at once set off in the hope of seeing Charmer. He was quite astonishingly hungry and any likely morsel that crossed his path was immediately snapped up. He was unaware that he had slept a very long time. When he reached the meeting-place and found Charmer was not there, he had no way of knowing that she had got tired of waiting for him and left.
Now Ranger waited, more and mote anxiously as time passed. Bitterly disappointed, he knew he would have to pluck up his courage and go deep into Charmer’s home area again. But he did not get so far on this occasion. A fox came out of the hawthorn thicket right in front of him, barring his way. It was his father.
‘Aha!’ said Scarface with a look of cunning. ‘Another one testing the lie of the land!’
Ranger was too taken aback to reply.
‘Good lad, good lad,’ his father went on, not unkindly. ‘I never knew you had it in you, Ranger. Up to your father’s old tricks, eh? Well, you shall be in the forefront with me tomorrow. We’ll teach them all a lesson, you and I. Come on, my boy. Kill me something – I’m starving. I’ve seen all I want to see for tonight.’
So Ranger was trapped into accompanying his parent back through the area he had just crossed. Even when he was lucky to flush out a partridge Scarface insisted he stay and share it with him. There was no escape. As a final resort, he tried to persuade his father to abandon the attack.
‘Must we continue to look upon ourselves as their enemies?’ he asked. ‘There will be pain and death on both sides.’
‘We can’t expect to emerge unscathed from a battle,’ came the reply. ‘My old face bears witness to that. But they are our enemies. Yes, a few will fall. But we shall prevail in the end.’
‘Why can’t we all live in harmony?’ Ranger tried again. ‘There is plenty of room in the Park for all. We need never come into contact with them.’
‘There was harmony until the Farthing Wood fox arrived with his conceited cronies,’ Scarface snapped. ‘But we were here first. The right is on our side.’
‘Surely we shall appear to be the aggressors if we attack them? Please, Father, is there no other way?’ Ranger begged.
‘No other way? Oh yes, we could surrender, I suppose,’ sneered Scarface. ‘I was wrong about you after all, I see. You’re the same cowardly milksop I took you for. Would that you were his offspring and his mine!’
Ranger’s spirits sank completely. It was hopeless. In despair, he thought of the morrow. Nothing could save those creatures now. But while there was blood still in his body, he vowed that Charmer should come to no harm – even if it should mean fighting Scarface himself.
There was one factor in favour of the newcomers to White Deer Park, quite overlooked by Scarface, and that was Kestrel. Ever since the slaughter of Hare’s mate he had maintained his observation of the Park by day. High in the summer sky his piercing gaze detected movement around Scarface’s territory. He dropped height and found the foxes massing behind their leader. He waited no longer.
Swift as an arrow he sped to warn his friends. The first he saw was Rabbit who was nibbling clover with some of his kin. ‘Get down to your warren!’ screeched Kestrel. ‘There’s trouble coming!’
‘Is it Scarface?’ Rabbit called as his relatives bolted for their burrows.
‘Yes – no time to lose. Is Hare about?’
‘Haven’t seen him,’ Rabbit shouted over his shoulder as he scuttled for cover.
Kestrel flew on to Fox’s earth. Luckily he was lying in the sun near its entrance. ‘This is it!’ Kestrel warned him. ‘He’s coming in force.’
Fox leapt up. ‘Right, warn all you see to hide themselves. Come back to me later.’ Kestrel sped on, scanning the ground. Fox called to his family: ‘Quickly, all of you, off to Badger’s set. Tell him the reason and go deep down. I’ll follow.’
With Vixen leading the cubs to Badger’s safer home, Fox loped off to Weasel’s nest. In no time Weasel was following Fox’s family to the set. Leaving Kestrel to search for Hare and Leveret, Fox now thought of the voles and fieldmice. The little creatures might be safe enough in their holes but some could be wandering abroad and, in any case, Fox did not want to risk their being dug out of their tunnels by the vindictive Scarface. He found Vole and broke the news.
‘Where are we to go?’ Vole shrieked in alarm.
‘Badger’s set,’ said Fox. ‘Waste no time. The enemy is on the move.’
‘But it’s a long way for tiny legs like ours,’ Vole squeaked.
‘Then start at once!’ Fox snapped impatiently. ‘You’ll be safer there, believe you me.’ He ran on to warn the fieldmice, who, fortunately, were a little closer to Badger’s home. On the way he shouted to a squirrel: ‘Get aloft, all of you, and don’t come down till I tell you!’
In the next few minutes, a small stream of mice were scurrying as fast as they could go in the wake of their larger friends. Fox paused, panting for breath. As he did so, he saw Whistler approaching. The heron had seen Scarface’s troop crossing the brook and had come at once.
‘Thanks, my friend,’ said Fox. ‘Find Tawny Owl and wake him up. We may need him. But stay well out of harm’s reach.’ Then he ran off to alert the hedgehogs.
Kestrel found him almost driving his spiny little friends before him in his anxiety to get them underground. Fox and the hawk compared notes. Hare and Leveret had been located and Kestrel had sent them to join their cousins in the rabbit warren.
‘I should have preferred us all to be under one roof,’ said Fox, ‘but there’s no time for that now. Have you seen anything of Toad or Adder?’
Kestrel shook his head.
‘Well, they’ll have to fend for themselves,’ Fox said hurriedly. ‘I dare say they’ll be safe enough.’ He stopped and cast about, as if mentally ticking off the animals one by one. ‘H’m. All accounted for that can be, I think,’ he murmured. ‘Kestrel, you’ve probably saved the day. Owl and Whistler will be waiting for you. Now I must run.’
The last of the mice were entering Badger’s set as Fox came racing up. The hedgehogs had overtaken them and, in Badger’s deepest chamber, plunged in total darkness, Fox was greeted by his worried friends and family.
‘There’s one missing,’ Badger told him.
‘Who’s that?’
‘Mole.’
‘Oh well, he’s one we needn’t concern ourselves about,’ Fox replied. ‘He’s not likely to surface when he hears all those footsteps up above.’
The animals fell silent as they strained to catch a sound of the approaching marauders. Outside the set, Whistler and Tawny Owl were perched well out of sight in a lofty oak tree. But Kestrel had returned to his natural element – the sky – to watch the enemy.
Scarface, with Ranger and his other cubs alongside him, came cautiously into sight with the other foxes close behind. Everything was perfectly still and silent around them. The fox leader looked puzzled. He had intended to catch his rivals unawares; yet there was no sign of any movement of any sort. Surely some creatures would be about? Then he happened to look up and see Kestrel wheeling free across the blue expanse above them, and he understood.
A crafty grin stole over his fearsome features. He turned round to his followers. ‘My friends,’ he said softly, ‘it looks as though we have some digging to do.’
Ranger looked at his sire in alarm as he saw him directing his band to Fox’s earth. Now he must defend Charmer against whatever threat might face her. He ran ahead of the other foxes and reached the entrance first. He heard Scarface’s dry chuckle behind him: ‘Oh, are you going to make up for your previous timidity by your eagerness now?’
He entered Fox’s den an
d at once picked out Charmer’s scent amongst the others that pervaded the place. He quickly emerged again. ‘It’s quite empty,’ he announced.
Scarface frowned. ‘Is it indeed?’ he hissed. ‘Now where can our Farthing Wood friends be lurking?’ He started to look around him and then sniffed the ground thereabouts. ‘Oh yes, there’s a trail here to be followed,’ he muttered. ‘Ranger, come here. Your nose is sharper. Lead me to them!’
The reluctant cub bent his muzzle to the ground as directed. A confusing variety of scents assailed his nostrils. Amongst them was one he knew he would recognize anywhere. He thought quickly. Here was a chance for him to lead the wretched band astray.
‘Well?’ boomed his father. ‘Don’t just stand there. Track them!’
Ranger followed Charmer’s scent for a while to give himself some idea of which direction she had travelled. Then he veered off after a hundred yards or so, losing her completely. For a time Scarface and the others followed in silence. But eventually the old fox became impatient.
‘Where are you taking us? We’re no nearer discovering them!’ he cried testily.
Ranger stopped. ‘It – it seems to peter out here,’ he said hesitantly.
‘Can’t you even follow a trail?’ snapped his father, bending his scarred head to the path. ‘Oh, I can’t smell anything! You, come here!’
Another cub’s nose was put to the test to no avail.
‘Ha! So you’ve lost it?’ Scarface snarled at Ranger angrily. ‘Get to the back of the pack. You’re worse than useless.’
Ranger slunk away, wondering what the outcome of his misdemeanour would be. Scarface was furious. ‘I’ll not be frustrated again!’ he swore. ‘I’ll take some spoils!’
Even as he was cursing, a sort of miniature earthquake seemed to take place right in front of his eyes. A blunt snout and then a furry head, besprinkled with mould, peered out of a hole. Poor Mole, who had heard the running feet above one of his tunnels, had come to see what he had thought was his friends gathering.
‘Hal – lo,’ said Scarface menacingly. ‘You look as if you might be of help.’
Mole jumped. ‘Oh! Help? Help to whom?’ he cried nervously.
‘You’re one of the Farthing Wood fox’s friends, aren’t you?’ wheedled Scarface.
‘What if I am?’ said Mole stoutly. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Well, you could leave this message for me,’ answered Scarface, accompanying his words with a vicious snap at the little creature. His jaws raked the delicate fur of Mole’s body and tore through the skin. But Mole turned tail and frantically began to dig himself back into his tunnel.
‘Dig him out! Dig him out!’ Scarface commanded. ‘We’ll have one victim!’
But Mole had no rivals as a tunneller and he was soon yards away on the route to Badger’s home before his attackers had barely disturbed the soil.
Scarface now rounded on his companions. ‘So even a mole is too much for you, it seems? You can’t track, you can’t dig! Perhaps it’s just as well we’ve done no fighting. You might have had to tackle a hedgehog or a squirrel and then how would you have managed?’
His tribe skulked away from him, looking cowed and resentful. Scarface sneered at them. ‘I think you all need a bit of training,’ he said. ‘Our fierce friends can’t stay hidden all day. You’ll have to face them eventually. And if any of you have other ideas I’ll have you fighting each other!’
Leaving them behind, he went and lay down by himself to wait. ‘I’ve got all the time in the world,’ he said to himself. ‘I’ll make them come out or they’ll starve to death.’
When Mole stumbled into Badger’s set he was amazed to find most of his other friends already there. But he quickly realized the reason for it. He described his tussle with Scarface and Badger jumped up to examine the little animal’s wounds. Because of the darkness he had to do this by scent. Mole told him that the damage was only slight.
‘How many of the enemy are there?’ Fox wanted to know.
‘I didn’t have time to count,’ Mole answered. ‘But there certainly seemed to be quite a horde of them.’
Fox looked exceptionally grim but, thankfully, his expression could not be seen in the blackness.
‘We’ll stay put for the present,’ he told them all, ‘until I’m more sure of developments. Does Scarface know of your set, Badger?’
‘Probably. He seems to know most things,’ answered Badger. ‘We’re very vulnerable in here, you know, Fox,’ he added. ‘We have no food – any of us – and there’s nothing to stop Scarface coming down here just as you did.’
‘We have one advantage,’ Fox pointed out. ‘Our enemies can only come down your tunnel one at a time. So we can dispose of them in the same sequence.’
‘But Badger has more than one entrance to his set,’ Weasel remarked. ‘What of that, Fox?’
‘Then we must block all but one,’ replied Fox.
‘No!’ Badger said sharply. ‘If we leave ourselves only one exit we could be trapped here.’
Fox thought for a moment. ‘I think you had better give me a short tour,’ he said to Badger. ‘Then I shall know how we’re fixed.’
Badger nodded and led Fox out of the chamber. Once away from the others Fox asked: ‘What do you think our chances are of defending this place?’
‘Slight,’ Badger said bluntly. ‘All you can do is to post the strongest animals at each entrance.’
‘How many entrances do you have?’
‘Four.’
Fox mused. ‘It’s all but hopeless,’ he said wearily. ‘As a fighting force we are effectively six strong: Vixen and myself, Bold, Friendly and Charmer and yourself. Weasel’s too small to be of much help. As for the others, all that can be said is that their hearts are in the right place.’
‘I wonder why Scarface chose to come during the daytime?’ remarked Badger.
‘Obviously he knew about our watch system at night,’ Fox said. ‘I think I know where that piece of treachery stems from.’ He was thinking of Ranger.
Badger looked at him blankly. ‘Surely we don’t harbour a traitor amongst us?’ he whispered.
‘Not exactly,’ Fox answered. ‘But the workings of the heart can blind us to our duty.’ Of course, he had then to explain the development of Charmer’s friendship with one of Scarface’s cubs.
‘Goodness gracious!’ exclaimed Badger. ‘This is one development I never looked for.’
‘That’s pretty much what Vixen said,’ Fox told him. ‘Naturally, Charmer trusted her new friend implicitly.’ He made a sour face. ‘As if I hadn’t enough problems already.’
‘There’s just a chance she might have been right to do so,’ Badger observed. ‘I think we may be in danger of making Scarfaces of all the other foxes.’
‘I suppose there’s something in what you say,’ Fox allowed him. ‘Perhaps I am maligning him. But I feel this raid is too much of a coincidence.’
‘You’re probably right,’ agreed Badger. ‘The cub’s loyalty is bound to lie with his father.’
‘Unlike my cub, I suppose?’ Fox suggested bitterly.
‘Not at all,’ Badger declared. ‘That’s a bit strong, my friend.’
They were silent for a moment or two. Then Fox said: ‘I wish I knew what was going on outside.’
‘Why don’t you ask Mole to go back the way he came and have a look?’ Badger asked.
‘No, bless him, I wouldn’t expose him to that savage’s mercy again,’ Fox answered. ‘In any case, his eyesight’s so poor he wouldn’t be able to discover much.’
‘I’ll go then,’ Badger volunteered. ‘I’ll be very careful, and I shall know by their scent how close they are. I needn’t go outside at all.’
‘Thanks, my dear fellow,’ said Fox. ‘Meanwhile I’ll post someone at each of the other exits.’
Badger shuffled off down the tunnel and paused near his main entrance hole. Exercising his powerful sense of smell he turned his striped head in all directions, sniffing for the tell-t
ale odour of the group of foxes. Then he went back to the chamber.
‘There’s only a faint smell,’ he announced, ‘so they can’t be very close.’
‘Good,’ responded Fox. ‘But I wonder what he’s up to?’
‘We shall know soon enough, I’ll be bound,’ said Weasel.
‘I’m worried about Hare and the rabbits,’ Fox confessed. ‘They won’t know what’s going on, and we know how jittery the rabbits are. If Hare can’t keep them calm, they might start to panic down in their burrows and then they’ll be coming out and running all over the place. Scarface and his tribe would have a field day.’
‘Surely one of the birds will come and tell us of any further movement?’ Vole asked querulously. ‘They’re all out of danger. Aren’t they thinking of us?’
Fox nodded. ‘I’m sure Kestrel will come,’ he said soothingly, ‘and, don’t forget, you have him to thank for giving us all the breathing space at the beginning.’
The day dragged on and, just as Fox was wondering if his faith in the hawk was misplaced, Kestrel could be heard calling outside. Vixen, who was now guarding the main entrance answered him.
‘Scarface is coming nearer,’ Kestrel told her. ‘I think he must have guessed now where you’re all hiding. You’d better tell Fox.’
But Fox was already coming up the tunnel. ‘Kestrel,’ he called. ‘Please go and see how the rabbits are doing. They must stay out of sight.’
The hawk flew off and Fox and Vixen peered together out of the entrance. They could see Scarface now, leading his band towards the set. Amongst them they recognized Ranger.
‘So he is involved,’ muttered Fox to himself. ‘Come on, my love, back to the chamber,’ he said aloud. ‘I’ll get the cubs back from the other entrances. Guards are of no use against such an army. Our only hope is to stay completely quiet. We may fool them yet.’
