THE DEN
When the fox was making her wild rush to the woods, with the white hen
held high in her strong jaws, she was thinking more about the four
hungry pups in the home burrow than about the fuss she had left behind
in the farmyard. In the friendly shelter of the woods, however, she
began to feel very uneasy about it all. Everything had certainly gone
wrong.
She laid down the limp body of the hen and looked back. Through the
laurel and the straight trunks of the pines she could see the flat
stretch of the fields she had just left. Ben Slown's hurrying figure was
there, but too far back to worry her now. There were no dogs loose,
nothing else moving except three crows that were circling to find out
what had happened to arouse the farmer.
[Illustration: "A gray squirrel was watching her"]
Ahead of her lay Oak Ridge and the Swamp. What breeze there was came
from that direction, laden with the smell of sweet fern. Still she felt
uneasy. Her quick ear caught the scratching of claws on bark--a red
headed woodpecker was examining a dead oak; that was all right. So also
was the barking of a gray squirrel which was watching her from the limb
of a pine. But why were the blue jays calling so loudly on the Ridge?
Perhaps some enemy was near the pups.
Quickly picking up the hen she galloped towards the Ridge in that
wonderfully silent way known only to the wild things.
She did not know that, though her own graceful body fitted into the
woods like an illusive shadow, the white hen stood out like a beacon
light. She did not know that on the Ridge it caught the eye of a friend
of Ben Slown and held it while she circled the den and then called out
the puppies to the feast. Her mother love had indeed overcome natural
caution.
The den was nothing more than the enlarged burrow of an old woodchuck,
who, years before, had been driven from the fields below. To the four
puppies, however, it was all that a home ought to be. Wonderful to these
was its narrow passage with the half turn at the end and the snug bed so
far from the dangers of the world outside; wonderful too its collection
of feathers and pieces of fur which told of happy feasts; but best of
all was the sandy, sun bathed entrance in which they had basked and
played on never to be forgotten May mornings in their early puppyhood.
Their father had never come to Oak Ridge to help the mother in feeding
and protecting them. To her tireless energy they owed everything.
Therefore to her they looked for everything, and she had never
disappointed them. Nor would she ever disappoint them as long as they
needed her and there was breath in her faithful body, for such is mother
love in the fox world!
Here Ben Slown's pet white hen found her last resting place. Into the
mouth of the den, among the waiting pups, she was dropped, feathers and
all, and down their little throats she passed, piece-by-piece, amid
growling and crunching and pulling and fighting, for in no other way did
they know how to show their thorough enjoyment.
A glorious feast it was! And when they were through, the mother, who had
all this time been on guard, picked up for her share the bones that were
left. She was still nosing about among the feathers when a man's cough,
from somewhere below in the woods, gave sudden warning of danger. Down
she crouched, motionless in a moment; and without need of further
signal, into the den tumbled the frightened pups.
The mother waited, with ears pointed to catch the slightest new sound.
In the burrow behind her appeared a small head with ears cocked in the
same way. Both heard the crack of a breaking twig.
Now the old fox slipped into the bushes and cautiously circled until she
caught the scent of Farmer Slown and his friend, and heard their clothes
scraping through the bushes. Amid the laurel she caught a glimpse of
them sneaking along as noiselessly as they knew how to, the farmer in
the lead, holding his long gun. They certainly looked as if they meant
mischief.
Between them and the den the anxious fox ran to lead them away. A dog
would have followed her in a rush, but the men were so busy in
"pussy-footing" that they did not see her pass.
"Now," whispered Ben's friend, "look for the den right above that bunch
of bushes ahead. Careful!"
Ben looked. First he saw a lot of white feathers which made him growl to
himself; then he made out the mouth of the burrow, and last of all the
sharp nose and bright eyes of the inquisitive pup. Ben looked at the pup
and the pup looked back at him; neither had ever seen the other before,
but fate had already decreed that they should meet often in the days to
come. And so they watched each other now, until a fluffy feather, a
beautiful white one, was picked up by an eddy of wind and whirled around
and around the little fox's head.
That reminded Ben of his troubles. He threw his rifle to his shoulder,
only to find that at his first movement the pup had vanished in the
burrow.
"Shucks! You little varmint!" he muttered. "We'll get you all right. Up
with the shovel, John, and let's see dirt fly. Remember though, when we
get the pups, that sharp faced one must be mine. He thinks he's smart."
Friend John took off his coat and dug with a will, while Ben sat on the
wheat sack they had brought along to put the pups in. Both became
greatly excited at actually having the young red foxes in their power.
After the friend had dug a long while he looked inquiringly at Ben.
"When are you going to do a little digging yourself, Ben?" he asked
suspiciously. Ben saw that the end was nearly reached, so took up the
shovel with a laugh. The bag he stuffed well into the burrow to stop it
up and to keep any fox from dashing out.
Meanwhile the four pups were cowering against the wall of earth at the
very end of their home. Three were in one corner and the inquisitive one
in another, all listening to the shovel coming nearer and nearer. Every
time it jarred on a stone, the shivers ran up and down their spines; but
they could do nothing, the burrow had no outlet besides the one the men
were in.
Ben had a very healthy fear of being bitten; therefore the sight of the
first little fox unnerved him completely. He knew that all of them were
lightning quick, like bombshells on four legs. But Ben was cunning. He
quickly thought out an elaborate plan of capture.
First of all he threw several shovels of earth over them, and pushed it
in solidly so that they were buried tight. After that they could not
move until Ben's big hand picked them out by the scruff of the neck, one
at a time.
The first poor, scared little fellow glared and kicked, but was somehow
stuffed into the empty wheat sack. Two more followed him in the same
way. Then the exultant farmer felt all around in the earth for more, and
found none. He dug a little and felt around again. His hand slipped
along the flank of the last pup, the inquisitive one that had crawled
into a far corner of the den.
Suspicious at once, Ben poked a little farther. Had the little fox
growled or moved an inch, or even trembled, he would have been
discovered. But the loose, cold earth was mixed with his fur and his
body was as rigid as the side of the burrow. Ben's fingers at last moved
on and the danger was past.
"Have you really got them all?" the other man asked.
"Every one!" growled Ben, getting up and giving the bag a shake. "Fill
up the hole a bit, John, so no old cow can break her leg in it."
Some minutes later the men reached the fields with their precious bag.
Here Ben passed it over for his friend to carry awhile, and the latter
took his first peep inside.
"Why, there are only three here!" he exclaimed. "I saw at least four
when the old vixen carried that hen of yours to the den. You've
certainly left one. Good thing we buried him. Back we'll have to go."
Meanwhile, however, there was frantic work going on at the den. The
mother, who during the digging had been anxiously running to and fro in
cover of the bushes, crept cautiously to the ruined home as soon as the
men had left. She found a great ugly hole, with fresh dirt on all sides,
but no sign of the happy pups who used to welcome her.
Around and around the lonely creature wandered, hunting with all her
mother's love. At last she jumped into the partly filled hole and
sniffed and dug a little and then sniffed some more and listened.
Something there suggested to her to dig deeper. So she set to work in
earnest, tearing up the loose dirt with her forepaws and pulling it back
in a heap behind her.
Every little while she jumped out to look around, then whisked back to
her work, until at last she heard the buried pup sniffing and burrowing
in his prison. Now she dug as she had never dug before, spurred by noisy
activity of the little fox, who knew perfectly well that his mother was
trying to reach him.
Rip, rip, rip, went her claws through the last strip of earth, and out
popped the head of the pup, only to be seized and pulled almost off his
body in his mother's haste to get him out. She had heard the men coming.
The heavy pup was almost more than the old fox could carry; but somehow
she dragged him out of the hole and leaped for the bushes, pulling him
along by the loose skin at the back of his neck. The sudden shouts from
the surprised men only served to spur her on, not, as they hoped, to
make her drop her burden.
She knew the farmer had a gun. Bang! She was not hurt! The bullet only
tore up the ground behind her. Bang! Another shot whizzed past. And then
her jaws slipped on the pup's neck and she dropped him.
The little fox rolled over, caught his balance and began to run entirely
on his own hook. His legs were a bit wabbly, he did not know just where
to go, but how he did work to get away! Into the bushes he went and on
to more bushes; and then, right before him, he found his mother loping
along, a safe, loving guide. His little heart beat easier then, but on
he went, ever following that beautiful furry tail with the pure white
tip. On and on and on, the two ran into the heart of Cranberry Swamp and
to safety.