THE ROBBERS DECIDE TO FIGHT
A bad name sticks as naught else can
To bird or beast or boy or man.
_Billy Mink._
When one of the young robber Rats at the meeting of all the Rats in the
big barn boasted that he never had seen any one he couldn’t hide from,
all the other young Rats nodded their heads in approval. You see, they
prided themselves on knowing every hiding-place in that big barn, and
they never had known an enemy small enough to follow them to these
hiding-places. When the gray old leader of that robber gang said that
unless he was greatly mistaken they were likely to have a chance to see
some one they couldn’t hide from, they at once demanded to know what he
meant.
The old leader looked around the circle of Rats waiting for him to
speak. There were big Rats, little Rats, and middle-sized Rats. There
were Rats gray with age, and sleek, brown-coated Rats. He counted noses.
Every Rat of the tribe, save only the babies too small to leave the
nests, and the one whom Billy Mink had caught, was present. In the faces
of the gray old Rats he could see worry. Like himself, they understood
the danger they were in. In the faces of the younger Rats there was no
worry. It was plain to see that they felt quite confident of being able
to take care of themselves. Never in all their lives had they met an
enemy they could not run away from, and he knew they didn’t believe such
an enemy lived.
“Knowledge of life is obtained only through experience,” he began. “You
who are so sure you can hide from this new enemy are confident because
you are ignorant. Cats and Dogs you do not fear, because you can go
where they cannot follow. But this Mink who has found our den can follow
where any of you, even the smallest, can go.”
“But if he does not see us hide, how can he find us?” squeaked a
sharp-nosed young Rat.
“A Mink does not have to see in order to follow,” retorted the gray old
leader. “You cannot move without leaving a scent which he can follow by
means of his wonderful nose. All he has to do is to find where you have
been and then follow straight to where you are hiding. He can run faster
than you can and longer than you can. There is no escape from him once
he sets out to catch one of you. The best fighter among us is no match
for him alone. I tell you, friends, our tribe is in danger. It is in the
greatest danger it ever has faced. I have called you together to make
this plain to you and to get your ideas as to what we should do.”
For a few moments no one spoke. The worried look on the faces of the
older Rats had crept into the faces of the younger Rats. Finally a
scarred old fighter spoke.
“It seems to me,” said he, “there is only one thing to do, and that is,
fight. What one of us alone cannot do, all of us together can. I propose
that the next time this enemy appears, we all attack him together.”
To this all the Rats agreed.