THE DUEL ON THE TRAIL

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8351, 24 June 1905, Page 1

THE DUEL ON THE TRAIL

(By CHARLES G. D. ROBERTS, in " The Illustrated London News.") White and soft over the wide, sloping upland lay the snow, marked across with the zig-zag, grey lines 'of the fences, and spotted here and there with little citimps of woods or patches of bußhy pasture. The sky above was as white as tfee earth below, being mantled with snow-laden cloud not yet ready to spill its feathery burden on the world. One little farmhouse, far down the valley, served but to emphalise the spacioua emptiness of the silent winter landscape. Out from one of the snow-streaked , thickets jumped a white rabbit, its long ears waving nervously, and paused for a second to Took back with a frightened air. It had realised that some enemy was on its trail, but what that enemy was it did not know. After this moment of perilous hesitation, it went leaping forward across the open, leaving a vivid track in the soft surface snow. The little animal's discreet alarm, however, was dangerously corrupted by its ouriosity; and at the lower edge of the field, before going through a snake fence and entering another thicket, ,it stopped, stood up as erect as possible on its strong hindquarters, and again; looked baok. As it did so the unknown enemy reveal* ed himself, just emerging, a slender and sinister black shape, from the* uppe* thicket. A quiver of fear passed over the rabbit's nerves. Its curiosity all effaced, it went through the fence with an elongated leap and plunged into the bushes in a panic Here it doubled upon itself twice in a short circle, trusting by this well-known device to confuse th« unswerving pursuer. Then, breaking out upon The lower side, of the thicket, it resumed its HEADLONG PLIGHT ACROSS THE FIELDS. Meanwhile the enemy, a large mink, was following the trail with the dogged persistence of a sleuth-hound. Sure of his methods, he did not pause to sea what the quarry was doing, but kept his eyes and nose occupied with the fresh tracks. His speed was not less than that of the rabbit, and his endurance vastly greater. Being very long in the body and extremely snort in the legs; he ran in a most peculiar fashion, arch* ing his lithe back almost like a measuring - worm and straightening out •ike a steel spring suddenly released. These sinuous bounds were grotesque enough, in , appearance, bub singularly effective. The trail they made, overlapping that of fhe rabbit, but quite distinct from it, varied according to the depth of the surface snow: "Where the snow lay thin, jiusb deep enough to receive an imprint, the mink's small feet left a series of delicate, innocent-looking mirks, much Jess formidable in appearance than those of the pad-footed fugitive. But wbete the loose snow had gathered deeper the mink's long body and sfcewy tail from time to time stamped themselves unmistakably. When the mink reached the second thicket, his keen and experienced oraft penetrated at once the poor ru*» bi the fugitive. Cutting across toe circling? of the trail,, he Jacked tt

np again with implacable precision, making almost a straight line through tbe underbrush. When he emerged again into the open the rabbit was in ,full view ahead. The next strip of woodland, in the fugitive's path was narrow and dense. Below it, in a patch of hillocky pasti^re-ground sloping to a pond of Steel-bright i©c, a red fox was diligently hunting. He ran hither and thjther, furtive but semingly erratic, poking his nose into half-covered mosetufts and under the roots of dead stumps, looking for mice or shrews. He found a couple of the latter, but these WERE SMALL' SATISFACTION TO HIS VIGOROUS WINTER APPETITE. Presently he paused, lifted his narrow, cunning nose toward the woods, and appeared to ponder, the advisability of going on a rabbit-hunt. His fine, i tawny, ample brush of a, tail gently swept the light snow behind him as he stood undecided. , All at once he crouohed flat" upon the snow, quivering with excitement, like la puppy about to jump at a wind- | blown leaf. He had seen the rabbit I ©merging from the woods." Absolutely motionless he lay, so still that in spite of his warm colouring he might have ibeen taken for * fragment of dead ••wood. And as he watched, tense with anticipation, he saw the rabbit run into a long hollow log, which lay haltveiled in a cluster of dead weeds. Instantly he darted forward, ran. at top | speed, and crouched before the lower jend of tho log, where he knew the i rabbit must come out. _ Within a dozen seconds the mink 'arrived, and followed the fugitive I straight into his ineffectual m retreat. •Such narrow quarters were just wbat I the mink loved. The next instant the rabbit shot forth— to be caught in midlair by the waiting fox, and die before iit had time to realise, in what shape idoom had come upon it. All-unconscious that he was trespassing upon another's hunt, the fox, with a skilful je.rk of his head, flung the limp and sprawling victim across nis B houlder, holding it by one leg, and I started away down the slope toward his lair on the other side of the pond. As the mink's long body darted .out from the hollow log Re stopped short, crouched flat upon the enow with twitching tail, and stared at the triumphant intruder with eyes that suddenly blazed nsd. The trespass was no less an insult than .an injury; and many of the wild kindreds show themselves possessed of a nice sensitiveness on the point of their personal dignity. For an animal of the mink's size the fox was AN OVERWHELMINGLY POWERFUL ANTAGONIST, to be avoided with care under all ordinary circumstances. But to the disappointed hunter, his blood hot from the long, exciting chase, this present circumstance seemed by no means ordinary. Noiseless as a shadow, and swift ana stealthy as a snake, heaped after the leisurely fox, and with one snap bit through the great tendon, of jgs^ight hind-leg, permanently laming | hl As the pang . went through him, and the maimed leg gave way beneath his weight, the fox droiped his burden and turned savaizely upon his unexpected assailant ThVmink, however, had sprung away, and' lay crouched in readiness on the snow, eyeing his. enemy malignantly With a fierce snap of ms long, punishing jaws the fox rushed upon him. But— the. mink was not there. With a movement so quick "as fairly to elude the sight, he was now orouching several yards away, watchful, vindictive, menacing. The fox made two more short rushes, in vain; then he, too, crouched, considering the- situation, and glaring at his slender black antagonist. The mink's small eyes were lit with a emouldering, ruddy glow, sinister (and implacable; while rage and pain jhad cast over the eyes of the fox a peculiar greenish opalescence. For perhaps half a minute the two ,y motionless, though quivering with IB intensity of restraint and expectation. , Then, with lightning suddenjess, the fox repeated bis dangerouß nißh'. But again the mink was not there. As composed as if he had never moved a hair, he was lying about three fc^rds to one side, GLARING WITH THAT SAME IMMUTABLE HATE. ; At this the fox seemed to realise that it was no use trying to catch so elusive a foe. The realisation came to jhim slowly— and slowly, sullenly, he .arose and turned away, ignoring tho prize which he could not carry off. With an awkward limp he started across the ice, seeming to scorn his small but troublesome antagonist. • Having thus recovered the > spoils, and succeeded in scoring his point over so mighty an adversary, the mink might havo been expected to let the 1 matter rest and quietly reap the profit of his triumph. But all, the yindiefciveness of his ferocious and implacable .tribe was now aroused. Vengeance, not victory, wa| his craving. When | ..the fox had gone about a dozen feet, all at once the place where the mink had been crouching was empty. Almo6t in the same instant, as it seemed, the fox was again, and mercilessly, bitten /through the leg. i This time, although the fox had seemed to be ignoring the foe, he Jburned like a flash to meet the assault. : Again, however,/ he was just too late. His mad rush, the snapping of his long jaws, availed him nothing. The mink crouched, eyeing him, ever just beyond his reach. A gleam of something i very close to fear came into his furious eyes as he turned again to continue his reluctant retreat. | Again and again, and yet again, the {mint repeated his elusive attack, each I time I j INFLICTING A WEEP AND DISASTROUS I WOUND, and each time successfully escaping the counter-assault. The trail of the fox was now streaked and flecked with fecarlet, and both his hind legs dragged heavily. He reached the edge of the 'smooth ice and turned at bay. The mink drew back, cautious for all his hate. Then the fox started across the pteel-grey glare, picking his steps that he might have firm foothold. ; A few seconds later the mink once taore delivered his thrust. Feinting toward the enemy's right, he swerved •with that snakelike celerity of his, and bit deep into the tender upper edge of the fox's thigh, where it plays over the groin. • It was a cunning and deadly stroke. But in recovering from it, to dart away again to safe distance, his feet slipped, ever so little, on the shining surface of the ice. The delay was but for the jninutest fraction of a second. But in that minutest fraction lay the fox's opportunity. His wheel and spring were this time not too late. His jaws closed about the mink's slim backbone and crunched it to fragments. The lean, black shape straightened out with A sharp convulsion and lay still on the ice. Though fully aware of the efficacy and finality of that bite, the fox set his teeth again and again, with curious deliberation of movement, into the limp , and unresisting form. Then, with his tongue hanging a little from his bloody jaws, he lifted his head and stared, with a curious, wavering, anxiously doubtful look, over the white, familiar fields. The world, somehow, looked ktipnge and blurry to him. He turned, leaving the dead mink on the ice, and PAINFULLY RETRACED HIS DEEPLY CRIMSONED TRAIL. JJust ahead was the opening in the log,

tue way to that privacy which he desperately craved. The code of all the aristocrats of the wild kindred, subtly binding even in that supreme hour, forbade that he should consent to yiold himself to death in the garish publicity of the open. With the last of his strength he crawled into the log, till just the bushy tip of his tail protruded to betray him. There he lay down with one paw over his nose, and sank into the long sleep. For an hour the frost Div hard upon the fields, stiffening to stone the bodies but now so hot with eager life. Then the snow came, thick and silent, filling the emptiness with a moving blur, and buried away all witness or the fight.