112 GREY FOX'S CUNNING 



and reconnoitre through an opening in one 

 of the bushes. Though he saw nothing of 

 the dog, the fears which urged him to with- 

 draw became at last so insistent that he 

 actually crept out in the broad sunshine and 

 made for the earth. At once the hare was 

 on the alert. His apprehension, however, sub- 

 sided on seeing the crippled condition of his 

 enemy, who was limping on three legs and 

 had to pick his path. Soon the fox swerved 

 to avoid a patch of broken ground within 

 twenty yards of the form, and now he must 

 pass close to its occupant. Discovery is cer- 

 tain, is imminent. The hare's scent betrayed 

 his near neighbourhood ; his conspicuous eye 

 betrayed his person. Did the fox, ravenous 

 though he was, attempt the capture of the 

 prey? Not at all, he knew the futility of 

 trying in his disabled condition. The situa- 

 tion was one that called for the exhibition of 

 his powers of make-believe. His aim was to 

 convince the hare that he had not seen him, and 

 to this all his cunning was directed ; he checked 

 the working of his nostrils excited by the scent, 

 he averted his glance and looking straight before 

 his long nose, which was badly scarred, held on 

 as though ignorant of the hare's presence, with 

 the demeanour of a creature overwhelmed by 



