CHAPTER IV 



The Monarchs of the Herd 



IN the forest, even among members of the 

 same tribe, might is right, and those who 

 cannot defend their place of pride must yield to 

 those who dispute it. And in the struggle that 

 thus goes on, one factor remains the most im- 

 portant, and that is youth, with its uncalculated 

 courage and irresistible endurance. The mon- 

 arch of the herd may maintain peace in the 

 community for a score of years, so long as he 

 has no serious rival, but there is always a 

 certainty that a stronger than he will arise one 

 day and secure the supremacy. The leading 

 bull of this herd, though some sixty or seventy 

 years of age, was in no way failing in strength, 

 in wisdom, or in beauty. True, in agility he 

 was inferior to his rivals, and his heavy bulk 

 imposed a severe strain upon his lasting 



