Kragv the Kootenay Ram 



Spikerdoe heard it, and blowing the long stioooof, 

 she called little Nubbins, and, in spite of the 

 darkness, dashed up the cliff toward her safe 

 home land. The others also leaped to their 

 feet, but the Lion was among them. The Wise 

 One leaped up, with a sign to Krinklehorn to 

 follow. She also bounded toward safety — was 

 saved ; but her Lamb, always wilful, thought he 

 saw a better way of escape, and finding himself 

 alone, he bleated, "Mother"; and she, forget- 

 ting her own danger, dashed down again, and 

 in a moment the Lion laid her low. Another 

 Sheep forged by, and another, in the hurry and 

 uproar of flight. At each of these in turn the 

 Lion sprang, but each offset his pounce by a 

 succession of bewildering zigzag jumps, and so 

 escaped, till, last of all, poor Kneepads made 

 past for the rocks, and when the Lion leaped 

 she failed to play the only balk. The power 

 that would have saved her she had long ago 

 resigned ; so now she fell. 



Far up the bench the Sheep went bounding 

 after the one that led. One by one they came 

 up as she slacked her speed, and then they saw 

 that the leader now was Spiker. They never 



43 



