FIGHT WITH THE TERRIER 31 



fight and stood on the defensive. Thereupon 

 the otter, whose one thought was escape, joined 

 the cubs and made off. The sight of their 

 retreat was, however, more than Venom could 

 stand, and they had scarcely disappeared before 

 he was in pursuit. On overtaking them, he laid 

 hold of the male cub, probably mistaking him 

 for his mother. With a viciousness that belied 

 his cubhood, the young dog- otter closed with his 

 first assailant, and would have made a brave fight 

 had he been allowed to conduct it alone. But 

 he was not. Like a tiger the mother fell on the 

 terrier, and it looked as if the dog would be cut 

 to pieces. His one thought, however, was to 

 destroy the vermin, and instead of drawing off as 

 he might have done at the foot of the steep slope, 

 down which they fell rather than rolled, he 

 actually closed again, fought to the edge of the 

 pool there, even held on to the otter when she 

 dived, and kept his hold until his lungs were 

 exhausted. Then he let go, but on coming to 

 the surface he did not make for the bank. He 

 swam round and round, looking for his enemy, 

 and only when he had lost hope of viewing her 

 again did he land at last. On being freed from 

 his grip, the otter had made her way close along 

 the bottom to the upper end of the pool, where 



