70 THE LIFE STORY OF AN OTTER 



a pike. He had already seen them, and in an 

 instant the protruding muzzle was withdrawn as 

 the fish backed into his ambush. It afforded him 

 no refuge from the pursuers, who drove him from 

 one to another of its recesses, and pressed him so 

 closely that, as he saw, to remain meant capture. 

 Out he flashed and, had he made right away and 

 gained the heart of the mere, he would have 

 escaped. But he sought the shelter of another 

 lily-bed almost within sight of the first, and there 

 the otters followed in unrelenting chase. Pre- 

 sently he was gripped by the male cub, but, 

 freeing himself, forsook the weeds for the water 

 outside, where, with distended jaws and fins 

 erect, he darted now here, now there, to avoid 

 his harassing pursuers. All was in vain. He had 

 missed his earlier opportunities, and to escape in 

 his exhausted condition was impossible. Conscious 

 of this and determined not to die unavenged, he 

 summoned his remaining strength, dashed at the 

 otter, seized her by the throat, and held on 

 despite her struggles. This however left him at 

 the mercy of the cubs. Instantly they fastened 

 on his shoulders and, using their powerful rudders, 

 tried to raise him to the surface. Beating his 

 tail, the fish for awhile succeeded in resisting 

 their efforts ; but in the end he tired, and pre- 



