186 ON THE EDGE OF THE WILDERNESS 
redoubled caution. Yet the scent of danger, if 
no sound of it, went with then—the pungent 
scent of fox. Big Reddy, wandering that night 
over the slopes, was trotting on padded paws on 
their trail, now behind, now beside them, wonder- 
ing how he could cut out one of the young otters 
without risking a tussle with the parents, whose 
teeth he greatly respected. At last, he thought 
he saw his chance, and made a spring for 
Brownie’s sister. But it was no rabbit he was at- 
tacking, even in size, The young otter, with sur- 
prising agility for an animal apparently so ill 
adapted for land operations, reared and met his 
spring with bared, angry teeth, so that he did not 
catch her back after all. Like light, Pa and Ma 
Otter closed in on him, and Big Reddy, who was 
looking for a supper, not a fight, disappeared into 
the blackness of the forest. 
_ Itall happened so quickly that Brownie hardly 
knew what had occurred. He only knew he was 
trembling, and that his sister was bleeding about 
the face—he smelled the warm blood—and that 
he wanted to get to water and plunge in where it 
was safe. Pa Otter hurried faster now, and the 
