Mother Wolf was even more annoyed and dismayed than Washer by the sudden outbreak of merriment when the pack caught sight of the raccoon standing before the council rock. Sneaky, from a position behind apparently enjoyed the embarrassment of his mate, for a broad grin spread over his face and he chuckled with the others. The young cubs stood by their father, but as the scene was a little puzzling to them they remained silent and motionless.

“Give me the raccoon for my hunting companion!” shouted a big gray wolf. “I won’t go far then for my dinner!”

The others began crowding around the council rock. “No! No! We want him!” they cried. “Turn him over to the pack!”

Mother Wolf swung around and faced the circle of wolves, displaying her teeth and growling angrily.

Black Wolf arose to his hind legs and let out a roar that brought the whole pack to its senses. The cries stopped, and every member slunk back to his position. The big leader glared hard at them and waited a full minute to see if any dared oppose his authority.

Then he turned slowly to Sneaky, and said: “Sneaky, do you bring this raccoon as your foster child?”

“No, O mighty leader, he is none of mine,” was the prompt reply. “I brought him to my den for food one day after I’d fished him out of the river. I wanted to kill him for the children, but Mother Wolf protested. I had nothing to do with his rearing. He would have died long ago if I’d had my way.”

The members of the pack nodded their heads, and Black Wolf turned to Mother Wolf. He looked at her in silence for some time. Then, in a low voice, he said: “No foster child can hunt with the pack unless he’s a wolf. It’s against the law of the woods. If we permitted it Puma the Mountain Lion would be filling our homes with his young so they might grow up with us and destroy us. And Loup the Lynx would do the same so that he could betray our hiding places. There would be no safety for us after that.”

“But Little Brother is a raccoon,” pleaded Mother Wolf. “Surely you’re not afraid of the raccoons. They could not hurt us nor betray us.”

The whole pack sniffed in disgust at the idea of the raccoon tribe hurting the wolves.

“That is true, O Mother Wolf,” replied Black Wolf, “but if we let you introduce a raccoon as a foster child, we could not prevent another bringing a young Puma or Lynx. We must obey the laws of our tribe, and keep from it all other animals.”

A great sadness settled on Mother Wolf’s face. She looked down at Washer and began licking his head. She knew that Black Wolf’s words were law, and she could not defy them.

“Then must I give up my foster child?” she asked.

“No,” replied the leader, “you can take him home and keep him, but he is not under the protection of the pack. If they hunt him down and kill him you can blame no one. I cannot interfere.”

There was a murmur of applause, and every wolf began licking his lips as if in anticipation of the feast ahead. The sight of their cruel greediness aroused Mother Wolf. She raised her head proudly, and said:

“They will not dare touch him in my cave—not one of them! I shall protect him!”

There was an ugly, defiant look in the eyes which made more than one wolf cower and slink back out of sight. Mother Wolf was a big, gaunt, powerful creature, and no one cared to measure his strength with her when she was defending her young.

“The council is ended then?” she added, turning to the leader. “You refuse to accept Little Brother in the pack?”

“It is so decided, Mother Wolf. And the law cannot be changed.”

“Then I shall go home. Come, Little Brother, we must start at once before the moon grows dark. It is a long way, but—”

“One moment!” cried a big gray wolf. “Does the law of the woods give us the right to hunt for our food now? We’re hungry, and if the council has ended we may begin the hunt at once. Is it not true, O Black Wolf?”

Now the leader and Mother Wolf both understood the meaning of this challenge. The pack wanted to pounce upon Washer at once and devour him before he could ever reach the cave. Even Washer knew what was coming, and a great trembling seized him. He looked around him, but there was no tree near the council rock, and the whole pack stood between him and the woods. He had no chance to escape them.

Black Wolf seemed troubled by the gray wolf’s questions, for he knew that he had no authority to change the law. Once his decision was given there was nothing more for him to do. The whole pack had a right to fall upon Washer and kill him in sight of Mother Wolf. It was a dangerous situation.

But Mother Wolf suddenly changed her attitude. She backed up against the council rock, with Washer behind her, and bared her white teeth to the pack. The hair stood up straight on her head, and the bushy tail began swishing slowly back and forth. The yellow eyes were so luminous in the moonlight that they seemed to shoot sparks of fire.

“If you’re hungry,” she growled, “and want to eat Little Brother, you must do so over my dead body. Not one of you shall touch him until you’ve felt the sting of my teeth. Come on now, Gray Wolf, and I’ll show you what mother love can do to save her young!”

Gray Wolf hesitated, backing off a little, for Mother Wolf was a powerful antagonist. Alone he could not overcome her. Indeed, in her present frame of mind, she could probably whip two or three ordinary wolves. She was crouching for the spring, with dripping jaws snapping defiantly.

“Why should we be defied by one wolf!” cried the big gray fellow. “We must have the raccoon. Close in on him on all sides. Sneaky, you lead on that side, and I’ll do the same here.”

Mother Wolf cast a look at Sneaky that made him hesitate, but at the same time the wolves on the outside of the circle began crowding in. They pushed and shoved until the circle was narrowed. Those in the front came within a few feet of Mother Wolf.

With a growl she snapped at the nearest and caught him by the front paw. With a howl of pain, the wolf leaped over the backs of the others and disappeared in the woods. Mother Wolf sprang at another and sunk her sharp teeth in his neck.

But in spite of all this the circle was growing smaller. The pack was clamoring for the blood of Washer, and it was only a question of time before they would overcome Mother Wolf. She could not hope to fight off the whole pack. She seemed to realize this, but she was determined to die in the defense of her foster child.

“Close in!” cried Gray Wolf. “Come on, Sneaky, do your part, or we’ll believe you love the raccoon too.”

Now the battle would have ended shortly if something hadn’t happened to surprise all. With a roar of rage and challenge, Black Wolf leaped from the top of the rock and landed by the side of Mother Wolf. Facing the pack, he cried:

“Not as your leader, but as one fighting for fair play, I shall defend Mother Wolf. The first one that touches her shall pay with his life. Back now, or fight me!”

There was a moment of silence; then a low murmur of voices as the circle broke and fell back, leaving only Gray Wolf and Sneaky in the front. Finding themselves deserted by the pack, they quickly ran, too, and disappeared in the woods. In the next story Mother Wolf takes Washer to the Silver Birch grove where his people live.

[Pg 98]
[Pg 99]