It was early in the days of his persecution that he played his first
really big crafty game and got therefrom his first taste of revenge.
As Kiche, when with the wolves, had lured out to destruction dogs from
the camps of men, so White Fang, in manner somewhat similar, lured
Lip-lip into Kiche’s avenging jaws. Retreating before Lip-lip, White
Fang made an indirect flight that led in and out and around the various
tepees of the camp. He was a good runner, swifter than any puppy of his
size, and swifter than Lip-lip. But he did not run his best in this
chase. He barely held his own, one leap ahead of his pursuer.
Lip-lip, excited by the chase and by the persistent nearness of his
victim, forgot caution and locality. When he remembered locality, it
was too late. Dashing at top speed around a tepee, he ran full tilt
into Kiche lying at the end of her stick. He gave one yelp of
consternation, and then her punishing jaws closed upon him. She was
tied, but he could not get away from her easily. She rolled him off his
legs so that he could not run, while she repeatedly ripped and slashed
him with her fangs.
When at last he succeeded in rolling clear of her, he crawled to his
feet, badly dishevelled, hurt both in body and in spirit. His hair was
standing out all over him in tufts where her teeth had mauled. He stood
where he had arisen, opened his mouth, and broke out the long,
heart-broken puppy wail. But even this he was not allowed to complete.
In the middle of it, White Fang, rushing in, sank his teeth into
Lip-lip’s hind leg. There was no fight left in Lip-lip, and he ran away
shamelessly, his victim hot on his heels and worrying him all the way
back to his own tepee. Here the squaws came to his aid, and White Fang,
transformed into a raging demon, was finally driven off only by a
fusillade of stones.
Came the day when Grey Beaver, deciding that the liability of her
running away was past, released Kiche. White Fang was delighted with
his mother’s freedom. He accompanied her joyfully about the camp; and,
so long as he remained close by her side, Lip-lip kept a respectful
distance. White-Fang even bristled up to him and walked stiff-legged,
but Lip-lip ignored the challenge. He was no fool himself, and whatever
vengeance he desired to wreak, he could wait until he caught White Fang
alone.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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