El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-09-05
FRIEND OR FOE?
By F. st. Mars.)

A RE we downhearted? No!
a That seemed to be Brownies
& \ maxim in ife. He is always
happy, and this was all the more re-
markable because his life had been
in danger day and night since he was
born, and he had at least one narrow
escape of death in every "a hours.
Brownie was a water-rat, a square
nosed, brown-coated tiny-eared. long
tailed, OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES, round, little
beast. And he swan.
Brownie made his toilet, sitting up
and polishing every part of his little
fore-paws, which resembled hands.
Then he turned himself into ball of
fur and slept.
There appeared to Brownie to be no
interval between this and waking. In
waking he was instantly on his feet.
Goodness knows how, in his dreams,
he had heard q very slight, hollow pat
tering somewhere among the tunnels.
Something was in the tunnels; had
come down from the field above. Its
footsteps echoed holloway. But the
question waS-what was It? Friend or
foe?
Brownies experience had taught him
that in nine cases out of ten 1T was
likely to be foe. Nine creatures out
Of ten were foes to him. He was good
to eat, you see.
In nine cases out of ten, too,
Brownie would have fled, without
shame. But there was as it were, the
Mrs. and the kids to think Of This
thought made even the timid, fat, jolly,
little water-rat brfstle.
After bit his ears told him that the
thing was coming closer, following
the scent of Brownies babies, and his
nose spelt r-a-t. Now, there are rats
and rats. Brownie represented the re-
spectacle branch of the family. He
who came belonged to the Hooligan
branch, the brown rat the haunter of
sewers, the doer of foul deeds in the
dark Rat for rat, Brownie was no
match for the enemy; but he was play
ing on his own ground, so to speak,
and he had taken care to construct
very tricky ground, too. He ran up
the tunnel, and bolted, squealing. just
across the strange rats path. He
made out 10 was injured. and the
strange ra. foolishly believed. So 1t
followed.
it up a tunnel, which led directly away
from the missus and the kids. The
thing was what to do next?
The strange rat could run like any
thing, and Brownie couldn't. In about
half minute he had to give up feign-
ing to be crippled and run for 1t all
through the choking, winding tunnels
he had been months making those
tunnels-with old man rat gaining
every instant.
OF course, Brownie could turn and
fight but 1 give you my word, full
grown buck brown rat of the sewers
is no joke to fight In a cramped tun-
neil
Brownie legged it until an idea hit
him. It was a good idea, and he took
right hold of it. With one final des-
perate rush, he bolted for his water
gate, the strange rat now practically
close enough to bite the end of his
tail
Down the natural chute Brownie
dived, head first, and forepaws pressed
against his chest He reached the wa
ter level before he reached the mouth
of the hole. Down, down went he in
utter darkness, till faint, gray light
filled the world, and he shot across
the bed of the river and into the
rushes on the other side.
AS he fled he caught a fleeting
glimpse of the round, staring eyes
and long snout of the pike 1t had
been waiting there for him or his chill
dren, but was not prepared for him to
streak out in that fashion.
Meanwhile, old man rat, blind to all
but fury for blood, felt the downward
slope of the tunnel and himself Slip
ping before he realized that he was in
the sort of natural trap. He was in
the tunnel and sliding down and
down into blackness filled with watery
noises before he knew 1t. In vain he
put on every brake available-tail, and
all the claws of his feet. There was
no stopping. The floors and sides were
wet, Shiny and horrible, offering no
foothold anywhere at all. It was like
falling into glass funnel half full of
water.
In three seconds, oh horrors, he hit
the water, hit it with a loud plop.
heard, you may be sure, by the pike
without-and broadside on, and con-
tinued to go down till he slid, whirl-
ing incontinently on the bed of the
river. But the old man rat could
swim. He was not, certainly, such a
good swimmer as Brownie, for swim
ming was only to him a pastime.