The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-04-20


came laundering toward her. the
lynx strained desperately to lift her
prize beyond its reach The steep at
this point was too abrupt for any
moose to climb; but the frantic moth.
en- hurled herself up it SO far that her
outstretched hoofs struck the rock on
each side of the calls hind quarters.
Daunted for the instant, the lynx let
! 60 her hold and shrank away with a
snarl But, seeing how far short of
| her her assailant had fallen, she
I sprang forward again and sank her
teeth into the victims throat with
confident defiance.
From that wild leap the mother had
| fallen back violently on her launches.
Unconscious of the shock, she drew
| back a few steps, and rushed again
to the attack. This time she came on
| less wildly; and the lynx, glaring
down on her over the shoulder of the
prey, had no misgivings. But in reali-
ty it was now that the wise old
moose was most dangerous. Having
come triumphant through many sea-
sons, many vicisstudes, she knew how
to- handle her powers to best advant-
age; and in that first leap she had
| seen that her little one was finished
past all helping. Revenge was all
that she could strive for.
As she charged again she gathered
her gaunt legs beneath her at the
last of it, and launched herself up
ward with a finely calculated effort.
Thoroughly deceived, the lynx chung
obstinately to her hold, with ears
flattening back in angry scorn. But
this time she had seriously miscal-
Culated. In the next second one of
those huge, battering fore hoofs smote
down upon her 1t crushed her head
right back between her shoulders;
and her tense body, suddenly relax
ed, slumped forward upon the neck of
her victim.
Falling back as before, because it
was impossible for her to gain any
foothold on that steer, the moose
charged once more and repeated her
wonderful leap. This time her stroke
brought both the bodies tumbling over
each other to the ground The victor,
now somber and deliberate in her
fury, paved them carefully apart and
proceeded to stamp the carcass of the
lynx into the earth. When this was
accomplished to her satisfaction, she
went and nosed her little one tenderly
for several minutes, muttering thich1y
in her shaggy throat. Then, with
dropping head, she stood over it mo-
tionless for hours, till the last of the
sunset had faded out and all the for.
est was in blackness. AT last the
moon got up white above Inc treetCps
and ran pale fingers down the face of
the rock till they uncovered the grim
scene at its base The moose, as if
suddenly pulling herself together to
accept the inevitable, lifted her grea'
black head, shifted the night air with
wide nostrils, and made off noiselessly
through the cedars.
An hour or two later the bear
, came cautiously prowling up. Unseen
himself, he had seen his late enemy
go stalking by, with an air of no more
concern in that part of the forest.
Much puzzled, he had come to seek
a solution of the mystery. He found
the solution entirely to his taste. He
grunted contemptuously over the
pounded remnants of the lynx, and
then, well able to appreciate SUCH a
dainty, made a hearty meal of young
moose meat. He sat down on his
launches and grumbled happily over
his repast, perhaps thinking how
favored were the bears over all other
dwellers of the wilderness. 1t would
have been a sound and true reflection
! could he but have made 1t, and nc
more than the due of the Power that
had been so generous to his kind.
Meanwhile, the baby lynxes in theil
den, now hungry past all caution and
mewing harshly, might have been left
to lingering and piteous death. But
Nature is seldom so cruel. Stealing
through the black shadows and dart
ing across the patches of moonlight
came the fox, anxious to see if any
thing new had happened at the knoll
Peering from thicket, he marked the
bear at his feast, and soon made out
10 understand. Stealing about to OK
plore the knoll, he presently caught
the cries Of the kittens. This was &
phenohenon not hard for him to inter
pref After a prudent investigation
he crept into the den. There was some
splitting, feeble but courageous, anC
then the cries of loneliness and hun
ger stopped. The fox was too bust