LIGHTFOOT THE DEER BY THORNTON W. BURGESS CONTENTS I: Peter Rabbit Meets Lightfoot II: Lightfoot's New Antlers III: Lightfoot Tells How His Antlers Grew IV: The Spirit Of Fear V: Sammy Jay Brings Lightfoot Word VI: A Game Of Hide And Seek VII: The Merry Little Breezes Help Lightfoot VIII: Wit Against Wit IX: Lightfoot Becomes Uncertain X: Lightfoot's Clever Trick XI: The Hunted Watches The Hunter XII: Lightfoot Visits Paddy The Beaver XIII: Lightfoot And Paddy Become Partners XIV: How Paddy Warned Lightfoot XV: The Three Watchers XVI: Visitors To Paddy's Pond XVII: Sammy Jay Arrives XVIII: The Hunter Loses His Temper XIX: Sammy Jay Is Modest XX: Lightfoot Hears A Dreadful Sound XXI: How Lightfoot Got Rid Of The Hounds XXII: Lightfoot's Long Swim XXIII: Lightfoot Finds A Friend XXIV: The Hunter Is Disappointed XXV: The Hunter Lies In Wait XXVI: Lightfoot Does The Wise Thing XXVII: Sammy Jay Worries XXVIII: The Hunting Season Ends XXIX: Mr. And Mrs. Quack Are Startled XXX: The Mystery Is Solved XXXI: A Surprising Discovery XXXII: Lightfoot Sees The Stranger XXXIII: A Different Game Of Hide And Seek XXXIV: A Startling New Footprint XXXV: Lightfoot Is Reckless XXXVI: Sammy Jay Takes A Hand XXXVII: The Great Fight XXXVIII: An Unseen Watcher XXXIX: Lightfoot Discovers Love XL: Happy Days In The Green Forest CHAPTER I: Peter Rabbit Meets Lightfoot Peter Rabbit was on his way back from the pond of Paddy theBeaver deep in the Green Forest. He had just seen Mr. AndMrs. Quack start toward the Big River for a brief visit beforeleaving on their long, difficult journey to the far-awaySouthland. Farewells are always rather sad, and this particularfarewell had left Peter with a lump in his throat, --a queer, choky feeling. "If I were sure that they would return next spring, it wouldn'tbe so bad, " he muttered. "It's those terrible guns. I know whatit is to have to watch out for them. Farmer Brown's boy used tohunt me with one of them, but he doesn't any more. But even whenhe did hunt me it wasn't anything like what the Ducks have to gothrough. If I kept my eyes and ears open, I could tell when ahunter was coming and could hide in a hole if I wanted to. Inever had to worry about my meals. But with the Ducks it is athousand times worse. They've got to eat while making that longjourney, and they can eat only where there is the right kind offood. Hunters with terrible guns know where those places are andhide there until the Ducks come, and the Ducks have no way ofknowing whether the hunters are waiting for them or not. Thatisn't hunting. It's--it's--" "Well, what is it? What are you talking to yourself about, Peter Rabbit?" Peter looked up with a start to find the soft, beautiful eyes ofLightfoot the Deer gazing down at him over the top of a littlehemlock tree. "It's awful, " declared Peter. "It's worse than unfair. It doesn't give them any chance at all. " "I suppose it must be so if you say so, " replied Lightfoot, "but you might tell me what all this awfulness is about. " Peter grinned. Then he began at the beginning and told Lightfootall about Mr. And Mrs. Quack and the many dangers they must faceon their long journey to the far-away Southland and back again inthe spring, all because of the heartless hunters with terribleguns. Lightfoot listened and his great soft eyes were filled withpity for the Quack family. "I hope they will get through all right, " said he, "and I hopethey will get back in the spring. It is bad enough to be huntedby men at one time of the year, as no one knows better than I do, but to be hunted in the spring as well as in the fall is morethan twice as bad. Men are strange creatures. I do notunderstand them at all. None of the people of the Green Forestwould think of doing such terrible things. I suppose it is quiteright to hunt others in order to get enough to eat, though I amthankful to say that I never have had to do that, but to huntothers just for the fun of hunting is something I cannotunderstand at all. And yet that is what men seem to do it for. I guess the trouble is they never have been hunted themselves anddon't know how it feels. Sometimes I think I'll hunt one some dayjust to teach him a lesson. What are you laughing at, Peter?" "At the idea of you hunting a man, " replied Peter. "Your heartis all right, Lightfoot, but you are too timid and gentle tofrighten any one. Big as you are I wouldn't fear you. " With a single swift bound Lightfoot sprang out in front ofPeter. He stamped his sharp hoofs, lowered his handsome headuntil the sharp points of his antlers, which people call horns, pointed straight at Peter, lifted the hair along the back ofhis neck, and made a motion as if to plunge at him. His eyes, which Peter had always thought so soft and gentle, seemed toflash fire. "Oh!" cried Peter in a faint, frightened-sounding voice andleaped to one side before it entered his foolish little head thatLightfoot was just pretending. Lightfoot chuckled. "Did you say I couldn't frighten any one?"he demanded. "I--I didn't know you could look so terribly fierce, " stammeredPeter. "Those antlers look really dangerous when you point themthat way. Why--why--what is that hanging to them? It lookslike bits of old fur. Have you been tearing somebody's coat, Lightfoot?" Peter's eyes were wide with wonder and suspicion. CHAPTER II: Lightfoot's New Antlers Peter Rabbit was puzzled. He stared at Lightfoot the Deer a weebit suspiciously. "Have you been tearing somebody's coat?" heasked again. He didn't like to think it of Lightfoot, whom healways had believed quite as gentle, harmless, and timid ashimself. But what else could he think? Lightfoot slowly shook his head. "No, " said he, "I haven't tornanybody's coat. " "Then what are those rags hanging on your antlers?" demandedPeter. Lightfoot chuckled. "They are what is left of the coverings of mynew antlers, " he explained. "What's that? What do you mean by new antlers?" Peter was sittingup very straight, with his eyes fixed on Lightfoot's antlers asthough he never had seen them before. "Just what I said, " retorted Lightfoot. "What do you think ofthem? I think they are the finest antlers I've ever had. When Iget the rest of those rags off, they will be as handsome a set asever was grown in the Green Forest. " Lightfoot rubbed his antlers against the trunk of a tree tillsome of the rags hanging to them dropped off. Peter blinked very hard. He was trying to understand and hecouldn't. Finally he said so. "What kind of a story are you trying to fill me up with?" hedemanded indignantly. "Do you mean to tell me that those are notthe antlers that you have had as long as I've known you? How cananything hard like those antlers grow? And if those are newones, where are the old ones? Show me the old ones, and perhapsI'll believe that these are new ones. The idea of trying to makeme believe that antlers grow just like plants! I've seen Bossythe Cow all summer and I know she has got the same horns she hadlast summer. New antlers indeed!" "You are quite right, Peter, quite right about Bossy the Cow. She never has new horns, but that isn't any reason why I shouldn'thave new antlers, is it?" replied Lightfoot patiently. "Her hornsare quite different from my antlers. I have a new pair everyyear. You haven't seen me all summer, have you, Peter?" "No, I don't remember that I have, " replied Peter, trying veryhard to remember when he had last seen Lightfoot. "I KNOW you haven't, " retorted Lightfoot. "I know it because Ihave been hiding in a place you never visit. " "What have you been hiding for?" demanded Peter. "For my new antlers to grow, " replied Lightfoot. "When my newantlers are growing, I want to be away by myself. I don't liketo be seen without them or with halfgrown ones. Besides, I amvery uncomfortable while the new antlers are growing and I wantto be alone. " Lightfoot spoke as if he really meant every word hesaid, but still Peter couldn't, he just COULDN'T believe thatthose wonderful great antlers had grown out of Lightfoot's headin a single summer. "Where did you leave your old ones and whendid they come off?" he asked, and there was doubt in the verytone of his voice. "They dropped off last spring, but I don't remember just where, "replied Lightfoot. "I was too glad to be rid of them to noticewhere they dropped. You see they were loose and uncomfortable, and I hadn't any more use for them because I knew that my newones would be bigger and better. I've got one more point on eachthan I had last year. " Lightfoot began once more to rub hisantlers against the tree to get off the queer rags hanging tothem and to polish the points. Peter watched in silence for afew minutes. Then, all his suspicions returning, he said: "But you haven't told me anything about those rags hanging toyour antlers. " "And you haven't believed what I have already told you, " retortedLightfoot. "I don't like telling things to people who won'tbelieve me. " CHAPTER III: Lightfoot Tells How His Antlers Grew It is hard to believe what seems impossible. And yet what seemsimpossible to you may be a very commonplace matter to some oneelse. So it does not do to say that a thing cannot be possiblejust because you cannot understand how it can be. Peter Rabbitwanted to believe what Lightfoot the Deer had just told him, butsomehow he couldn't. If he had seen those antlers growing, itwould have been another matter. But he hadn't seen Lightfootsince the very last of winter, and then Lightfoot had worn justsuch handsome antlers as he now had. So Peter really couldn't beblamed for not being able to believe that those old ones had beenlost and in their place new ones had grown in just the few monthsof spring and summer. But Peter didn't blame Lightfoot in the least, because he hadtold Peter that he didn't like to tell things to people whowouldn't believe what he told them when Peter had asked him aboutthe rags hanging to his antlers. "I'm trying to believe it, " hesaid, quite humbly. "It's all true, " broke in another voice. Peter jumped and turned to find his big cousin, Jumper theHare. Unseen and unheard, he had stolen up and had overheard whatPeter and Lightfoot had said. "How do you know it is true?" snapped Peter a little crossly, forJumper had startled him. "Because I saw Lightfoot's old antlers after they had fallen off, and I often saw Lightfoot while his new ones were growing, "retorted Jumper. "All right! I'll believe anything that Lightfoot tells me if yousay it is true, " declared Peter, who greatly admires his cousin, Jumper. "Now tell me about those rags, Lightfoot. Please do. " Lightfoot couldn't resist that "please. " "Those rags are what isleft of a kind of covering which protected the antlers while theywere growing, as I told you before, " said he. "Very soon aftermy old ones dropped off the new ones began to grow. They werenot hard, not at all like they are now. They were soft and verytender, and the blood ran through them just as it does throughour bodies. They were covered with a sort of skin with hairs onit like thin fur. The ends were not sharply pointed they noware, but were big and rounded, like knobs. They were not likeantlers at all, and they made my head hot and were veryuncomfortable. That is why I hid away. They grew very fast, sofast that every day I could see by looking at my reflection inwater that they were a little longer. It seemed to me sometimesas if all my strength went into those new antlers. And I had tobe very careful not to hit them against anything. In the firstplace it would have hurt, and in the second place it might havespoiled the shape of them. "When they had grown to the length you now see, they began toshrink and grow hard. The knobs on the ends shrank until theybecame pointed. As soon as they stopped growing the blood stoppedflowing up in them, and as they became hard they were no longertender. The skin which had covered them grew dry and split, and Irubbed it off on trees and bushes. The little rags you see arewhat is left, but I will soon be rid of those. Then I shall beready to fight if need be and will fear no one save man, and willfear him only when he has a terrible gun with him. " Lightfoot tossed his head proudly and rattled his wonderfulantlers against the nearest tree. "Isn't he handsome, " whisperedPeter to Jumper the Hare; "and did you ever hear of anything sowonderful as the growing of those new antlers in such a shorttime? It is hard to believe, but I suppose it must be true. " "It is, " replied Jumper, "and I tell you, Peter, I would hate tohave Lightfoot try those antlers on me, even though I were big asa man. You've always thought of Lightfoot as timid and afraid, but you should see him when he is angry. Few people care to facehim then. " CHAPTER IV: The Spirit Of Fear When the days grow cold and the nights are clear, There stalks abroad the spirit of fear. --Lightfoot the Deer. It is sad but true. Autumn is often called the sad time of theyear, and it is the sad time. But it shouldn't be. Old MotherNature never intended that it should be. She meant it to be theGLAD time. It is the time when all the little people of theGreen Forest and the Green Meadows have got over the cares andworries of bringing up families and teaching their children howto look out for themselves. It is the season when food isplentiful, and every one is fat and is, or ought to be, carefree. It is the season when Old Mother Nature intended all herlittle people to be happy, to have nothing to worry them for thelittle time before the coming of cold weather and the hard timeswhich cold weather always brings. But instead of this, a grim, dark figure goes stalking over theGreen Meadows and through the Green Forest, and it is called theSpirit of Fear. It peers into every hiding-place and wherever itfinds one of the little people it sends little cold chills overhim, little chills which jolly, round, bright Mr. Sun cannotchase away, though he shine his brightest. All night as well asall day the Spirit of Fear searches out the little people of theGreen Meadows and the Green Forest. It will not let them sleep. It will not let them eat in peace. It drives them to seeknew hiding-places and then drives them out of those. It keepsthem ever ready to fly or run at the slightest sound. Peter Rabbit was thinking of this as he sat at the edge of thedear Old Briar-patch, looking over to the Green Forest. The GreenForest was no longer just green; it was of many colors, for OldMother Nature had set Jack Frost to painting the leaves of themaple-trees and the beech-trees, and the birch-trees and thepoplar-trees and the chestnut-trees, and he had done his work well. Very, very lovely were the reds and yellows and browns againstthe dark green of the pines and the spruces and the hemlocks. The Purple Hills were more softly purple than at any other seasonof the year. It was all very, very beautiful. But Peter had no thought for the beauty of it all, for the Spiritof Fear had visited even the dear Old Briar-patch, and Peter wasafraid. It wasn't fear of Reddy Fox, or Redtail the Hawk, orHooty the Owl, or Old Man Coyote. They were forever trying tocatch him, but they did not strike terror to his heart because hefelt quite smart enough to keep out of their clutches. To besure, they gave him sudden frights sometimes, when they happenedto surprise him, but these frights lasted only until he reachedthe nearest bramble-tangle or hollow log where they could not getat him. But the fear that chilled his heart now never left himeven for a moment. And Peter knew that this same fear was clutching at the hearts ofBob White, hiding in the brown stubble; of Mrs. Grouse, squattingin the thickest bramble-tangle in the Green Forest; of UncleBilly Possum and Bobby Coon in their hollow trees; of JerryMuskrat in the Smiling Pool; of Happy Jack Squirrel, hiding inthe tree tops; of Lightfoot the Deer, lying in the closestthicket he could find. It was even clutching at the hearts ofGranny and Reddy Fox and of great, big Buster Bear. It seemed toPeter that no one was so big or so small that this terribleSpirit of Fear had not searched him out. Far in the distance sounded a sudden bang. Peter jumped andshivered. He knew that every one else who had heard that banghad jumped and shivered just as he had. It was the season ofhunters with terrible guns. It was man who had sent thisterrible Spirit of Fear to chill the hearts of the little meadowand forest people at this very time when Old Mother Nature hadmade all things so beautiful and had intended that they shouldbe happiest and most free from care and worry. It was man whohad made the autumn a sad time instead of a glad time, the verysaddest time of all the year, when Old Mother Nature had doneher best to make it the most beautiful. "I don't understand these men creatures, " said Peter to littleMrs. Peter, as they stared fearfully out from the dear OldBriar-patch. "They seem to find pleasure, actually find pleasure, in trying to kill us. I don't understand them at all. Theyhaven't any hearts. That must be the reason; they haven't anyhearts. " CHAPTER V: Sammy Jay Brings Lightfoot Word Sammy Jay is one of those who believe in the wisdom of the oldsaying, "Early to bed and early to rise. " Sammy needs no alarmclock to get up early in the morning. He is awake as soon as itis light enough to see and wastes no time wishing he could sleepa little longer. His stomach wouldn't let him if he wantedto. Sammy always wakes up hungry. In this he is no differentfrom all his feathered neighbors. So the minute Sammy gets his eyes open he makes his toilet, forSammy is very neat, and starts out to hunt for his breakfast. Long ago Sammy discovered that there is no safer time of day tovisit the dooryards of those two-legged creatures called men thanvery early in the morning. On this particular morning he hadplanned to fly over to Farmer Brown's dooryard, but at the lastminute he changed his mind. Instead, he flew over to thedooryard of another farm. It was so very early in the morningthat Sammy didn't expect to find anybody stirring, so you canguess how surprised he was when, just as he came in sight of thatdooryard, he saw the door of the house open and a man step out. Sammy stopped on the top of the nearest tree. "Now what is thatman doing up as early as this?" muttered Sammy. Then he caughtsight of something under the man's arm. He didn't have to looktwice to know what it was. It was a gun! Yes, sir, it was a gun, a terrible gun. "Ha!" exclaimed Sammy, and quite forgot that his stomach wasempty. "Now who can that fellow be after so early in the morning?I wonder if he is going to the dear Old Briar-patch to look forPeter Rabbit, or if he is going to the Old Pasture in search ofReddy Fox, or if it is Mr. And Mrs. Grouse he hopes to kill. I think I'll sit right here and watch. " So Sammy sat in the top of the tree and watched the hunter withthe terrible gun. He saw him head straight for the Green Forest. "It's Mr. And Mrs. Grouse after all, I guess, " thought Sammy. "If I knew just where they were I'd go over and warn them. "But Sammy didn't know just where they were and he knew that itmight take him a long time to find them, so he once more began tothink of breakfast and then, right then, another thought poppedinto his head. He thought of Lightfoot the Deer. Sammy watched the hunter enter the Green Forest, then he silentlyfollowed him. From the way the hunter moved, Sammy decided thathe wasn't thinking of Mr. And Mrs. Grouse. "It's Lightfoot theDeer, sure as I live, " muttered Sammy. "He ought to be warned. He certainly ought to be warned. I know right where he is. I believe I'll warn him myself. " Sammy found Lightfoot right where he had expected to. "He'scoming!" cried Sammy. "A hunter with a terrible gun is coming!" CHAPTER VI: A Game Of Hide And Seek There was a game of hide and seek that Danny Meadow Mouse onceplayed with Buster Bear. It was a very dreadful game for Danny. But hard as it was for Danny, it didn't begin to be as hardas the game Lightfoot the Deer was playing with the hunterin the Green Forest. In the case of Buster Bear and Danny, the latter had simply tokeep out of reach of Buster. As long as Buster didn't get hisgreat paws on Danny, the latter was safe. Then, too, Danny is avery small person. He is so small that he can hide under two orthree leaves. Wherever he is, he is pretty sure to find ahiding-place of some sort. His small size gives him advantages ina game of hide and seek. It certainly does. But Lightfoot theDeer is big. He is one of the largest of the people who live inthe Green Forest. Being so big, it is not easy to hide. Moreover, a hunter with a terrible gun does not have to get closein order to kill. Lightfoot knew all this as he waited for thecoming of the hunter of whom Sammy Jay had warned him. He hadlearned many lessons in the hunting season of the year before andhe remembered every one of them. He knew that to forget even oneof them might cost him his life. So, standing motionless behind atangle of fallen trees, Lightfoot listened and watched. Presently over in the distance he heard Sammy Jay screaming, "Thief, thief, thief!" A little sigh of relief escapedLightfoot. He knew that that screaming of Sammy Jay's was awarning to tell him where the hunter was. Knowing just where thehunter was made it easier for Lightfoot to know what to do. A Merry Little Breeze came stealing through the Green Forest. It came from behind Lightfoot and danced on towards the hunter withthe terrible gun. Instantly Lightfoot began to steal softly awaythrough the Green Forest. He took the greatest care to make nosound. He went in a half-circle, stopping every few steps tolisten and test the air with his wonderful nose. Can you guesswhat Lightfoot was trying to do? He was trying to get behind thehunter so that the Merry Little Breezes would bring to him thedreaded man-scent. So long as Lightfoot could get that scent, hewould know where the hunter was, though he could neither see norhear him. If he had remained where Sammy Jay had found him, thehunter might have come within shooting distance before Lightfootcould have located him. So the hunter with the terrible gun walked noiselessly throughthe Green Forest, stepping with the greatest care to avoidsnapping a stick underfoot, searching with keen eye every thicketand likely hiding-place for a glimpse of Lightfoot, and studyingthe ground for traces to show that Lightfoot had been there. CHAPTER VII: The Merry Little Breezes Help Lightfoot Could you have seen the hunter with the terrible gun and Lightfootthe Deer that morning on which the hunting season opened you mighthave thought that Lightfoot was hunting the hunter instead of thehunter hunting Lightfoot. You see, Lightfoot was behind the hunterinstead of in front of him. He was following the hunter, so as tokeep track of him. As long as he knew just where the hunter was, hefelt reasonably safe. The Merry Little Breezes are Lightfoot's best friends. Theyalways bring to him all the different scents they find as theywander through the Green Forest. And Lightfoot's delicate noseis so wonderful that he can take these scents, even though theybe very faint, and tell just who or what has made them. So, though he makes the best possible use of his big ears and hisbeautiful eyes, he trusts more to his nose to warn him of danger. For this reason, during the hunting season when he moves about, he moves in the direction from which the Merry Little Breezes maybe blowing. He knows that they will bring to him warning of anydanger which may lie in that direction. Now the hunter with the terrible gun who was looking forLightfoot knew all this, for he was wise in the ways of Lightfootand of the other little people of the Green Forest. When he hadentered the Green Forest that morning he had first of all madesure of the direction from which the Merry Little Breezes werecoming. Then he had begun to hunt in that direction, knowingthat thus his scent would be carried behind him. It is more thanlikely that he would have reached the hiding-place of Lightfootthe Deer before the latter would have known that he was in theGreen Forest, had it not been for Sammy Jay's warning. When he reached the tangle of fallen trees behind which Lightfoothad been hiding, he worked around it slowly and with the greatestcare, holding his terrible gun ready to use instantly shouldLightfoot leap out. Presently he found Lightfoot's footprints inthe soft ground and studying them he knew that Lightfoot hadknown of his coming. "It was that confounded Jay, " muttered the hunter. "Lightfootheard him and knew what it meant. I know what he has done; he hascircled round so as to get behind me and get my scent. It is aclever trick, a very clever trick, but two can play at thatgame. I'll just try that little trick myself. " So the hunter in his turn made a wide circle back, and presentlythere was none of the dreaded man-smell among the scents whichthe Merry Little Breezes brought to Lightfoot. Lightfoot had losttrack of the hunter. CHAPTER VIII: Wit Against Wit It was a dreadful game the hunter with the terrible gun andLightfoot the Deer were playing in the Green Forest. It was amatching of wit against wit, the hunter seeking to takeLightfoot's life, and Lightfoot seeking to save it. The experience of other years had taught Lightfoot much of theways of hunters and not one of the things he had learned aboutthem was forgotten. But the hunter in his turn knew much ofthe ways of Deer. So it was that each was trying his best tooutguess the other. When the hunter found the hiding-place Lightfoot had left at thewarning of Sammy Jay he followed Lightfoot's tracks for a shortdistance. It was slow work, and only one whose eyes had beentrained to notice little things could have done it. You see, there was no snow, and only now and then, when he had stepped ona bit of soft ground, had Lightfoot left a footprint. But therewere other signs which the hunter knew how to read, --a freshlyupturned leaf here, and here, a bit of moss lightly crushed. These things told the hunter which way Lightfoot had gone. Slowly, patiently, watchfully, the hunter followed. After a whilehe stopped with a satisfied grin. "I thought as much, " hemuttered. "He heard that pesky Jay and circled around so as toget my scent. I'll just cut across to my old trail and unless Iam greatly mistaken, I'll find his tracks there. " So, swiftly but silently, the hunter cut across to his old trail, and in a few moments he found just what he expected, --one ofLightfoot's footprints. Once more he grinned. "Well, old fellow, I've outguessed you this time, " said he tohimself. "I am behind you and the wind is from you to me, so thatyou cannot get my scent. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you'reback right where you started from, behind that old windfall. "He at once began to move forward silently and cautiously, witheyes and ears alert and his terrible gun ready for instant use. Now when Lightfoot, following behind the hunter, had lost thescent of the latter, he guessed right away that the latter hadfound his tracks and had started to follow them. Lightfoot stoodstill and listened with all his might for some little sound totell him where the hunter was. But there was no sound and after alittle Lightfoot began to move on. He didn't dare remain still, lest the hunter should creep up within shooting distance. Therewas only one direction in which it was safe for Lightfoot tomove, and that was the direction from which the Merry LittleBreezes were blowing. So long as they brought him none of thedreaded man-smell, he knew that he was safe. The hunter might bebehind him--probably he was--but ahead of him, so long as theMerry Little Breezes were blowing in his face and brought noman-smell, was safety. CHAPTER IX: Lightfoot Becomes Uncertain Lightfoot the Deer traveled on through the Green Forest, straightahead in the direction from which the Merry Little Breezes wereblowing. Every few steps he would raise his delicate nose andtest all the scents that the Merry Little Breezes were bringing. So long as he kept the Merry Little Breezes blowing in his face, he could be sure whether or not there was danger ahead of him. Lightfoot uses his nose very much as you and I use our eyes. Ittells him the things he wants to know. He knew that Reddy Fox hadbeen along ahead of him, although he didn't get so much as aglimpse of Reddy's red coat. Once he caught just the faintest ofscents which caused him to stop abruptly and test the air morecarefully than ever. It was the scent of Buster Bear. But itwas so very faint that Lightfoot knew Buster was not near, so hewent ahead again, but even more carefully than before. After alittle he couldn't smell Buster at all, so he knew then thatBuster had merely passed that way when he was going to some otherpart of the Green Forest. Lightfoot knew that he had nothing to fear in that direction solong as the Merry Little Breezes brought him none of the dreadedman-scent, and he knew that he could trust the Merry LittleBreezes to bring him that scent if there should be a mananywhere in front of him. You know the Merry Little Breezes areLightfoot's best friends. But Lightfoot didn't want to keepgoing in that direction all day. It would take him far away from that part of the Green Forestwith which he was familiar and which he called home. It might intime take him out of the Green Forest and that wouldn't do atall. So after a while Lightfoot became uncertain. He didn't knowjust what to do. You see, he couldn't tell whether or not thathunter with the terrible gun was still following him. Every once in a while he would stop in a thicket of young treesor behind a tangle of fallen trees uprooted by the wind. Therehe would stand, facing the direction from which he had come, andwatch and listen for some sign that the hunter was stillfollowing. But after a few minutes of this he would grow uneasyand then bound away in the direction from which the Merry LittleBreezes were blowing, so as to be sure of not running into danger. "If only I could know if that hunter is still following, I wouldknow better what to do, " thought Lightfoot. "I've got to find out. " CHAPTER X: Lightfoot's Clever Trick Lightfoot the Deer is smart. Yes, Sir, Lightfoot the Deer issmart. He has to be, especially in the hunting season, to savehis life. If he were not smart he would have been killed longago. He never makes the foolish mistake of thinking that otherpeople are not smart. He knew that the hunter who had started outto follow him early that morning was not one to be easilydiscouraged or to be fooled by simple tricks. He had a very greatrespect for the smartness of that hunter. He knew that hecouldn't afford to be careless for one little minute. The certainty of danger is sometimes easier to bear than theuncertainty of not knowing whether or not there really is anydanger. Lightfoot felt that if he could know just where thehunter was, he himself would know better what to do. Thehunter might have become discouraged and given up following him. In that case he could rest and stop worrying. It would be betterto know that he was being followed than not to know. But how washe to find out? Lightfoot kept turning this over and over in hismind as he traveled through the Green Forest. Then an idea cameto him. "I know what I'll do. I know just what I'll do, " said Lightfootto himself. "I'll find out whether or not that hunter is stillfollowing me and I'll get a little rest. Goodness knows, I needa rest. " Lightfoot bounded away swiftly and ran for some distance, then heturned and quickly, but very, very quietly, returned in thedirection from which he had just come but a little to one side ofhis old trail. After a while he saw what he was looking for, apile of branches which woodchoppers had left when they hadtrimmed the trees they had cut down. This was near the top of alittle hill. Lightfoot went up the hill and stopped behind thepile of brush. For a few moments he stood there perfectly still, looking and listening. Then, with a little sigh of relief, he laydown, where, without being in any danger of being seen himself, he could watch his old trail through the hollow at the bottom ofthe hill. If the hunter were still following him, he would passthrough that hollow in plain sight. For a long tune Lightfoot rested comfortably behind the pile ofbrush. There was not a suspicious movement or a suspicious soundto show that danger was abroad in the Green Forest. He sawMr. And Mrs. Grouse fly down across the hollow and disappearamong the trees on the other side. He saw Unc' Billy Possumlooking over a hollow tree and guessed that Unc' Billy wasgetting ready to go into winter quarters. He saw Jumper the Haresquat down under a low-hanging branch of a hemlock-tree andprepare to take a nap. He heard Drummer the Woodpecker at workdrilling after worms in a tree not far away. Little by littleLightfoot grew easy in his mind. It must be that that hunter hadbecome discouraged and was no longer following him. CHAPTER XI: The Hunted Watches The Hunter It was so quiet and peaceful and altogether lovely there in theGreen Forest, where Lightfoot the Deer lay resting behind a pileof brush near the top of a little hill, that it didn't seempossible such a thing as sudden death could be anywhere near. It didn't seem possible that there could be any need forwatchfulness. But Lightfoot long ago had learned that oftendanger is nearest when it seems least to be expected. So, though he would have liked very much to have taken a nap, Lightfoot was too wise to do anything so foolish. He kept hisbeautiful, great, soft eyes fixed in the direction from whichthe hunter with the terrible gun would come if he were stillfollowing that trail. He kept his great ears gently moving tocatch every little sound. Lightfoot had about decided that the hunter had given up huntingfor that day, but he didn't let this keep him from being any theless watchful. It was better to be overwatchful than the leastbit careless. By and by, Lightfoot's keen ears caught the soundof the snapping of a little stick in the distance. It was sofaint a sound that you or I would have missed it altogether. But Lightfoot heard it and instantly he was doubly alert, watching in the direction from which that faint sound had come. After what seemed a long, long time he saw something moving, anda moment later a man came into view. It was the hunter and acrossone arm he carried the terrible gun. Lightfoot knew now that this hunter had patience and perseveranceand had not yet given up hope of getting near enough to shootLightfoot. He moved forward slowly, setting each foot down withthe greatest care, so as not to snap a stick or rustle theleaves. He was watching sharply ahead, ready to shoot should hecatch a glimpse of Lightfoot within range. Right along through the hollow at the foot of the little hillbelow Lightfoot the hunter passed. He was no longer studying theground for Lightfoot's tracks, because the ground was so hard anddry down there that Lightfoot had left no tracks. He was simplyhunting in the direction from which the Merry Little Breezes wereblowing because he knew that Lightfoot had gone in that direction, and he also knew that if Lightfoot were still ahead of him, his scent could not be carried to Lightfoot. He was doingwhat is called "hunting up-wind. " Lightfoot kept perfectly still and watched the hunter disappearamong the trees. Then he silently got to his feet, shook himselflightly, and noiselessly stole away over the hilltop towardsanother part of the Green Forest. He felt sure that that hunterwould not find him again that day. CHAPTER XII: Lightfoot Visits Paddy The Beaver Deep in the Green Forest is the pond where lives Paddy theBeaver. It is Paddy's own pond, for he made it himself. He madeit by building a dam across the Laughing Brook. When Lightfootbounded away through the Green Forest, after watching the hunterpass through the hollow below him, he remembered Paddy's pond. "That's where I'll go, " thought Lightfoot. "It is such alonesome part of the Green Forest that I do not believe thathunter will come there. I'll just run over and make Paddy afriendly call. " So Lightfoot bounded along deeper and deeper into the GreenForest. Presently through the trees he caught the gleam of water. It was Paddy's pond. Lightfoot approached it cautiously. He felt sure he was rid of the hunter who had followed him sofar that day, but he knew that there might be other hunters in theGreen Forest. He knew that he couldn't afford to be careless foreven one little minute. Lightfoot had lived long enough to knowthat most of the sad things and dreadful things that happen inthe Green Forest and on the Green Meadows are due to carelessness. No one who is hunted, be he big or little, can afford ever tobe careless. Now Lightfoot had known of hunters hiding near water, hoping toshoot him when he came to drink. That always seemed to Lightfoota dreadful thing, an unfair thing. But hunters had done itbefore and they might do it again. So Lightfoot was careful toapproach Paddy's pond upwind. That is, he approached the side ofthe pond from which the Merry Little Breezes were blowing towardhim, and all the time he kept his nose working. He knew that ifany hunters were hidden there, the Merry Little Breezes wouldbring him their scent and thus warn him. He had almost reached the edge of Paddy's pond when from thefarther shore there came a sudden crash. It startled Lightfootterribly for just an instant. Then he guessed what it meant. That crash was the falling of a tree. There wasn't enough wind toblow over even the most shaky dead tree. There had been no soundof axes, so he knew it could not have been chopped down by men. It must be that Paddy the Beaver had cut it, and if Paddy had beenworking in daylight, it was certain that no one had been aroundthat pond for a long time. So Lightfoot hurried forward eagerly, cautiously. When he reachedthe bank he looked across towards where the sound of that fallingtree had come from; a branch of a tree was moving along in thewater and half hidden by it was a brown head. It was Paddy theBeaver taking the branch to his food pile. CHAPTER XIII: Lightfoot And Paddy Become Partners The instant Lightfoot saw Paddy the Beaver he knew that for thetime being, at least, there was no danger. He knew that Paddy isone of the shyest of all the little people of the Green Forestand that when he is found working in the daytime it means that hehas been undisturbed for a long time; otherwise he would workonly at night. Paddy saw Lightfoot almost as soon as he stepped out on thebank. He kept right on swimming with the branch of a poplar-treeuntil he reached his food pile, which, you know, is in thewater. There he forced the branch down until it was held by otherbranches already sunken in the pond. This done, he swam over towhere Lightfoot was watching. "Hello, Lightfoot!" he exclaimed. "You are looking handsomer than ever. How are you feelingthese fine autumn days?" "Anxious, " replied Lightfoot. "I am feeling terribly anxious. Do you know what day this is?" "No, " replied Paddy, "I don't know what day it is, and I don'tparticularly care. It is enough for me that it is one of thefinest days we've had for a long time. " "I wish I could feel that way, " said Lightfoot wistfully. "I wishI could feel that way, Paddy, but I can't. No, Sir, I can't. You see, this is the first of the most dreadful days in all the yearfor me. The hunters started looking for me before Mr. Sun wasreally out of bed. At least one hunter did, and I don't doubtthere are others. I fooled that one, but from now to the end ofthe hunting season there will not be a single moment of daylightwhen I will feel absolutely safe. " Paddy crept out on the bank and chewed a little twig of poplarthoughtfully. Paddy says he can always think better if he ischewing something. "That's bad news, Lightfoot. I'm sorry to hearit. I certainly am sorry to hear it, " said Paddy. "Why anybodywants to hunt such a handsome fellow as you are, I cannotunderstand. My, but that's a beautiful set of antlers you have!" "They are the best I've ever had; but do you know, Paddy, Isuspect that they may be one of the reasons I am hunted so, "replied Lightfoot a little sadly. "Good looks are not always tobe desired. Have you seen any hunters around here lately?" Paddy shook his Lead. "Not a single hunter, " he replied. "I tellyou what it is, Lightfoot, let's be partners for a while. You stay right around my pond. If I see or hear or smell anythingsuspicious, I'll warn you. You do the same for me. Two sets ofeyes, ears and noses are better than one. What do you say, Lightfoot?" "I'll do it, " replied Lightfoot. CHAPTER XIV: How Paddy Warned Lightfoot It was a queer partnership, that partnership between Lightfootand Paddy, but it was a good partnership. They had been the bestof friends for a long time. Paddy had always been glad to haveLightfoot visit his pond. To tell the truth, he was rather fondof handsome Lightfoot. You know Paddy is himself not at allhandsome. On land he is a rather clumsy-looking fellow andreally homely. So he admired Lightfoot greatly. That is onereason why he proposed that they be partners. Lightfoot himself thought the idea a splendid one. He spent thatnight browsing not far from Paddy's pond. With the coming ofdaylight he lay down in a thicket of young hemlock-trees near theupper end of the pond. It was a quiet, peaceful day. It was soquiet and peaceful and beautiful it was hard to believe thathunters with terrible guns were searching the Green Forest forbeautiful Lightfoot. But they were, and Lightfoot knew thatsooner or later one of them would be sure to visit Paddy's pond. So, though he rested and took short naps all through thatbeautiful day, he was anxious. He couldn't help but be. The next morning found Lightfoot back in the same place. But thismorning he took no naps. He rested, but all the time he waswatchful and alert. A feeling of uneasiness possessed him. He felt in his bones that danger in the shape of a hunter with aterrible gun was not far distant. But the hours slipped away, and little by little he grew less uneasy. He began to hope that that day would prove as peaceful as theprevious day had been. Then suddenly there was a sharp report fromthe farther end of Paddy's pond. It was almost like a pistol shot. However, it wasn't a pistol shot. It wasn't a shot at all. It was the slap of Paddy's broad tail on the surface of the water. Instantly Lightfoot was on his feet. He knew just what that meant. He knew that Paddy had seen or heard or smelled a hunter. It was even so. Paddy had heard a dry stick snap. It was a verytiny snap, but it was enough to warn Paddy. With only his headabove water he had watched in the direction from which that soundhad come. Presently, stealing quietly along towards the pond, ahunter had come in view. Instantly Paddy had brought his broadtail down on the water with all his force. He knew that Lightfootwould know that that meant danger. Then Paddy had dived, and swimming under water, had sought the safety of his house. He had done his part, and there was nothing more he could do. CHAPTER XV: The Three Watchers When Paddy the Beaver slapped the water with his broad tail, making a noise like a pistol shot, Lightfoot understood that thiswas meant as a warning of danger. He was on his feet instantly, with eyes, ears and nose seeking the cause of Paddy's warning. After a moment or two he stole softly up to the top of alittle ridge some distance back from Paddy's pond, but from thetop of which he could see the whole of the pond. There he hidamong some close-growing young hemlock-trees. It wasn't longbefore he saw a hunter with a terrible gun come down to the shoreof the pond. Now the hunter had heard Paddy slap the water with his broadtail. Of course. There would have been something very wrong withhis ears had he failed to hear it. "Confound that Beaver!" muttered the hunter crossly. "If therewas a Deer anywhere around this pond, he probably is on his way now. I'll have a look around and see if there are any signs. " So the hunter went on to the edge of Paddy's pond and then beganto walk around it, studying the ground as he walked. Presently hefound the footprints of Lightfoot in the mud where Lightfoot hadgone down to the pond to drink. "I thought as much, " muttered the hunter. "Those tracks were madelast night. That Deer probably was lying down somewhere nearhere, and I might have had a shot but for that pesky Beaver. I'll just look the land over, and then I think I'll wait hereawhile. If that Deer isn't too badly scared, he may come back. " So the hunter went quite around the pond, looking into all likelyhiding-places. He found where Lightfoot had been lying, and heknew that in all probability Lightfoot had been there when Paddygave the danger signal. "It's of no use for me to try to follow him, " thought thehunter. "It is too dry for me to track him. He may not be sobadly scared, after all. I'll just find a good place and wait. " So the hunter found an old log behind some small trees and theresat down. He could see all around Paddy's pond. He satperfectly still. He was a clever hunter and he knew that so longas he did not move he was not likely to be noticed by any sharpeyes that might come that way. What he didn't know was thatLightfoot had been watching him all the time and was even thenstanding where he could see him. And another thing he didn'tknow was that Paddy the Beaver had come out of his house and, swimming under water, had reached a hiding-place on the oppositeshore from which he too had seen the hunter sit down on the log. So the hunter watched for Lightfoot, and Lightfoot and Paddywatched the hunter. CHAPTER XVI: Visitors To Paddy's Pond That hunter was a man of patience. Also he was a man whounderstood the little people of the Green Forest and the GreenMeadows. He knew that if he would not be seen he must not move. So he didn't move. He kept as motionless as if he were a part ofthe very log on which he was sitting. For some time there was no sign of any living thing. Then, fromover the tree tops in the direction of the Big River, came thewhistle of swift wings, and Mr. And Mrs. Quack alighted with asplash in the pond. For a few moments they sat on the water, apicture of watchful suspicion. They were looking and listeningto make sure that no danger was near. Satisfied at last, theybegan to clean their feathers. It was plain that they felt safe. Paddy the Beaver was tempted to warn them that they were not assafe as they thought, but as long as the hunter did not movePaddy decided to wait. Now the hunter was sorely tempted to shoot these Ducks, but heknew that if he did he would have no chance that day to getLightfoot the Deer, and it was Lightfoot he wanted. So Mr. AndMrs. Quack swam about within easy range of that terrible gunwithout once suspecting that danger was anywhere near. By and by the hunter's keen eyes caught a movement at one end ofPaddy's dam. An instant later Bobby Coon appeared. It was clearthat Bobby was quite unsuspicious. He carried something, but justwhat the hunter could not make out. He took it down to the edgeof the water and there carefully washed it. Then he climbed up onPaddy's dam and began to eat. You know Bobby Coon is veryparticular about his food. Whenever there is water near, Bobbywashes his food before eating. Once more the hunter was tempted, but did not yield to the temptation, which was a very good thingfor Bobby Coon. All this Lightfoot saw as he stood among the little hemlock-treesat the top of the ridge behind the hunter. He saw and heunderstood. "It is because he wants to kill me that he doesn'tshoot at Mr. And Mrs. Quack or Bobby Coon, " thought Lightfoot alittle bitterly. "What have I ever done that he should be soanxious to kill me?" Still the hunter sat without moving. Mr. And Mrs. Quackcontentedly hunted for food in the mud at the bottom of Paddy'spond. Bobby Coon finished his meal, crossed the dam anddisappeared in the Green Forest. He had gone off to take a napsomewhere. Time slipped away. The hunter continued to watchpatiently for Lightfoot, and Lightfoot and Paddy the Beaverwatched the hunter. Finally, another visitor appeared at theupper end of the pond--a visitor in a wonderful coat of red. It was Reddy Fox. CHAPTER XVII: Sammy Jay Arrives When Reddy Fox arrived at the pond of Paddy the Beaver, thehunter who was hiding there saw him instantly. So did Lightfoot. But no one else did. He approached in that cautious, careful waythat he always uses when he is hunting. The instant he reacheda place where he could see all over Paddy's pond, he stoppedas suddenly as if he had been turned to stone. He stoppedwith one foot lifted in the act of taking a step. He hadseen Mr. And Mrs. Quack. Now you know there is nothing Reddy Fox likes better for a dinnerthan a Duck. The instant he saw Mr. And Mrs. Quack, a gleam oflonging crept into his eyes and his mouth began to water. He stood motionless until both Mr. And Mrs. Quack had their headsunder water as they searched for food in the mud in the bottom ofthe pond. Then like a red flash he bounded out of sight behindthe dam of Paddy the Beaver. Presently the hunter saw Reddy's black nose at the end of the damas Reddy peeped around it to watch Mr. And Mrs. Quack. The latterwere slowly moving along in that direction as they fed. Reddy wasquick to see this. If he remained right where he was, and Mr. AndMrs. Quack kept on feeding in that direction, the chances werethat he would have a dinner of fat Duck. All he need do was to bepatient and wait. So, with his eyes fixed fast on Mr. AndMrs. Quack, Reddy Fox crouched behind Paddy's dam and waited. Watching Reddy and the Ducks, the hunter almost forgot Lightfootthe Deer. Mr. And Mrs. Quack were getting very near to whereReddy was waiting for them. The hunter was tempted to get up andfrighten those Ducks. He didn't want Reddy Fox to have them, because he hoped some day to get them himself. "I suppose, " thought he, "I was foolish not to shoot them when Ihad the chance. They are too far away now, and it looks very muchas if that red rascal will get one of them. I believe I'll spoilthat red scamp's plans by frightening them away. I don't believethat Deer will be back here to-day anyway, so I may as well savethose Ducks. " But the hunter did nothing of the kind. You see, just as he wasgetting ready to step out from his hiding-place, Sammy Jayarrived. He perched in a tree close to the end of Paddy's dam andat once he spied Reddy Fox. It didn't take him a second todiscover what Reddy was hiding there for. "Thief, thief, thief!"screamed Sammy, and then looked down at Reddy with a mischievouslook in his sharp eyes. There is nothing Sammy Jay delights inmore than in upsetting the plans of Reddy Fox. At the sound ofSammy's voice, Mr. And Mrs. Quack swam hurriedly towards themiddle of the pond. They knew exactly what that warningmeant. Reddy Fox looked up at Sammy Jay and snarled angrily. Then, knowing it was useless to hide longer, he bounded awaythrough the Green Forest to hunt elsewhere. CHAPTER XVIII: The Hunter Loses His Temper The hunter, hidden near the pond of Paddy the Beaver, chuckledsilently. That is to say, he laughed without making anysound. The hunter thought the warning of Mr. And Mrs. Quack bySammy Jay was a great joke on Reddy. To tell the truth, he wasvery much pleased. As you know, he wanted those Ducks himself. He suspected that they would stay in that little pond for some days, and he planned to return there and shoot them after he had gotLightfoot the Deer. He wanted to get Lightfoot first, and he knewthat to shoot at anything else might spoil his chance of gettinga shot at Lightfoot. "Sammy Jay did me a good turn, " thought the hunter, "although hedoesn't know it. Reddy Fox certainly would have caught one ofthose Ducks had Sammy not come along just when he did. It wouldhave been a shame to have had one of them caught by that Fox. I mean to get one, and I hope both of them, myself. " Now when you come to think of it, it would have been a fargreater shame for the hunter to have killed Mr. And Mrs. Quackthan for Reddy Fox to have done so. Reddy was hunting thembecause he was hungry. The hunter would have shot them forsport. He didn't need them. He had plenty of other food. Reddy Fox doesn't kill just for the pleasure of killing. So the hunter continued to sit in his hiding-place with veryfriendly feelings for Sammy Jay. Sammy watched Reddy Foxdisappear and then flew over to that side of the pond where thehunter was. Mr. And Mrs. Quack called their thanks to Sammy, towhich he replied, that he had done no more for them than he woulddo for anybody, or than they would have done for him. For some time Sammy sat quietly in the top of the tree, but allthe time his sharp eyes were very busy. By and by he spied thehunter sitting on the log. At first he couldn't make out justwhat it was he was looking at. It didn't move, but neverthelessSammy was suspicious. Presently he flew over to a tree where hecould see better. Right away he spied the terrible gun, and heknew just what that was. Once more he began to yell, "Thief!thief! thief!" at the top of his lungs. It was then that thehunter lost his temper. He knew that now he had been discoveredby Sammy Jay, and it was useless to remain there longer. He wasangry clear through. CHAPTER XIX: Sammy Jay Is Modest As soon as the angry hunter with the terrible gun had disappearedamong the trees of the Green Forest, and Lightfoot was sure thathe had gone for good, Lightfoot came out from his hiding-place ontop of the ridge and walked down to the pond of Paddy the Beaverfor a drink. He knew that it was quite safe to do so, for SammyJay had followed the hunter, all the time screaming, "Thief!thief! thief!" Every one within hearing could tell just wherethat hunter was by Sammy's voice. It kept growing fainter andfainter, and by that Lightfoot knew that the hunter was gettingfarther and farther away. Paddy the Beaver swam out from his hiding-place and climbed outon the bank near Lightfoot. There was a twinkle in hiseyes. "That blue-coated mischief-maker isn't such a bad fellow atheart, after all, is he?" said he. Lightfoot lifted his beautiful head and set his ears forward tocatch the sound of Sammy's voice in the distance. "Sammy Jay may be a mischief-maker, as some people say, " said he, "but you can always count on him to prove a true friend in timeof danger. He brought me warning of the coming of the hunter theother morning. You saw him save Mr. And Mrs. Quack a little whileago, and then he actually drove that hunter away. I suppose SammyJay has saved more lives than any one I know of. I wish he wouldcome back here and let me thank him. " Some time later Sammy Jay did come back. "Well, " said he, as hesmoothed his feathers, "I chased that fellow clear to the edge ofthe Green Forest, so I guess there will be nothing more to fearfrom him today. I'm glad to see he hasn't got you yet, Lightfoot. I've been a bit worried about you. " "Sammy, " said Lightfoot, "you are one of the best friends Ihave. I don't know how I can ever thank you for what you havedone for me. " "Don't try, " replied Sammy shortly. "I haven't done anything butwhat anybody else would have done. Old Mother Nature gave me apair of good eyes and a strong voice. I simply make the best useof them I can. Just to see a hunter with a terrible gun makes meangry clear through. I'd rather spoil his hunting than eat. " "You want to watch out, Sammy. One of these days a hunter willlose his temper and shoot you, just to get even with you, "warned Paddy the Beaver. "Don't worry about me, " replied Sammy. "I know just how farthose terrible guns can shoot, and I don't take any chances. By the way, Lightfoot, the Green Forest is full of hunters lookingfor you. I 've seen a lot of them, and I know they are lookingfor you because they do not shoot at anybody else even when theyhave a chance. " CHAPTER XX: Lightfoot Hears A Dreadful Sound Day after day, Lightfoot the Deer played hide and seek for hislife with the hunters who were seeking to kill him. He saw themmany times, though not one of them saw him. More than once ahunter passed close to Lightfoot's hiding-place without oncesuspecting it. But poor Lightfoot was feeling the strain. He was growing thin, and he was so nervous that the falling of a dead leaf from a treewould startle him. There is nothing quite so terrible as beingcontinually hunted. It was getting so that Lightfoot halfexpected a hunter to step out from behind every tree. Only whenthe Black Shadows wrapped the Green Forest in darkness did heknow a moment of peace. And those hours of safety were filledwith dread of what the next day might bring. Early one morning a terrible sound rang through the Green Forestand brought Lightfoot to his feet with a startled jump. It wasthe baying of hounds following a trail. At first it did not soundso terrible. Lightfoot had often heard it before. Many times hehad listened to the baying of Bowser the Hound, as he followedReddy Fox. It had not sounded so terrible then because it meantno danger to Lightfoot. At first, as he listened early that morning, he took it forgranted that those hounds were after Reddy, and so, thoughstartled, he was not worried. But suddenly a dreadful suspicioncame to him and he grew more and more anxious as he listened. In a few minutes there was no longer any doubt in his mind. Those hounds were following his trail. It was then that the soundof that baying became terrible. He must run for his life!Those hounds would give him no rest. And he knew that in runningfrom them, he would no longer be able to watch so closely for thehunters with terrible guns. He would no longer be able to hidein thickets. At any time he might be driven right past one ofthose hunters. Lightfoot bounded away with such leaps as only Lightfoot can make. In a little while the voices of the hounds grew fainter. Lightfoot stopped to get his breath and stood tremblingas he listened. The baying of the hounds again grew louder andlouder. Those wonderful noses of theirs were following his trailwithout the least difficulty. In a panic of fear, Lightfootbounded away again. As he crossed an old road, the Green Forestrang with the roar of a terrible gun. Something tore a strip ofbark from the trunk of a tree just above Lightfoot's back. It wasa bullet and it had just missed Lightfoot. It added to his terrorand this in turn added to his speed. So Lightfoot ran and ran, and behind him the voices of the houndscontinued to ring through the Green Forest. CHAPTER XXI: How Lightfoot Got Rid Of The Hounds Poor Lightfoot! It seemed to him that there were no such thingsas justice and fair play. Had it been just one hunter at a timeagainst whom he had to match his wits it would not have been sobad. But there were many hunters with terrible guns looking forhim, and in dodging one he was likely at any time to meetanother. This in itself seemed terribly unfair and unjust. But now, added to this was the greater unfairness of being trailedby hounds. Do you wonder that Lightfoot thought of men as utterly heartless?You see, he could not know that those hounds had not been put onhis trail, but had left home to hunt for their own pleasure. He could not know that it was against the law to hunt him with dogs. But though none of those hunters looking for him were guiltyof having put the hounds on his trail, each one of themwas willing and eager to take advantage of the fact that thehounds were on his trail. Already he had been shot at once and heknew that he would be shot at again if he should be driven wherea hunter was hidden. The ground was damp and scent always lies best on damp ground. This made it easy for the hounds to follow him with theirwonderful noses. Lightfoot tried every trick he could think of tomake those hounds lose the scent. "If only I could make them lose it long enough for me to get alittle rest, it would help, " panted Lightfoot, as he paused forjust an instant to listen to the baying of the hounds. But he couldn't. They allowed him no rest. He was becoming very, very tired. He could no longer bound lightly over fallen logs orbrush, as he had done at first. His lungs ached as he panted forbreath. He realized that even though he should escape the huntershe would meet an even more terrible death unless he could get ridof those hounds. There would come a time when he would have to stop. Then those hounds would catch up with him and tear him to pieces. It was then that he remembered the Big River. He turned towards it. It was his only chance and he knew it. Straight through theGreen Forest, out across the Green Meadows to the bank of the BigRiver, Lightfoot ran. For just a second he paused to look behind. The hounds were almost at his heels. Lightfoot hesitatedno longer but plunged into the Big River and began to swim. On the banks the hounds stopped and bayed their disappointment, for they did not dare follow Lightfoot out into the Big River. CHAPTER XXII: Lightfoot's Long Swim The Big River was very wide. It would have been a long swim forLightfoot had he been fresh and at his best. Strange as it mayseem, Lightfoot is a splendid swimmer, despite his small, delicate feet. He enjoys swimming. But now Lightfoot was terribly tired from his long run ahead ofthe hounds. For a time he swam rapidly, but those weary musclesgrew still more weary, and by the time he reached the middle ofthe Big River it seemed to him that he was not getting ahead at all. At first he had tried to swim towards a clump of trees hecould see on the opposite bank above the point where he hadentered the water, but to do this he had to swim against thecurrent and he soon found that he hadn't the strength to do this. Then he turned and headed for a point down the Big River. This made the swimming easier, for the current helped himinstead of hindering him. Even then he could feel his strength leaving him. Had he escapedthose hounds and the terrible hunters only to be drowned in theBig River? This new fear gave him more strength for a little while. But it did not last long. He was three fourths of the wayacross the Big River but still that other shore seemed a longdistance away. Little by little hope died in the heart ofLightfoot the Deer. He would keep on just as long as he could andthen, --well, it was better to drown than to be torn to piecesby dogs. Just as Lightfoot felt that he could not take another stroke andthat the end was at hand, one foot touched something. Then, allfour feet touched. A second later he had found solid footing andwas standing with the water only up to his knees. He had found alittle sand bar out in the Big River. With a little gasp ofreturning hope, Lightfoot waded along until the water began togrow deeper again. He had hoped that he would be able to wadeashore, but he saw now that he would have to swim again. So for a long time he remained right where he was. He was sotired that he trembled all over, and he was as frightened as hewas tired. He knew that standing out there in the water he couldbe seen for a long distance, and that made him nervous andfearful. Supposing a hunter on the shore he was trying to reachshould see him. Then he would have no chance at all, for thehunter would simply wait for him and shoot him as he came out ofthe water. But rest he must, and so he stood for a long time on the littlesand bar in the Big River. And little by little he felt hisstrength returning. CHAPTER XXIII: Lightfoot Finds A Friend As Lightfoot rested, trying to recover his breath, out there onthe little sand bar in the Big River, his great, soft, beautifuleyes watched first one bank and then the other. On the bank hehad left, he could see two black-and-white specks moving about, and across the water came the barking of dogs. Those two speckswere the hounds who had driven him into the Big River. They werebarking now, instead of baying. Presently a brown form joined theblack-and-white specks. It was a hunter drawn there by thebarking of the dogs. He was too far away to be dangerous, but themere sight of him filled Lightfoot with terror again. He watchedthe hunter walk along the bank and disappear in the bushes. Presently out of the bushes came a boat, and in it was thehunter. He headed straight towards Lightfoot, and then Lightfootknew that his brief rest was at an end. He must once more swim orbe shot by the hunter in the boat. So Lightfoot again struck outfor the shore. His rest had given him new strength, but still hewas very, very tired and swimming was hard work. Slowly, oh so slowly, he drew nearer to the bank. What newdangers might be waiting there, he did not know. He had neverbeen on that side of the Big River. He knew nothing of thecountry on that side. But the uncertainty was better than thecertainty behind him. He could hear the sound of the oars as thehunter in the boat did his best to get to him before he shouldreach the shore. On Lightfoot struggled. At last he felt bottom beneath hisfeet. He staggered up through some bushes along the bank and thenfor an instant it seemed to him his heart stopped beating. Rightin front of him stood a man. He had come out into the back yardof the home of that man. It is doubtful which was the moresurprised, Lightfoot or the man. Right then and there Lightfootgave up in despair. He couldn't run. It was all he could do towalk. The long chase by the hounds on the other side of the BigRiver and the long swim across the Big River had taken all hisstrength. Not a spark of hope remained to Lightfoot. He simply stood stilland trembled, partly with fear and partly with weariness. Then asurprising thing happened. The man spoke softly. He advanced, notthreateningly but slowly, and in a friendly way. He walked aroundback of Lightfoot and then straight towards him. Lightfoot walkedon a few steps, and the man followed, still talking softly. Little by little he urged Lightfoot on, driving him towards anopen shed in which was a pile of hay. Without understanding just how, Lightfoot knew that he had found a friend. So he enteredthe open shed and with a long sigh lay down in the soft hay. CHAPTER XXIV: The Hunter Is Disappointed How he knew he was safe, Lightfoot the Deer Couldn't have told you. He just knew it, that was all. He couldn't understand a wordsaid by the man in whose yard he found himself when he climbedthe bank after his long swim across the Big River. But he didn'thave to understand words to know that he had found a friend. So he allowed the man to drive him gently over to an open shed wherethere was a pile of soft hay and there he lay down, so tired thatit seemed to him he couldn't move another step. It was only a few minutes later that the hunter who had followedLightfoot across the River reached the bank and scrambled out ofhis boat. Lightfoot's friend was waiting just at the top of thebank. Of course the hunter saw him at once. "Hello, Friend!" cried the hunter. "Did you see a Deer pass thisway a few minutes ago? He swam across the river, and if I knowanything about it he's too tired to travel far now. I've beenhunting that fellow for several days, and if I have any luck atall I ought to get him this time. " "I'm afraid you won't have anyluck at all, " said Lightfoot's friend. "You see, I don't allowany hunting on my land. " The hunter looked surprised, and then his surprise gave way toanger. "You mean, " said he, "that you intend to get that Deeryourself. " Lightfoot's friend shook his head. "No, " said he, "I don't meananything of the kind. I mean that that Deer is not to be killedif I can prevent it, and while it is on my land, I think I can. The best thing for you to do, my friend, is to get into yourboat and row back where you came from. Are those your houndsbarking over there?" "No, " replied the hunter promptly. "I know the law just as wellas you do, and it is against the law to hunt Deer with dogs. I don't even know who owns those two hounds over there. " "That may be true, " replied Lightfoot's friend. "I don't doubtit is true. But you are willing to take advantage of the factthat the dogs of some one else have broken the law. You knewthat those dogs had driven that Deer into the Big River and youpromptly took advantage of the fact to try to reach that Deerbefore he could get across. You are not hunting for the pleasureof hunting but just to kill. You don't know the meaning ofjustice or fairness. Now get off my land. Get back into yourboat and off my land as quick as you can. That Deer is not veryfar from here and so tired that he cannot move. Just as long ashe will stay here, he will be safe, and I hope he will stay untilthis miserable hunting season is ended. Now go. " Muttering angrily, the hunter got back into his boat and pushedoff, but he didn't row back across the river. CHAPTER XXV: The Hunter Lies In Wait If ever there was an angry hunter, it was the one who hadfollowed Lightfoot the Deer across the Big River. When he wasordered to get off the land where Lightfoot had climbed out, hegot back into his boat, but he didn't row back to the other side. Instead, he rowed down the river, finally landing on thesame side but on land which Lightfoot's friend did not own. "When that Deer has become rested he'll become uneasy, " thoughtthe hunter. "He won't stay on that man's land. He'll start forthe nearest woods. I'll go up there and wait for him. I'll getthat Deer if only to spite that fellow back there who drove me off. Had it not been for him, I'd have that Deer right now. He wastoo tired to have gone far. He's got the handsomest pair ofantlers I've seen for years. I can sell that head of his for agood price. " So the hunter tied his boat to a tree and once more climbedout. He climbed up the bank and studied the land. Across a widemeadow he could see a brushy old pasture and back of that somethick woods. He grinned. "That's where that Deer will head for, " he decided. "There isn'tany other place for him to go. All I've got to do is be patientand wait. " So the hunter took his terrible gun and tramped across the meadowto the brush-grown pasture. There he hid among the bushes wherehe could peep out and watch the land of Lightfoot's friend. He was still angry because he had been prevented from shootingLightfoot. At the same time he chuckled, because he thoughthimself very smart. Lightfoot couldn't possibly reach the shelterof the woods without giving him a shot, and he hadn't the leastdoubt that Lightfoot would start for the woods just as soon as hefelt able to travel. So he made himself comfortable and preparedto wait the rest of the day, if necessary. Now Lightfoot's friend who had driven the hunter off had seen himrow down the river and he had guessed just what was in thathunter's mind. "We'll fool him, " said he, chuckling to himself, as he walked back towards the shed where poor Lightfoot wasresting. He did not go too near Lightfoot, for he did not want to alarm him. He just kept within sight of Lightfoot, paying no attentionto him but going about his work. You see, this man loved andunderstood the little people of the Green Forest and the GreenMeadows, and he knew that there was no surer way of winningLightfoot's confidence and trust than by appearing to take nonotice of him. Lightfoot, watching him, understood. He knew thatthis man was a friend and would do him no harm. Little by little, the wonderful, blessed feeling of safety crept over Lightfoot. No hunter could harm him here. CHAPTER XXVI: Lightfoot Does The Wise Thing All the rest of that day the hunter with the terrible gun layhidden in the bushes of the pasture where he could watch forLightfoot the Deer to leave the place of safety he had found. It required a lot of patience on the part of the hunter, but thehunter had plenty of patience. It sometimes seems as if huntershave more patience than any other people. But this hunter waited in vain. Jolly, round, red Mr. Sun sankdown in the west to his bed behind the Purple Hills. The BlackShadows crept out and grew blacker. One by one the stars began totwinkle. Still the hunter waited, and still there was no sign ofLightfoot. At last it became so dark that it was useless for thehunter to remain longer. Disappointed and once more becomingangry, he tramped back to the Big River, climbed into his boatand rowed across to the other side. Then he tramped home and histhoughts were very bitter. He knew that he could have shotLightfoot had it not been for the man who had protected theDeer. He even began to suspect that this man had himself killedLightfoot, for he had been sure that as soon as he had becomerested Lightfoot would start for the woods, and Lightfoot haddone nothing of the kind. In fact, the hunter had not had so muchas another glimpse of Lightfoot. The reason that the hunter had been so disappointed was thatLightfoot was smart. He was smart enough to understand that theman who was saving him from the hunter had done it because he wasa true friend. All the afternoon Lightfoot had rested on a bed ofsoft hay in an open shed and had watched this man going about hiswork and taking the utmost care to do nothing to frighten Lightfoot. "He not only will let no one else harm me, but he himself will notharm me, " thought Lightfoot. "As long as he is near, I am safe. I'll stay right around here until the hunting season is over, thenI'll swim back across the Big River to my home in the dear Green Forest. " So all afternoon Lightfoot rested and did not so much as put hisnose outside that open shed. That is why the hunter got no glimpseof him. When it became dark, so dark that he knew there was nolonger danger, Lightfoot got up and stepped out under the stars. He was feeling quite himself again. His splendid strength had returned. He bounded lightly across the meadow and up into the brushypasture where the hunter had been hidden. There and in the woodsback of the pasture he browsed, but at the first hint of the comingof another day, Lightfoot turned back, and when his friend, the farmer, came out early in the morning to milk the cows, there was Lightfootback in the open shed. The farmer smiled. "You are as wise as youare handsome, old fellow, " said he. CHAPTER XXVII: Sammy Jay Worries It isn't often Sammy Jay worries about anybody but himself. Truth to tell, he doesn't worry about himself very often. You see, Sammy is smart, and he knows he is smart. Under that pointed capof his are some of the cleverest wits in all the Green Forest. Sammy seldom worries about himself because he feels quite able totake care of himself. But Sammy Jay was worrying now. He was worrying about Lightfootthe Deer. Yes, Sir, Sammy Jay was worrying about Lightfoot theDeer. For two days he had been unable to find Lightfoot or anytrace of Lightfoot. But he did find plenty of hunters withterrible guns. It seemed to him that they were everywhere in theGreen Forest. Sammy began to suspect that one of them must havesucceeded in killing Lightfoot the Deer. Sammy knew all of Lightfoot's hiding-places. He visited every oneof them. Lightfoot wasn't to be found, and no one whom Sammy methad seen Lightfoot for two days. Sammy felt badly. You see, he was very fond of Lightfoot. You remember it was Sammy who warned Lightfoot of the coming ofthe hunter on the morning when the dreadful hunting season began. Ever since the hunting season had opened, Sammy had done hisbest to make trouble for the hunters. Whenever he had foundone of them he had screamed at the top of his voice to warn everyone within hearing just where that hunter was. Once a hunter hadlost his temper and shot at Sammy, but Sammy had suspected thatsomething of the kind might happen, and he had taken care to keepjust out of reach. Sammy had known all about the chasing ofLightfoot by the hounds. Everybody in the Green Forest had knownabout it. You see, everybody had heard the voices of thosehounds. Once, Lightfoot had passed right under the tree in whichSammy was sitting, and a few moments later the two hounds hadpassed with their noses to the ground as they followed Lightfoot's trail. That was the last Sammy had seen of Lightfoot. He had been able to saveLightfoot from the hunters, but he couldn't save him from the hounds. The more Sammy thought things over, the more he worried. "I amafraid those hounds drove him out where a hunter could get a shotand kill him, or else that they tired him out and killed himthemselves, " thought Sammy. "If he were alive, somebody certainlywould have seen him and nobody has, since the day those houndschased him. I declare, I have quite lost my appetite worryingabout him. If Lightfoot is dead, and I am almost sure he is, theGreen Forest will never seem the same. " CHAPTER XXVIII: The Hunting Season Ends The very worst things come to an end at last. No matter how bad athing is, it cannot last forever. So it was with the huntingseason for Lightfoot the Deer. There came a day when the lawprotected all Deer, --a day when the hunters could no longer gosearching for Lightfoot. Usually there was great rejoicing among the little people of theGreen Forest and the Green Meadows when the hunting season endedand they knew that Lightfoot would be in no more danger until thenext hunting season. But this year there was no rejoicing. Yousee, no one could find Lightfoot. The last seen of him was whenhe was running for his life with two hounds baying on his trailand the Green Forest filled with hunters watching for a chance toshoot him. Sammy Jay had hunted everywhere through the Green Forest. Blackythe Crow, whose eyes are quite as sharp as those of Sammy Jay, had joined in the search. They had found no trace of Lightfoot. Paddy the Beaver said that for three days Lightfoot had not visitedhis pond for a drink. Billy Mink, who travels up and down theLaughing Brook, had looked for Lightfoot's footprints in the softearth along the banks and had found only old ones. Jumper the Harehad visited Lightfoot's favorite eating places at night, butLightfoot had not been in any of them. "I tell you what it is, " said Sammy Jay to Bobby Coon, "somethinghas happened to Lightfoot. Either those hounds caught him andkilled him, or he was shot by one of those hunters. The GreenForest will never be the same without him. I don't think I shallwant to come over here very much. There isn't one of all theother people who live in the Green Forest who would be missed asLightfoot will be. " Bobby Coon nodded. "That's true, Sammy, " said he. "WithoutLightfoot, the Green Forest will never be the same. He neverharmed anybody. Why those hunters should have been so anxious tokill one so beautiful is something I can't understand. For thatmatter, I don't understand why they want to kill any of us. If they really needed us for food, it would be a different matter, but they don't. Have you been up in the Old Pasture and askedOld Man Coyote if he has seen anything of Lightfoot?" Sammy nodded. "I've been up there twice, " said he. "Old ManCoyote has been lying very low during the days, but nights he hasdone a lot of traveling. You know Old Man Coyote has a mightygood nose, but not once since the day those hounds chasedLightfoot has he found so much as a tiny whiff of Lightfoot'sscent. I thought he might have found the place where Lightfootwas killed, but he hasn't, although he has looked for it. Well, the hunting season for Lightfoot is over, but I am afraid it hasended too late. " CHAPTER XXIX: Mr. And Mrs. Quack Are Startled It was the evening of the day after the closing of the huntingseason for Lightfoot the Deer. Jolly, round, red Mr. Sun had goneto bed behind the Purple Hills, and the Black Shadows had creptout across the Big River. Mr. And Mrs. Quack were getting theirevening meal among the brown stalks of the wild rice along theedge of the Big River. They took turns in searching for the ricegrains in the mud. While Mrs. Quack tipped up and seemed to standon her head as she searched in the mud for rice, Mr. Quack keptwatch for possible danger. Then Mrs. Quack took her turn atkeeping watch, while Mr. Quack stood on his head and hunted forrice. It was wonderfully quiet and peaceful. There was not even aripple on the Big River. It was so quiet that they could hear thebarking of a dog at a farmhouse a mile away. They were far enoughout from the bank to have nothing to fear from Reddy Fox or OldMan Coyote. So they had nothing to fear from any one save Hootythe Owl. It was for Hooty that they took turns in watching. It was just the hour when Hooty likes best to hunt. By and by they heard Booty's hunting call. It was far away in theGreen Forest, Then Mr. And Mrs. Quack felt easier, and theytalked in low, contented voices. They felt that for a while atleast there was nothing to fear. Suddenly a little splash out in the Big River caught Mr. Quack'squick ear. As Mrs. Quack brought her head up out of the water, Mr. Quack warned her to keep quiet. Noiselessly they swam amongthe brown stalks until they could see out across the Big River. There was another little splash out there in the middle. Itwasn't the splash made by a fish; it was a splash made bysomething much bigger than any fish. Presently they made out asilver line moving towards them from the Black Shadows. They knewexactly what it meant. It meant that some one was out there inthe Big River moving towards them. Could it be a boat containinga hunter? With their necks stretched high, Mr. And Mrs. Quack watched. They were ready to take to their strong wings the instant theydiscovered danger. But they did not want to fly until they weresure that it WAS danger approaching. They were startled, verymuch startled. Presently they made out what looked like the branch of a treemoving over the water towards them. That was queer, veryqueer. Mr. Quack said so. Mrs. Quack said so. Both were growingmore and more suspicious. They couldn't understand it at all, andit is always best to be suspicious of things you cannotunderstand. Mr. And Mrs. Quack half lifted their wings to fly. CHAPTER XXX: The Mystery Is Solved It was very mysterious. Yes, Sir, it was very mysterious. Mr. Quack thought so. Mrs. Quack thought so. There, out in the BigRiver, in the midst of the Black Shadows, was something which lookedlike the branch of a tree. But instead of moving down the river, asthe branch of a tree would if it were floating, this was comingstraight across the river as if it were swimming. But how could thebranch of a tree swim? That was too much for Mr. Quack. It was toomuch for Mrs. Quack. So they sat perfectly still among the brown stalks of the wildrice along the edge of the Big River, and not for a second didthey take their eyes from that strange thing moving towardsthem. They were ready to spring into the air and trust to theirswift wings the instant they should detect danger. But they didnot want to fly unless they had to. Besides, they werecurious. They were very curious indeed. They wanted to find outwhat that mysterious thing moving through the water towards themwas. So Mr. And Mrs. Quack watched that thing that looked like aswimming branch draw nearer and nearer, and the nearer it drewthe more they were puzzled, and the more curious they felt. If ithad been the pond of Paddy the Beaver instead of the Big River, they would have thought it was Paddy swimming with a branch forhis winter food pile. But Paddy the Beaver was way back in hisown pond, deep in the Green Forest, and they knew it. So thisthing became more and more of a mystery. The nearer it came, themore nervous and anxious they grew, and at the same time thegreater became their curiosity. At last Mr. Quack felt that not even to gratify his curiositywould it be safe to wait longer. He prepared to spring into theair, knowing that Mrs. Quack would follow him. It was just thenthat a funny little sound reached him. It was half snort, halfcough, as if some one had sniffed some water up his nose. Therewas something familiar about that sound. Mr. Quack decided towait a few minutes longer. "I'll wait, " thought Mr. Quack, "until that thing, whatever itis, comes out of those Black Shadows into the moonlight. Somehow I have a feeling that we are in no danger. " So Mr. And Mrs. Quack waited and watched. In a few minutes thething that looked like the branch of a tree came out of the BlackShadows into the moonlight, and then the mystery was solved. It was a mystery no longer. They saw that they had mistaken theantlers of Lightfoot the Deer for the branch of a tree. Lightfootwas swimming across the Big River on his way back to his home inthe Green Forest. At once Mr. And Mrs. Quack swam out to meet himand to tell him how glad they were that he was alive and safe. CHAPTER XXXI: A Surprising Discovery Probably there was no happier Thanksgiving in all the Great Worldthan the Thanksgiving of Lightfoot the Deer, when the dreadfulhunting season ended and he was once more back in his belovedGreen Forest with nothing to fear. All his neighbors called onhim to tell him how glad they were that he had escaped and howthe Green Forest would not have been the same if he had notreturned. So Lightfoot roamed about without fear and washappy. It seemed to him that he could not be happier. There wasplenty to eat and that blessed feeling of nothing to fear. What more could any one ask? He began to grow sleek and fat andhandsomer than ever. The days were growing colder and the frostyair made him feel good. Just at dusk one evening he went down to his favorite drinkingplace at the Laughing Brook. As he put down his head to drink hesaw something which so surprised him that he quite forgot he wasthirsty. What do you think it was he saw? It was a footprint inthe soft mud. Yes, Sir, it was a footprint. For a long time Lightfoot stood staring at that footprint. In hisgreat, soft eyes was a look of wonder and surprise. You see, thatfootprint was exactly like one of his own, only smaller. To Lightfoot it was a very wonderful footprint. He was quite surethat never had he seen such a dainty footprint. He forgot to drink. Instead, he began to search for other footprints, and presentlyhe found them. Each was as dainty as that first one. Who could have made them? That is what Lightfoot wanted to knowand what he meant to find out. It was clear to him that there wasa stranger in the Green Forest, and somehow he didn't resent itin the least. In fact, he was glad. He couldn't have told why, but it was true. Lightfoot put his nose to the footprints and sniffed of them. Even had he not known by looking at those prints that theyhad been made by a stranger, his nose would have told him this. A great longing to find the maker of those footprints tookpossession of him. He lifted his handsome head and listened forsome slight sound which might show that the stranger was near. With his delicate nostrils he tested the wandering little NightBreezes for a stray whiff of scent to tell him which way to go. But there was no sound and the wandering little Night Breezes toldhim nothing. Lightfoot followed the dainty footprints up the bank. There they disappeared, for the ground was hard. Lightfoot paused, undecided which way to go. CHAPTER XXXII: Lightfoot Sees The Stranger Lightfoot the Deer was unhappy. It was a strange unhappiness, an unhappiness such as he had never known before. You see, he haddiscovered that there was a stranger in the Green Forest, astranger of his own kind, another Deer. He knew it by daintyfootprints in the mud along the Laughing Brook and on the edge ofthe pond of Paddy the Beaver. He knew it by other signs which heran across every now and then. But search as he would, he wasunable to find that newcomer. He had searched everywhere butalways he was just too late. The stranger had been and gone. Now there was no anger in Lightfoot's desire to find thatstranger. Instead, there was a great longing. For the first timein his life Lightfoot felt lonely. So he hunted and hunted andwas unhappy. He lost his appetite. He slept little. He roamedabout uneasily, looking, listening, testing every Merry LittleBreeze, but all in vain. Then, one never-to-be-forgotten night, as he drank at theLaughing Brook, a strange feeling swept over him. It was thefeeling of being watched. Lightfoot lifted his beautiful head anda slight movement caught his quick eye and drew it to a thicketnot far away. The silvery light of gentle Mistress Moon fell fullon that thicket, and thrust out from it was the most beautifulhead in all the Great World. At least, that is the way it seemedto Lightfoot, though to tell the truth it was not as beautiful ashis own, for it was uncrowned by antlers. For a long minuteLightfoot stood gazing. A pair of wonderful, great, soft eyesgazed back at him. Then that beautiful head disappeared. With a mighty bound, Lightfoot cleared the Laughing Brook andrushed over to the thicket in which that beautiful head haddisappeared. He plunged in, but there was no one there. Frantically he searched, but that thicket was empty. Then hestood still and listened. Not a sound reached him. It was asstill as if there were no other living things in all the GreenForest. The beautiful stranger had slipped away as silently asa shadow. All the rest of that night Lightfoot searched through the GreenForest but his search was in vain. The longing to find thatbeautiful stranger had become so great that he fairly ached with it. It seemed to him that until he found her he could know no happiness. CHAPTER XXXIII: A Different Game Of Hide And Seek Once more Lightfoot the Deer was playing hide and seek in theGreen Forest. But it was a very different game from the one hehad played just a short time before. You remember that then ithad been for his life that he had played, and he was the one whohad done all the hiding. Now, he was "it", and some one else wasdoing the hiding. Instead of the dreadful fear which had filledhim in that other game, he was now filled with longing, --longingto find and make friends with the beautiful stranger ofwhom he had just once caught a glimpse, but of whom every day hefound tracks. At times Lightfoot would lose his temper. Yes, Sir, Lightfootwould lose his temper. That was a foolish thing to do, but itseemed to him that he just couldn't help it. He would stamp hisfeet angrily and thrash the bushes with his great spreadingantlers as if they were an enemy with whom he was fighting. More than once when he did this a pair of great, soft, gentle eyeswere watching him, though he didn't know it. If he could haveseen them and the look of admiration in them, he would have beenmore eager than ever to find that beautiful stranger. At other times Lightfoot would steal about through the GreenForest as noiselessly as a shadow. He would peer into thicketsand behind tangles of fallen trees and brush piles, hoping tosurprise the one he sought. He would be very, very patient. Perhaps he would come to the thicket which he knew fromthe signs the stranger had left only a few moments before. Then his patience would vanish in impatience, and he would dash ahead, eager to catch up with the shy stranger. But always it was in vain. He had thought himself very clever but this stranger was provingherself more clever. Of course it wasn't long before all the little people in theGreen Forest knew what was going on. They knew all about thatgame of hide and seek just as they had known all about that othergame of hide and seek with the hunters. But now, instead oftrying to help Lightfoot as they did then, they gave him no helpat all. The fact is, they were enjoying that game. MischievousSammy Jay even went so far as to warn the stranger several timeswhen Lightfoot was approaching. Of course Lightfoot knew whenSammy did this, and each time he lost his temper. For the timebeing, he quite forgot all that Sammy had done for him when hewas the one that was being hunted. Once Lightfoot almost ran smack into Buster Bear and was soprovoked by his own carelessness that instead of bounding away heactually threatened to fight Buster. But when Buster grinnedgood-naturedly at him, Lightfoot thought better of it and boundedaway to continue his search. Then there were times when Lightfoot would sulk and would declareover and over to himself, "I don't care anything about thatstranger. I won't spend another minute looking for her. " And thenwithin five minutes he would be watching, listening and seekingsome sign that she was still in the Green Forest. CHAPTER XXXIV: A Startling New Footprint The game of hide and seek between Lightfoot the Deer and thebeautiful stranger whose dainty footprints had first startedLightfoot to seeking her had been going on for several days andnights when Lightfoot found something which gave him a shock. He had stolen very softly clown to the Laughing Brook, hoping tosurprise the beautiful stranger drinking there. She wasn't to beseen. Lightfoot wondered if she had been there, so looked in themud at the edge of the Laughing Brook to see if there were anyfresh prints of those dainty feet. Almost at once he discoveredfresh footprints. They were not the prints he was looking for. No, Sir, they were not the dainty prints he had learned toknow so well. They were prints very near the size of his own bigones, and they had been made only a short time before. The finding of those prints was a dreadful shock to Lightfoot. He understood instantly what they meant. They meant that a secondstranger had come into the Green Forest, one who had antlers likehis own. Jealousy took possession of Lightfoot the Deer; jealousythat filled his heart with rage. "He has come here to seek that beautiful stranger I have beenhunting for, " thought Lightfoot. "He has come here to try tosteal her away from me. He has no right here in my GreenForest. He belongs back up on the Great Mountain from which hemust have come, for there is no other place he could have comefrom. That is where that beautiful stranger must have come from, too. I want her to stay, but I must drive this fellow out. I'll make him fight. That's what I'll do; I'll make him fight!I'm not afraid of him, but I'll make him fear me. " Lightfoot stamped his feet and with his great antlers thrashedthe bushes as if he felt that they were the enemy he sought. Couldyou have looked into his great eyes then, you would have foundnothing soft and beautiful about them. They became almost red withanger. Lightfoot quivered all over with rage. The hair on the backof his neck stood up. Lightfoot the Deer looked anything but gentle. After he had vented his spite for a few minutes on the harmless, helpless bushes, he threw his head high in the air and whistledangrily. Then he leaped over the Laughing Brook and once morebegan to search through the Green Forest. But this time it wasnot for the beautiful stranger with the dainty feet. He had notime to think of her now. He must first find this newcomer and hemeant to waste no time in doing it. CHAPTER XXXV: Lightfoot Is Reckless In his search for the new stranger who had come to the GreenForest, Lightfoot the Deer was wholly reckless. He no longerstole like a gray shadow from thicket to thicket as he had donewhen searching for the beautiful stranger with the daintyfeet. He bounded along, careless of how much noise he made. From time to time he would stop to whistle a challenge and to clashhis horns against the trees and stamp the ground with his feet. After such exhibitions of anger he would pause to listen, hopingto hear some sound which would tell him where the stranger was. Now and then he found the stranger's tracks, and from themhe knew that this stranger was doing: just what he had beendoing, seeking to find the beautiful newcomer with the daintyfeet. Each time he found these signs Lightfoot's rage increased. Of course it didn't take Sammy Jay long to discover what wasgoing on. There is little that escapes those sharp eyes of SammyJay. As you know, he had early discovered the game of hide andseek Lightfoot had been playing with the beautiful young visitorwho had come down to the Green Forest from the Great Mountain. Then, by chance, Sammy had visited the Laughing Brook just as the bigstranger had come down there to drink. For once Sammy had kept histongue still. "There is going to be excitement here when Lightfootdiscovers this fellow, " thought Sammy. "If they ever meet, and I havea feeling that they will, there is going to be a fight worth seeing. I must pass the word around. " So Sammy Jay hunted up his cousin, Blacky the Crow, and told himwhat he had discovered. Then he hunted up Bobby Coon and told him. He saw Unc' Billy Possum sitting in the doorway of his hollowtree and told him. He discovered Jumper the Hare sittingunder a little hemlock-tree and told him. Then he flew over tothe dear Old Briar-patch to tell Peter Rabbit. Of course he toldDrummer the Woodpecker, Tommy Tit the Chickadee, and Yank Yankthe Nuthatch, who were over in the Old Orchard, and they at oncehurried to the Green Forest, for they couldn't think of missinganything so exciting as would be the meeting between Lightfootand the big stranger from the Great Mountain. Sammy didn't forget to tell Paddy the Beaver, but it was no newsto Paddy. Paddy had seen the big stranger on the edge of his pondearly the night before. Of course, Lightfoot knew nothing about all this. His one thoughtwas to find that big stranger and drive him from the Green Forest, and so he continued his search tirelessly. CHAPTER XXXVI: Sammy Jay Takes A Hand Sammy Jay was bubbling over with excitement as he flew about throughthe Green Forest, following Lightfoot the Deer. He was so excitedhe wanted to scream. But he didn't. He kept his tongue still. You see, he didn't want Lightfoot to know that he was being followed. Under that pointed cap of Sammy Jay's are quick wits. It didn'ttake him long to discover that the big stranger whom Lightfootwas seeking was doing his best to keep out of Lightfoot's way andthat he was having no difficulty in doing so because of the recklessway in which Lightfoot was searching for him. Lightfoot made somuch noise that it was quite easy to know just where he was andso keep out of his sight. "That stranger is nearly as big as Lightfoot, but it is veryplain that he doesn't want to fight, " thought Sammy. "He must bea coward. " Now the truth is, the stranger was not a coward. He was ready andwilling to fight if he had to, but if he could avoid fighting hemeant to. You see, big as he was, he wasn't quite so big asLightfoot, and he knew it. He had seen Lightfoot's bigfootprints, and from their size he knew that Lightfoot must bebigger and heavier than he. Then, too, he knew that he reallyhad no right to be there in the Green Forest. That wasLightfoot's home and so he was an intruder. He knew thatLightfoot would feel this way about it and that this would makehim fight all the harder. So the big stranger wanted to avoid afight if possible. But he wanted still more to find thatbeautiful young visitor with the dainty feet for whom Lightfoothad been looking. He wanted to find her just as Lightfoot wantedto find her, and he hoped that if he did find her, he could takeher away with him back to the Great Mountain. If he had to, hewould fight for her, but until he had to he would keep out of thefight. So he dodged Lightfoot and at the same time looked for thebeautiful stranger. All this Sammy Jay guessed, and after a while he grew tired offollowing Lightfoot for nothing. "I'll have to take a hand inthis thing myself, " muttered Sammy. "At this rate, Lightfootnever will find that big stranger!" So Sammy stopped following Lightfoot and began to search throughthe Green Forest for the big stranger. It didn't take very longto find him. He was over near the pond of Paddy the Beaver. As soon as he saw him, Sammy began to scream at the top of hislungs. At once he heard the sound of snapping twigs at the top ofa little ridge back of Paddy's pond and knew that Lightfoot hadheard and understood. CHAPTER XXXVII: The Great Fight Down from the top of the ridge back of the pond of Paddy theBeaver plunged Lightfoot the Deer, his eyes blazing with rage. He had understood the screaming of Sammy Jay. He knew that somewheredown there was the big stranger he had been looking for. The big stranger had understood Sammy's screaming quite as wellas Lightfoot. He knew that to run away now would be to provehimself a coward and forever disgrace himself in the eyes of MissDaintyfoot, for that was the name of the beautiful stranger hehad been seeking. He MUST fight. There was no way out of it, heMUST fight. The hair on the back of his neck stood up with angerjust as did the hair on the neck of Lightfoot. His eyes alsoblazed. He bounded out into a little open place by the pond ofPaddy the Beaver and there he waited. Meanwhile Sammy Jay was flying about in the greatest excitement, screaming at the top of his lungs, "A fight! A fight! A fight!"Blacky the Crow, over in another part of the Green Forest, heardhim and took up the cry and at once hurried over to Paddy's pond. Everybody who was near enough hurried there. Bobby Coon andUnc' Billy Possum climbed trees from which they could see and atthe same time be safe. Billy Mink hurried to a safe place on thedam of Paddy the Beaver. Paddy himself climbed up on the roof ofhis house out in the pond. Peter Rabbit and Jumper the Hare, whohappened to be not far away, hurried over where they could peepout from under some young hemlock-trees. Buster Bear shuffleddown the hill and watched from the other side of the pond. Reddy and Granny Fox were both there. For what seemed like the longest time, but which was for only aminute, Lightfoot and the big stranger stood still, glaring ateach other. Then, snorting with rage, they lowered their headsand plunged together. Their antlers clashed with a noise thatrang through the Green Forest, and both fell to their knees. There they pushed and struggled. Then they separated and backedaway, to repeat the movement over again. It was a terrible fight. Everybody said so. If they had not known before, everybodyknew now what those great antlers were for. Once the big strangermanaged to reach Lightfoot's right shoulder with one of the sharppoints of his antlers and made a long tear in Lightfoot's graycoat. It only made Lightfoot fight harder. Sometimes they would rear up and strike with their sharphoofs. Back and forth they plunged, and the ground was torn up bytheir feet. Both were getting out of breath, and from time totime they had to stop for a moment's rest. Then they would cometogether again more fiercely than ever. Never had such a fightbeen seen in the Green Forest. CHAPTER XXXVIII: An Unseen Watcher As Lightfoot the Deer and the big stranger from the GreatMountain fought in the little opening near the pond of Paddy theBeaver, neither knew or cared who saw them. Each was filled fullywith rage and determined to drive the other from the Green Forest. Each was fighting for the right to win the love of Miss Daintyfoot. Neither of them knew that Miss Daintyfoot herself was watchingthem. But she was. She had heard the clash of their great antlersas they had come together the first time, and she had knownexactly what it meant. Timidly she had stolen forward to athicket where, safely hidden, she could watch that terriblefight. She knew that they were fighting for her. Of course. She knew it just as she had known how both had been hunting for her. What she didn't know for some time was which one she wanted to winthat fight. Both Lightfoot and the big stranger were handsome. Yes, indeed, they were very handsome. Lightfoot was just a little bit thebigger and it seemed to her just a little bit the handsomer. She almost wanted him to win. Then, when she saw how bravely thebig stranger was fighting and how well he was holding his own, eventhough he was a little smaller than Lightfoot, she almost hopedhe would win. That great fight lasted a long time. To pretty Miss Daintyfootit seemed that it never would end. But after a while Lightfoot'sgreater size and strength began to tell. Little by little the bigstranger was forced back towards the edge of the open place. Now he would be thrown to his knees when Lightfoot wasn't. As Lightfoot saw this, he seemed to gain new strength. At lasthe caught the stranger in such a way that he threw him over. While the stranger struggled to get to his feet again, Lightfoot'ssharp antlers made long tears in his gray coat. The stranger wasbeaten and he knew it. The instant he succeeded in getting to hisfeet he turned tail and plunged for the shelter of the GreenForest. With a snort of triumph, Lightfoot plunged after him. But now that he was beaten, fear took possession of thestranger. All desire to fight left him. His one thought was toget away, and fear gave him speed. Straight back towards theGreat Mountain from which he had come the stranger headed. Lightfoot followed only a short distance. He knew thatthat stranger was going for good and would not come back. Then Lightfoot turned back to the open place where they hadfought. There he threw up his beautiful head, crowned by itsgreat antlers, and whistled a challenge to all the Green Forest. As she looked at him, Miss Daintyfoot knew that she hadwanted him to win. She knew that there simply couldn't be anybodyelse so handsome and strong and brave in all the Great World. CHAPTER XXXIX: Lightfoot Discovers Love Wonderfully handsome was Lightfoot the Deer as he stood in thelittle opening by the pond of Paddy the Beaver, his head thrownback proudly, as he received the congratulations of his neighborsof the Green Forest who had seen him win the great fight withthe big stranger who had come down from the Great Mountain. To beautiful Miss Daintyfoot, peeping out from the thicket whereshe had hidden to watch the great fight, Lightfoot was the mostwonderful person in all the Great World. She adored him, whichmeans that she loved him just as much as it was possible for herto love. But Lightfoot didn't know this. In fact, he didn't know that MissDaintyfoot was there. His one thought had been to drive out ofthe Green Forest the big stranger who had come down from theGreat Mountain. He had been jealous of that big stranger, though he hadn't known that he was jealous. The real cause of hisanger and desire to fight had been the fear that the big strangerwould find Miss Daintyfoot and take her away. Of course this wasnothing but jealousy. Now that the great fight was over, and he knew that the bigstranger was hurrying back to the Great Mountain, all Lightfoot'sanger melted away. In its place was a great longing to find MissDaintyfoot. His great eyes became once more soft and beautiful. In them was a look of wistfulness. Lightfoot walked down to the edgeof the water and drank, for he was very, very thirsty. Then heturned, intending to take up once more his search for beautiful MissDaintyfoot. When he turned he faced the thicket in which Miss Daintyfoot washiding. His keen eyes caught a little movement of the branches. Abeautiful head was slowly thrust out, and Lightfoot gazed againinto a pair of soft eyes which he was sure were the mostbeautiful eyes in all the Great World. He wondered if she woulddisappear and run away as she had the last time he saw her. He took a step or two forward. The beautiful head waswithdrawn. Lightfoot's heart sank. Then he bounded forward intothat thicket. He more than half expected to find no one there, but when he entered that thicket he received the most wonderfulsurprise in all his life. There stood Miss Daintyfoot, timid, bashful, but with a look in her eyes which Lightfoot could notmistake. In that instant Light-foot understood the meaning ofthat longing which had kept him hunting for her and of the ragewhich had filled him when he had discovered the presence of thebig stranger from the Great Mountain. It was love. Lightfoot knewthat he loved Miss Daintyfoot and, looking into her soft, gentleeyes, he knew that Miss Daintyfoot loved him. CHAPTER XL: Happy Days In The Green Forest These were happy days in the Green Forest. At least, they werehappy for Lightfoot the Deer. They were the happiest days he hadever known. You see, he had won beautiful, slender, young MissDaintyfoot, and now she was no longer Miss Daintyfoot butMrs. Lightfoot. Lightfoot was sure that there was no one anywhereso beautiful as she, and Mrs. Lightfoot knew that there was noone so handsome and brave as he. Wherever Lightfoot went, Mrs. Lightfoot went. He showed her allhis favorite hiding-places. He led her to his favoriteeating-places. She did not tell him that she was alreadyacquainted with every one of them, that she knew the Green Forestquite as well as he did. If he had stopped to think how day afterday she had managed to keep out of his sight while he hunted forher, he would have realized that there was little he could showher which she did not already know. But he didn't stop to thinkand proudly led her from place to place. And Mrs. Lightfoot wiselyexpressed delight with all she saw quite as if it were all new. Of course, all the little people of the Green Forest hurried topay their respects to Mrs. Lightfoot and to tell Lightfoot howglad they felt for him. And they really did feel glad. You see, they all loved Lightfoot and they knew that now he would behappier than ever, and that there would be no danger of hisleaving the Green Forest because of loneliness. The Green Forestwould not be the same at all without Lightfoot the Deer. Lightfoot told Mrs. Lightfoot all about the terrible days of thehunting season and how glad he was that she had not been in theGreen Forest then. He told her how the hunters with terrible gunshad given him no rest and how he had had to swim the Big River toget away from the hounds. "I know, " replied Mrs. Lightfoot softly. "I know all aboutit. You see, there were hunters on the Great Mountain. In fact, that is how I happened to come down to the Green Forest. Theyhunted me so up there that I did not dare stay, and I came downhere thinking that there might be fewer hunters. I wouldn't havebelieved that I could ever be thankful to hunters for anything, but I am, truly I am. " There was a puzzled look on Lightfoot's face. "What for?" hedemanded. "I can't imagine anybody being thankful to hunters foranything. " "Oh, you stupid, " cried Mrs. Lightfoot. "Don't you see that if Ihadn't been driven down from the Great Mountain, I never wouldhave found YOU?" "You mean, I never would have found YOU, " retorted Lightfoot. "I guess I owe these hunters more than you do. I owe them thegreatest happiness I have ever known, but I never would havethought of it myself. Isn't it queer how things which seem thevery worst possible sometimes turn out to be the very bestpossible?" Blacky the Crow is one of Lightfoot's friends, but sometimes evenfriends are envious. It is so with Blacky. He insists that he isquite as important in the Green Forest as is Lightfoot and thathis doings are quite as interesting. Therefore just to please himthe next book is to be Blacky the Crow.