Disclaimer: "The Fox and the Hound" is property of Daniel P. Mannix and Walt Disney Company, not mine...unfortunately.
Forever Young: Tod would be the one to give girl advice, considering he's got a wife and all, lol! Keep reading!
The Next Political Dynasty: It gets more interesting in this chappie! Keep reading!
Anonymous but Interested: Don't worry, Buster's putdown will be more than probably all of you expect! Not gonna give the ending away, but be prepared for it! Keep reading!
The Fox and the Hound 2: Friends in Need
Chapter Eleven: A Spat with the Cat
It was the next morning, the third day of the hunt. All was quiet as the high noon sun peeked down from the sky. Calvin was with his dogs near a creek bed, quietly walking through the trees as he followed the trusty hounds. Buster had his eyes peeled for any sign of movement, and Belle had her nose to the ground to pick up the trails of any nearby game animals.
As far as Buster was concerned, there wasn't any wildlife in this area. But Belle was starting to pick up a very interesting scent. She had never smelt it before, but when the trail led her to a large pawprint she immediately realized what it was. The Blue-Tick stopped dead to stare in amazement at what she had just found. Buster turned his head to look her.
"What is it?" he whispered roughly.
"I–I think I just found the devil cat's prints," she whispered to the Rhodesian, just as their Master was making his way over to them.
"Good job, girl, looks like that mountain lion is around here," Calvin muttered, getting his gun ready to fire at will. "Buster, go on ahead and see if you see anything."
Hearing his name, Buster did what he automatically thought he was to do. He went on ahead, keeping his eyes open and his body ready to spring in case the devil cat decided to pounce upon them. Belle lingered behind, sniffing the ground every once in a while to make sure they were on the right track. She didn't like the idea of going after the large predator, but her Master seemed intent on killing it. Hopefully none of them got killed in the process.
Buster kept on walking until he thought he heard something to the west of him. He tensed his muscles up in case he would have to attack something, and started growling. Calvin stopped where he was, along with Belle, and positioned himself to shoot just in case.
Then like a flash of lightening, a very large mountain lion sprang from the shrub, letting out a high-pitched yowl. Buster jumped at the cat and the two of them began a spinning fight of the teeth and claws. The Rhodesian was not afraid of this so-called "devil cat"—his ancestors had been African hunting dogs used to track down King of the Beasts–the lion–therefore giving them the name "African Lion Hound". And an American mountain lion was nowhere near as big as a maned lion!
Belle nearly had a fit when the devil cat came forth, barking and howling up a storm. Calvin tried to aim the gun right at the cat's heart, but the two fighting animals were moving so fast that he was unable to. He fired once, but he missed completely, the bullet slamming into a nearby boulder. Eventually, the golden-haired cat retreated from the dog and ran off far into the forest—leaving behind good distance in due time.
"Dadgum, we almost had him too!" Calvin sputtered, upset that he had lost his trophy. Buster looked exhausted after his wrestle with the cat, but he still had his dignified expression on his face. Belle's heart was beating ninety miles an hour after the extreme shock of it all.
Buster heard something else approaching in the bushes, and started growling again. Calvin, unsure as to what it was, hoisted his gun up again ready to shoot. However, it was only his brother and his dogs, arriving to see what all the ruckus was about. Buster sulked off by himself, wanting to stay as far away from them as possible.
"Calvin, what on earth went on up here?" Amos asked him. "I thought I heard some fighting."
"You did. That mountain lion sprang up on us and attacked Buster there," Calvin told him, pointing to the Rhodesian, although he knew that his dog was the one who had started the fight in the first place. "I shot at him but he ran off before I could."
"That lion was here?" his brother inquired, eyes bugged out of his head. "I'll be doggone..."
"You believe me now, huh? Well, mark my words, I'm going to get that son of a gun. No wild animal is going to attack my dog and get away with it."
"No hold up a minute, Calvin," Amos interrupted him. "I should have told you this before, but that was when I didn't think there was a lion up here. You may not know this, but shooting and killing a mountain lion is illegal. They're endangered, and protected by the government."
"Listen, brother. I don't care what the government says," Calvin snapped. "That animal is a pest and a nuisance. We can't have a dog-attacking predator running around. It might go after a baby for all we know. Somebody has to stop it."
"What are they talking about?" Copper asked Belle, who had come up to join the other two dogs.
"That devil cat showed up," she informed them. "Buster jumped him and started a fight with it, and the Master tried killing it but it got away."
"He'd better be glad it got away," Chief remarked. "Those are illegal to kill."
"They are?" the two young hounds asked. Copper replied, "Does your Master know that?"
"How am I supposed to know? All I know is that he seemed awful excited when we picked up its trail, and before I know what's going on, he's trying to kill it."
"Well, hopefully it ran off a long way," Copper said. He was relieved to hear it escaped and ran for the dickens. In one sense, he was glad it was away from where he was sleeping at. In another sense, he was awful glad that perhaps now it wouldn't have the chance to bother Tod and his family. "I don't think we have to worry about it anymore."
"I hope you're right," Belle commented, before hearing her Master whistle sharply for her to come. "Bye, guys," she said, bounding off after Calvin and Buster, who was still acting sulky over not killing the lion.
Copper stared as she ran off, and Chief gave him a grin. "She seems like a nice girl."
"Yeah...," he responded, not really paying attention.
"That Calvin," Amos muttered, shaking his head. "Well, can't say I didn't warn him. If he wants to land in jail, so be it. Come on, boys, we got more work to do."
Copper didn't seem to have heard him, for he was still watching Belle as she left with her "family". Chief couldn't help but think how humorous this all was, but he couldn't just leave Copper standing there all day staring into the night, so he said,
"Hey, lover-boy. Snap out of it, you're going to freeze in that position if you stand there long enough."
The young dog shook his head. "Huh?" Then a little embarrassedly, "Oh, uh, yeah, let's go."
Wow, Buster attacks the cat, Calvin blames the cat for everything and wants to kill it more than ever, and Belle and Copper are too cute!!! Sigh, I'm such a sucker for doggy romance, hee hee. Will the devil cat return? Will anything bad happen in the future? Will Copper get the girl? Will Tod's family be safe? Gotta keep reading to find out! And please review!