by Colin Dann
Excited as Dash was by her discovery, it didn’t take her long to retrace her journey over the downland to the track leading to home. Here, her head full of the important news, she was not as alert to human activity as she should have been. As she approached the Park gate the Warden’s Range Rover swung into the drive and Dash barely managed to skip aside to avoid it. The Warden himself and the other men who had been engaged in the roundup were aboard. Dash shot through the open gate and didn’t stop running until she was well clear of the area. The gate was closed on the intrepid brown hare and she was safe once more within the boundaries of the Reserve. The Range Rover then continued its journey to the walled park in which the van, with its complement of animals, was now confined.
Dash hardly paused to draw breath before she plunged on to warn her friends. Fox and Vixen had returned to their home area, where Badger, Friendly and Leveret had joined them to learn the latest tidings. Even as Fox was describing Dash’s courageous venture, the young hare tumbled into their midst, tired, excited and brimful of pride.
‘Did – did you succeed?’ Fox gasped, hardly able to believe his eyes.
‘I did. And in every respect,’ Dash answered a little boastfully. ‘I followed the men the whole way and I’ve seen the place where all the creatures have been taken. It’s like a – like a – well, another park, actually. I don’t understand what this is all about. Are the animals to be released there? And if so, why was it necessary to remove them from here in the first place? There seems so little difference between the two.’ She looked all around for a reaction but none of the others seemed to have any suggestions to offer. They looked, each one of them, completely nonplussed. Then suddenly they all started talking at once, demanding to know exactly what this second ‘park’ was like. Dash described what she had seen as best she could. Then she ended by saying,’ ‘There’s one big difference from White Deer Park I should have told you about.’
‘What’s that?’ Fox barked eagerly.
‘There’s no mere fence around the other place like there is here,’ she answered importantly. ‘It has a much more forbidding barrier – higher and stronger-looking. I can’t imagine any creature could make a bid for freedom through that.’
‘Not through it, Dash, naturally,’ Leveret said. ‘But why not over it, perhaps?’
‘Far too high, Father,’ said Dash categorically.
‘Then maybe under it?’
Dash pondered. ‘I don’t think so,’ she said slowly. ‘It looks far too solid and there’s no kind of gap anywhere like you see in places in the fence here.’
‘It’s banishment then,’ Friendly summed up, ‘for all those poor unfortunate beasts, even if they are released into the open. They’re entirely in human hands.’ He had voiced all their thoughts.
Fox looked fierce. ‘We can’t let this happen to Weasel,’ he vowed. ‘Or Plucky.’ He looked all around. ‘We’re not going to let the humans tamper with our friends’ lives like this, are we?’
‘Of course not. We must help them,’ Friendly responded resolutely.
‘I’m always ready,’ Badger began quaveringly, ‘er – to do anything within my power.’
The others knew that power was severely limited. Badger’s campaigning days were thought to be long over. ‘My dear old friend,’ Fox said warmly, ‘your help and advice would be of the utmost value. What do you propose?’
‘Propose? Why – to rescue them, of course. Rescue them. What else have we ever done when our friends have been in danger? Remember the Oath we all swore!’ His old voice shook. ‘That’s what binds us together; whether in Farthing Wood or White Deer Park. The Oath of Mutual Protection means just that. There’s no time to waste on this, we must act,’ he finished rousingly.
‘Dear Badger,’ Vixen whispered.
‘There must be a rescue party,’ Badger went on. ‘Fox, you’re the organizer. You must arrange it. But you can count on me.’
‘I know I can,’ Fox said. But he looked sad. The idea of the aged animal accompanying such a party was out of the question. He sniffed at his old friend’s grizzly fur and wagged his tail affectionately. ‘You know, you’ll be of most use here,’ Fox told him. ‘We need someone to keep tabs on those rats and there’s simply no creature better qualified to take charge of that.’
‘As you wish,’ Badger replied. He was not too displeased with his appointment.
‘So – to the rescue group,’ Fox continued. ‘Vixen and myself and Friendly will all go. Dash, you of course will be our guide. But we need, I think, a couple of good diggers. Would Mossy go?’
‘Much too far for him to travel,’ Dash answered at once. ‘One of the rabbits would be a better bet. They can all run well enough.’
‘No – no rabbits,’ Fox said firmly. ‘They’re too unreliable.’ He had never forgotten the panicky rabbits from Farthing Wood who had nearly cost him his life when crossing a river. ‘Who else can dig?’
‘Hedgehogs?’ Friendly ventured.
‘No, too slow across ground again,’ Dash ruled.
‘We’ll have to discard the idea of digging then,’ said Fox. ‘What we really need is the help of the birds. One of us has to get inside the – er – compound to see the lie of the land and, more importantly, to locate the animals themselves. Whistler’s out of the question at present.’
‘That leaves Tawny Owl,’ Friendly summarized neatly.
The friends exchanged glances. Every one of them appeared doubtful on that point.
‘Will he co-operate?’ Leveret asked finally.
‘We can but ask,’ said Fox. ‘He’s a strange old bird. Holly seems to have taken him over, but if we appeal to his sense of loyalty, I think he’ll respond.’
‘Of course he’ll respond,’ Badger remarked. ‘When has he ever been found wanting?’
‘Badger, you always think the best of everyone,’ said Fox. ‘All credit to your stout old heart. But would Owl put himself out for Weasel’s sake?’
‘Hm. That could be a difficulty,’ Badger admitted. ‘They always struck sparks off each other. It needs a bit of diplomacy, this. I’ll undertake to win him over. We’re old companions and I think I know how to approach him.’
‘I think you do, too,’ Fox said wonderingly. ‘My, you almost seem back to your old self. I’ve never seen you so determined since – since – ’
‘Since the old days?’ Badger asked wryly with a twinkle in his eye. ‘I think perhaps you’re right, Fox. But you see, all I need is a sense of purpose.’
6
No Shortage of Rats
The friends were aware that the roundups were continuing. Animals in the Park talked of nothing else. There was widespread alarm. Fox racked his brains for a solution to the role of the Warden in all this. He simply couldn’t understand the involvement of the man who was, or at any rate had been, regarded as their protector. He began to wonder if there was some benign purpose behind the transfer of various unlucky creatures to that other enclosure. Was it to give them a new start in a new home, perhaps? But why would they need that? He was unable to reach a conclusion. Then he thought hard about the rescue plan. The Farthing Wood animals had to get Weasel and Plucky back to the fold. None of them could accept that they must live in separate places. And then, supposing other creatures wanted to return to White Deer Park? They had all been uprooted from their homes and must be keen to get back to them. Fox’s party would have to try and help them too. But how? How could they get them out?
Badger, true to his word, sought out Tawny Owl to induce him to be one of that party. He found him, in company with Holly, his mate, feeding from their night’s tally of rats. Badger was delighted to see that the owls were conscientiously playing their part in keeping the rats’ numbers down and he said as much.
‘Hunting’s never been easier,’ Tawny Owl told him. ‘One doesn’t have to look far for prey these days.’
‘The only danger is eating to excess,’ Holly remarked. ‘The temptation to do so is certainly there.’
Tawny Owl gulped down another mouthful. ‘We have to eradicate this rat problem,’ he said, as though justifying himself. Holly glanced at Badger with a look that said that in her view Owl was making full use of the situation. Badger ignored this and said, ‘Actually, your help is needed in another way.’
Tawny Owl ruffled his feathers and resettled them. ‘In what way?’ he asked in an uninterested tone.
Badger explained how Dash had discovered the walled enclosure and how only a bird could surmount that wall.
‘And that’s to be me, is it?’ Tawny Owl summed up. ‘Of course, it would be,’ he continued sarcastically, ‘Just one more occasion for old Owl to stick his neck out.’
‘There’d really be no risk attached to it,’ Badger persuaded him.
‘Oh no, of course not. Only that no-one knows exactly what’s behind this wall, I suppose, and I’m naturally to be the one to find out?’
‘Well, yes.’
‘So if there are groups of humans standing around shooting off guns, for instance, and then you don’t see me return, you’ll all know that this new area is one to be avoided, eh?’
‘Oh really, Owl! Is that likely?’ Badger exclaimed irritably. ‘Since when has the Warden gone around taking pot-shots at his charges?’
‘The Warden? What’s he to do with it?’ Owl asked more quietly.
‘We think he’s organizing the transfer of the animals who have been captured.’
‘Hm. That does put a different complexion on it, I imagine,’ the bird said, somewhat mollified.
‘Of course it does. And, I’m sure you’ll agree, we have to find out where Weasel is and get him back.’
‘Oh, so that’s it? I’m to go searching for Weasel, am I? Oh, that’s priceless, Badger. Me, of all creatures! The very bird he drove out of this Reserve with his taunts and gibes!’
‘Now, Owl, you know that’s an exaggeration and really, by now, the two of you should be reconciled.’
‘They are,’ Holly cut in. ‘Owl knows that he owes Weasel a debt in part for finding me.’
‘Of course, dear Holly, of course,’ Tawny Owl hooted hastily. ‘There were compensations.’
‘Compensations!’ cried Holly. ‘Is that how you see me? A compensation?’
Tawny Owl was tying himself up in knots. ‘I didn’t mean that,’ he floundered. ‘You mistake me. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.’ He didn’t sound all that convincing and he looked helplessly at Badger.
‘This is not achieving anything,’ the old animal complained. He decided to use a blunter approach and really put Tawny Owl on the spot. ‘Weasel needs your help. Are you prepared to give it?’
Tawny Owl could only give one answer to that. ‘Oh, of course,’ he muttered, ‘if you put it that way . . .’
‘Well?’
‘Naturally I’ll do all I can.’ Tawny Owl shifted his stance, glancing surreptitiously at Holly to gauge her reaction.
‘You told me there’d be no more adventuring,’ she reminded him curtly.
‘It’s not actually an adventure, you see, Holly,’ the old bird excused himself. ‘Is it, Badger?’
‘No. It’s a rescue,’ Badger explained. ‘And there is not only Weasel to think about. Plucky is still missing too.’
‘Well, he’ll have to go, whether he wishes to or not,’ Holly said. ‘I know all about your precious Oath.’
‘Good,’ Badger said with satisfaction. ‘Then it’s settled. There’s no-one as skilful or as accurate as Tawny Owl in the dark.’
Owl preened himself. ‘When do we go?’ he asked.
‘Soon. Fox will decide when the time is right. I myself won’t be one of the group, which I regret. However, there are things to be done here too.’
Badger’s words were prophetic. Under cover of night more rats were arriving in the Park and claiming it for their home. During daylight hours they kept out of sight, escaping human observation. So, amongst the animals being rounded up for transfer, were some of the very predators who could have kept the rats in check. The infiltrators were able to use this easy situation to colonize areas of the Park. They were free to establish their nests and runs near the stream and close to the Pond. They liked to be close to water, and Toad and the Edible Frogs watched the rats’ swelling numbers with the greatest alarm. Toad knew that at the very time when the hunters of the Reserve were needed more than ever, there were fewer of them around.
Of course the rats suffered losses, but their adaptability to all kinds of conditions, their purposefulness and cunning enabled them to recover from any setbacks. They ate anything that came their way: carrion, seeds, berries, fungi, small animals such as mice, insects and worms. They sometimes raided birds’ nests for eggs and fledglings. They were savage and eager killers, and many parent birds deserted their nests or saw them ravaged. The rats were excellent climbers and swimmers. There was not one area of the Park where they didn’t leave their mark. And with each day that passed, more of them arrived, having heard about the perfect refuge away from the molestation of Man and his traps and poisons.
The Farthing Wood animals did their level best to combat the threat, as did many another creature born and reared in the Reserve. Tawny Owl and Holly continued to pounce on the rats running at night over the leaf litter on the wood bottom. The foxes accounted for more. But Weasel, who was a fearsome ratter, was sorely missed, and the animals made no more than a small dent in the rats’ numbers. The invasion could not be held back.
The resident animals in the Park began to find that their usual food was becoming short. They could foresee that, if the present trend should continue, starvation might soon be staring them in the face.
‘We need to get the other predator animals back here to turn the tide,’ Badger insisted to Fox. ‘Why do you delay? The whole of the Park will be swamped!’
‘I’ve been waiting for a move from the Warden,’ Fox defended himself. ‘But it seems he’s no longer our protector. How can he be blind to what’s occurring here?’
‘We can’t wait for human intervention in this case,’ Badger told him. ‘The men are concentrating their attention on the new Reserve.’
Fox looked at Badger sharply. ‘What’s that you say? A new Reserve?’
‘Yes, yes, the other enclosure,’ Badger grunted. ‘What else can it be? Those animals that have been rounded up and caught must have been moved to build up a stock in a new Reserve. The Warden has turned his back on White Deer Park in favour of the new place. Dash told us it looked very similar. Perhaps the creatures we thought were unfortunate are the fortunate ones because they’ve been moved away from the menace of the rats.’
‘And us: we’re to be left in the lurch?’ Fox muttered bitterly. ‘It doesn’t make sense, Badger. This has always been a nature reserve. Why abandon it to an army of rats? And what about the deer? They’re the Warden’s prime responsibility.’
‘Will they be moved too, eventually?’ Badger whispered. He hardly dared give voice to his thoughts, for, with the deer elsewhere, there would no longer be a White Deer Park as they had always known it, and then its special status would disappear.
‘That’s too awful to contemplate,’ Fox said hoarsely. ‘We must prevent their removal, at all costs. And the way to do that is to wage war against the rats. We need every tooth and claw, every beak and talon on our side. Our first task, therefore, is to construct an entry point into the new enclosure; then we can set about gathering support.’ He looked directly at Badger. ‘Old friend,’ he said, ‘I’m leaving you in charge here. These are critical times for White Deer Park. Dash must lead us to the other Reserve tonight. You were quite right. We can’t afford to wait a moment longer.’
7
The New Park
It was a cloudy night and as dark as the little group of would-be rescuers could hope for. The Park gate of course being closed, Dash, Fox, Vixen and Friendly made their way silently to Dash’s scrape under the boundary fence. One by one they squeezed underneath while
Tawny Owl perched on the fence top. ‘All through?’ he hooted.
‘All through,’ Fox confirmed. ‘Now, Dash, lead on. Go swiftly, but don’t lose us.’
The young hare, tingling with self-importance, ran ahead. Tawny Owl kept up with her, flying directly above. The foxes, led by Friendly, who was the youngest of them, brought up the rear. They pattered silently alongside the fence, following its curve until they reached the track leading from the Park gate. Now Dash’s long hind legs began to kick faster. She glanced behind to make sure the foxes were keeping up. ‘We’re with you,’ Friendly assured her. Dash accelerated towards the road.
‘Where are you going?’ Tawny Owl called down. ‘You’re heading for trouble that way.’
Dash ignored him, safe in the knowledge that she had travelled the route before. The bird continued to protest; then Dash leapt away at the last moment, leaving the track and bounding across the downland adjacent to the road. ‘I know the way, old Owl, I know the way,’ she whispered. Tawny Owl caught by surprise at her sudden change of direction and pace, banked sharply to follow the hare, and almost collided with a road sign. Muttering imprecations at the folly and conceit of youngsters, he beat his wings hastily to keep abreast of the animals.
In a little while the five of them were outside the walls of the other enclosure. ‘Anything behind those is well and truly sealed in,’ Friendly commented.
‘Owl, you’re our only hope now,’ Fox told his old companion as the bird alighted on the top of the wall. ‘See what you can discover: whether there is the slightest chink in this formidable barrier.’
Tawny Owl’s head swivelled round a hundred and eighty degrees as he scanned the murky spaces of the strange park. His huge eyes blinked in the blanket of the night and he made preparatory flaps of his wings.
‘Do I – um – call for Weasel?’ he asked diffidently.
‘Yes. Try to find him; his knowledge of this place will be of value. However little he knows about it, it will be more than we do.’