Part 9 (1/2)
”Why not?”
”He couldn't leave his own hareent proht that beachmaster Evidently! And so on every few feet he went Besides, the verybull would steal some of his cows Certainly! Or, an idle bull would try and beat him out”
”Which are the idle bulls?” asked Colin
”Those fellows at the back who caht for places They would charge down and take the harem, if he left it”
”Well, then, how does he sleep?”
”Doesn't sleep much,” was the reply; ”just little catnaps Five or ten ht sleepers, too If a cow tries to leave or an intruder coht up Ihed ”Eternal vigilance is the bull seal's ht!”
”But how can they stand it without food and without sleep?” Colin asked
”That's over threeAnd it isn't like an animal that's asleep all winter It see and all that sort of thing!”
”They live on their blubber,” the agent explained ”In the spring they haul up heavy and fat Can hardly move around they're so fleshy It's the end of June now You see! Many bulls are loaded with fat still By the end of nextthin Some of 'eust They'll fight to the end, though”
”But if they leave each other's hareht”
”The cows don't all come at the sa all the time Those beachmasters who have harehting all along the water's edge, then Other cows have to rab the on so there,” he added, pointing to a coress some distance off, ”and there's another--and another”
”Is that one of the nes just co to the shore, where a fe attention, had landed near one of the large hareent said ”Just watch her a while You'll see how the fighting begins”
Moving quietly and slowly andsealas far as she could froe monarchs of the waterside eyed her closely, but the hareround and they let her pass, the cow seal re, then creeping on a yard or two
”She'll get caught by the next one,” said Colin ”See, there's just about rooed toa neighboring sea-catch whons upon his ho a point about six hareroup of only about twelve cows, suddenly reached out with his strong neck, grabbed her by the back with his sharp teeth and threw her on the rocks with the rest of his cohed over four hundred pounds and the cow notdown most cruelly
”The brute!” cried Colin
But for some reason the coas dissatisfied with her new e forward and caught her by the back of the neck, biting viciously as he did so, in such wise that the teeth tore away the skin and flesh, nation ithout bounds
”I'd like to sent had not been there to stop hione to the assistance of the cow seal
”That's going on all the tient said ”You can't settle the affairs of ten thousand families Not offhand that way You'd be kept busy if you tried to fight the battles of every female that hauls up on St Paul rookery”
”But see,” cried Colin, ”he's going after her again!”
This tiry, for he shook the cow as a dog does a rat and tossed her back into the very center of the hareent looked on tranquilly