Part 9 (2/2)

”There's going to be trouble,” he said ”See that idle bull co?”

He pointed to the back of the rookery, and Colin saw a sea-catch of good size, though not as large as the bull whose savage attack on the cow had excited Colin's resenth the rookery with the clumsy lope of the excited seal The cow squirs of her captor, but just as he was about to punish her still ht of the intruder, and, with a vicious snap, he whirled round to the defense The newcorizzled over-hair of the older bull, but while he had youth on his side, he was not the veteran of hundreds of battles

Both stood upright for aeach other keenly, but with their heads averted, then the younger bull, with a forward movement so rapid that it could hardly be followed, struck doith his long teeth to the point where the front flipper joins the body It was a clever stroke, but the old bull knew all the tricks of warfare and turned the flipper in so that the teeth of his opponent only gashed the skin, and at the same time the old bull jerked his head up and sidewise, and sank his teeth deep into the side of the neck of the younger bull

”He's got him, what a shaer fighter

The old sea-catch, paying no attention to the roaring and whistling of his wounded rival, kept his teeth fast-clenched in a bulldog-like grip and braced hiet free There could be but one result to this and, with an agonized wrench, the younger bull pulled hiaping wound from which the blood strea his ly and with the shrill piping whistle of battle, the younger bull fairly swelled with exertion and rage until he see foe, his head darted froeful, passionate eyes--so different frolance of the cow seals--flashed furiously as the blood poured down and reddened the rocks around hiressive and, after a couple of feints, he reared and struck high for the face, just grazing the cheek of the older bull and pulling out several of the stiff bristles on which his teeth happened to close, springing back in time to escape the double sickle-stroke of the sea-catch The old bull roared loudly and sprang forward, getting a firer by the skin behind the muscles of the shoulders But he was a second too late, for as he closed his grip, the shter shi+fted and struck down, a hard clean blow, reaching the coveted point and half-tearing the flipper froh the pain ht upon the younger, bending hih to break the spine Seals cannot hter was al his chance, the old beachot in a crashi+ng blow at the same point where he had torn open the neck before, this ti his teeth so far in that the muscle of the shoulder showed plainly, and an instant later, although there seemed scarcely time to strike a second blow, he swept down the body with his long, sharp teeth, catching the younger at the flipper-joint, and inflicting a wound almost exactly similar to that which he had received

Quick as a flash, the younger coht But as he turned, instead ofaway defeated, he made a sudden convulsive sprahich the older bull was not expecting, and dug his teeth into the coho had given rise to all the trouble, and lifted her bodily The old beache, h he was forced to move on the stump of his wounded flipper, held fast to his prize, even when the victor inflicted a fourth fearful wound

But before the old sea-catch could turn the plucky youngster, he sao other bulls sidling towards his hareuard, and he lumbered back to repel the new intruders In thebull was attacked on his way to his own station by three other bulls near whose hareh bleeding froory trail in his wake, but gripping with griiven his life to secure When at last he reached his own station, he was afro uselessly

”He put up a plucky fight, anyway,” said Colin, ”even if he did get licked”

But it was for the poor cow seal that Colin felt the most sympathy She lay upon the rocks where her second captor had thrown her, absolutely unconscious and seely almost dead, wounded in several places and covered with blood and sand, a wretched contrast to the pretty, gentle anie from the water not fifteena little chokingly ”I didn't know any anilanced at him quickly

”The beach the his wounds He's pretty well used up, too They're always too proud to show that they feel their hurts

Evidently! Even when they have been almost torn to pieces”

”Then you think he won't die?”

”Not a bit of it,” the agent said cheerfully ”He'll be ready for another fight to-morrow”

”But how about the poor cow? She looks about dead now,” said Colin

”Not as bad as it looks! She's all right,” his friend replied ”Those wounds don't go down into vital parts They usually just reach the blubber There isn't a sea-catch on the rookery that hasn't had frohts already this year Most of 'em have been at it for several seasons Yet you can hardly notice a scar on them As for the mother seal, she will probably have a baby seal to-morrow In a week the wounds will all have healed over Cat may have nine lives, but a seal has ninety!”

CHAPTER III

ATTACKED BY japANESE POACHERS

”That's life on a rookery,” the agent said ”Fight! Capture! More fight!

But the holluschickie are different Let's go to the hauling-grounds”

”Is that where the killing goes on?” the boy asked