Snare Of The Fowler, parts 2028 - 2031

 2028. Otis with his superior hearing listened to these sounds in a different way. Certainly he could hear the spectators and their screams of encouragement to the contestants, but also it was possible for him to distinguish the actual sounds of the fight itself. Embedded in all of that noise he could hear also the sudden flick of a tail, the twitch of an ear, and the rapid anxious breathing of the dogs in the few seconds before they attacked each other in a fury.

 2029. Screwing up his ears to a greater focus he could detect the sound of the heartbeats of the two contestants, even during the thick of the fight. From those sounds alone, and his understanding of the meaning of those sounds, he certainly would have been a wealthy wolf, if wolves condescended to wager on sporting events.

 2030. Otis listened to the dogs fighting with a certain detachment mixed with curiosity, but it was not so with the Rooster. The poor Rooster went from one anxiety attack to another, pacing about the back of the wagon in extreme distress, and yet all along trying some how to conceal his anxiety from Otis. He was wracking his little brain as to how to explain what was happening. The last thing he wanted to do was to talk about dog fighting to anybody, least of all Otis.


 
2031. He was not anxious for himself, but he couldn’t stand the idea that his dear friend would have to suffer such an ordeal. Something must be said here about the relationship between Otis and the Rooster. It was no conventional friendship. First of all, it seldom happens that a bird and a wolf become associates. But when they do it is a friendship that transcends the usual boundaries.