Fox on the Run

'Preparing for the Hunt" 'You'll catch that old fox, won't you?' The old hound, Jubal, growled a soft warning as the two boys bent to peer back into the darkness under the porch floor. "Hush, Jubal,"Jason Cox said softly. "It's just me and Hank." Jubal relaxed, and permitted a formal petting. "He's big," whispered Hank. "Scratch him benind the ears," grinned Jason. "Old mean Jube will turn into a big puppy." Hank hesitated, stared at the wide, scarred head, yellowed fangs, and huge paws, then nervously reached out. Jubal moaned happily. Told you," laughed Jason. "You keep on scratching old Jubal while I find King." He lookedback under the floor. "Where are you, dog?" The young black and tan hound lazily thumped his tail and lay flat, his nose between huge paws. "Come here, King," ordered Jason. King yawned. "Come on, you old biscuit eater, Jason said happily. Get down here." When King finally, slowly, crawled to his feet and snook offthe dust, his heritage was evident. "He's even bigger than Jubal," whispered Hank. "Biggest, strongest, fastest, and ugliest foxhound in Creech County," Jason said proudly. "Jubal's his daddy, and he was in Queenie's last litter, two years ago." King yawned again and came closer to where Jason sat, then solemnly placed a big paw on the boy's shoulder. "Good boy, beamed Jason. He rubbed the hound's long ears. "King is my dog," Jason told Hank. "Daddy give me thepick of the litter, and I took King because he was the runt." "The runt?" Hank stared. "What happened ?" "Plenty ofbiscuits and gravy and eggs," grinned Jason. "King was a runt, but his feet was as big as mine. Old man Jessup, he always says the way to tell how big a pupis goingto grow istolook athispaws." King's feet must have been as big as watermelons," grinned Hank. "They was," smiled Jason. "Little watermelons. More like mushmelons." He petted the young dog. "Someday King will be better than Jubal, even." "You better not let your daddy hear you say that," warned Hank. "You know he thinks old Jube is the best they is." "Jubal is the best, for now," said Jason. "But you watch. Before winter's over, King will show 'em all. He just needs a little more practice." "Needs alot more foxhound and lot less pup, is what you ought to say," Carl Cox said stiffly. Jason spun to face his father. "You can't have a pet and a hunting dog all at once," continued Carl. "You baby that hound. Fox dogs has got a job to do. That one of yours, you've made him a sissy." King cringed at Carl's angry voice and snuggled closer to Jason. ' Watch him," Carl said dryly. "Jason, your foxhound ain't nothing but a oversized baby. His daddyisdownrightashamedofhim. Ain't you, Jubal?" Jubal's big eyes were fixed on Carl. "Ten years old, tough as whang leather, meaner ? a boar hog." Carl smiled smugly. "When I raise a foxhound, boy, I raise him to do hisjob. Not to set at the back door and beg for kitchen scraps." Hank sneaked his hands away from Jubal's ears. "I'mofamind," Carl said softly, "to say your dog can't run no more with Jubal. Jube's old, and he might get hisself hurt trying to take care of a pup that ain't got a lick of sense." He shrugged. "But, the only chance King has got, to learn anything , istoworkwithJubal." Carlgrinned. "Soon, too. I seen that big red fox this morning." "The same one?" Jason asked eagerly. Carlnodded. "Bigbushytail, thatrunny notch in his left hind footprint. It was him." "We chased that fox fortwo years now," Jason told Hank. "He's too smart to catch " "Too lucky," growled Carl. "Jubal has had him, two or three times, but he got away. Jumped over the side of a cliff, once, over to the ledge, and another time he went up a dead tree and got up in the rocks where Jube couldn't follow. We'll get him, though. Won't we, Jube?" Jubal's big eyes watched Carl...