slipped his arm round the splendid neck, and looked deep into the big
eyes--' art thou sure that all this is Shere Khan's doing?'

'By the Broken Lock that freed me, I am sure, Little Brother.'

'Then, by the Bull that bought me, I will pay Shere Khan full tale
for this, and it may be a little over,' said Mowgli; and he bounded
away.

'That is a man. That is all a man,' said Bagheera to himself, lying
down again. 'Oh, Shere Khan, never was a blacker hunting than that
frog-hunt of thine ten years ago!'

Mowgli was far and far through the forest, running hard, and his
heart was hot in him. He came to the cave as the evening mist rose,
and drew breath, and looked down the valley. The cubs were out, but
Mother Wolf, at the back of the cave, knew by his breathing that
something was troubling her frog.

'What is it, Son?' she said.

'Some bat's chatter of Shere Khan,' he called back. 'I hunt among the
ploughed fields to-night'; and he plunged downward through the
bushes, to the stream at the bottom of the valley. There he checked,
for he heard the yell of the Pack hunting, heard the bellow of a
hunted Sambhur, and the snort as the buck turned at bay. Then there
were wicked, bitter howls from the young wolves: 'Akela! Akela! Let
the Lone Wolf show his strength. Room for the leader of the Pack!
Spring, Akela!'