A moment later she
saw a large gray fox emerge from among the firs and come toward her.
Supposing that it had not seen or scented her, and thinking to frighten
it, she cried out suddenly, "Hi, Mr. Fox!"
To her surprise the fox, instead of bounding away, came directly toward
her, and now she saw that its head moved to and fro as it ran, and that
clots of froth were dropping from its jaws. Kate had heard that foxes,
as well as dogs and wolves, sometimes run mad. She realized that if this
beast were mad, it would attack her blindly and bite her if it could.
Still clutching her armful of dry twigs, she turned and sped back toward
the camp. As she drew near the cabin, she called to the other girls to
open the door. They heard her cries, and Ellen flung the door open. As
Kate darted into the room, she cried, "Shut it, quick!"
Startled, the other two girls slammed the door shut, and hastily set the
heavy old camp table against it.
"It's only a fox!" Kate cried. "But it has gone mad, I think. I was
afraid it would bite me."
Peering out of the one little window and the cracks between the logs,
they saw the animal run past the camp. It was still yapping weirdly, and
it snapped at bushes and twigs as it passed.
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