Jolly Jefferson #2

I prowled the outer reaches of our territory. Several of the others were out gathering supplies while I was assigned to be the sentry. It was my responsibility to make sure no one attacked while the others were out. We’d been suffering incursions from our neighbors to the west lately and so I ranged along the border keeping my eyes and ears open.

The tall grass concealed me from any who might be watching, but it also hid them from my view. My ears were good, but my eyes were better. I risked it. I poked my head up above the tall grass and scanned the horizon.

There was a dark silhouette outlined against the setting sun. His stance was unfamiliar to me. I decided to try and get a better look. This being summer, the sun was to the south, so I decided to circle around that way to get a better look. I gave him a wide berth to make sure he didn’t spot me or hear me as I moved quickly through the grass.

After moving several yards to the south I risked a quick peek over the top of the grass. He was still there. He was a handsome one, I’ll give him that. I was secure enough in my self to note that. He was thin and athletic, with sandy brown hair. But he was definitely not one of us.

This was a problem. I wasn’t sure if he was an advance scout for a larger force or if he was just out there probing our defenses. Either way, he didn’t belong. And that meant I’d have to do something about it.

But what? I was torn. Should I head back and raise the alarm or should I try and drive him away from our border? I sat back to think about it. My response would largely depend on his intentions. If he was an advance scout, then I should head back and warn the others than an attack was imminent.

If he was just probing, I should run him off, with a good beating to emphasize the folly of even thinking about expanding to the east.

I had been keeping an ear open the whole time I’d been worrying over what to do. I hadn’t heard anything. Wait. That was wrong. I should have heard him moving. I peeked again. He was still standing there, out in the open. Why would he be doing that?

I nodded. He was testing our defenses. If he was an advanced scout, he would be keeping low, like I was. He’d be looking for me, knowing I, or one of my tribe, had to be out here patrolling. He’d want to take me out so I couldn’t get a warning to the others.

But he wasn’t doing that. He was standing out there in the open, seeing how long it would take to be spotted and how many of us would come to chase him off. He must fancy himself a fast runner, to think he could get away.

Well, I would hate to disappoint him. I mean, he’d come all this way. He was just standing there out in the open, offering himself as a tempting target.

I popped up over the grass one more time, fixing his position relative to mine in my mind. Then I dropped to all fours, baring my teeth. My tail was raised in the air for stability. As I started my charge, one thought echoed in my mind – “For Flower!”