ust pay, or the Rabbit would never
have done it.

The answer is, if the creature that scared him up was one of his own
kind--i.e., this was a false alarm--then at once, by showing his
national colors, the mistake is made right. On the other hand, if it be
a Coyote, Fox, or Dog, they see at once, this is a Jack-rabbit, and
know that it would be waste of time for them to pursue him. They say in
effect, "This is a Jack-rabbit, and I cannot catch a Jack in open
race." They give it up, and that, of course, saves the Jack a great
deal of unnecessary running and worry. The black-and-white spots are
the national uniform and flag of the Jacks. In poor specimens they are
apt to be dull, but in the finest specimens they are not only larger,
but brighter than usual, and the Little Warhorse, gray when he sat in
his form, blazed like charcoal and snow, when he flung his defiance to
the Fox and buff Coyote, and danced with little effort before them,
first a black-and-white Jack, then a little white spot, and last a
speck of thistledown, before the distance swallowed him.

Many of the farmers' Dogs had learned the lesson: "A grayish Rabbit you
may catch, but a very black-and-white one is hopeless." They might,
indeed, follow for a time, but that was merely for the fun of a chivvy,
and his growing power often led Warhorse to seek the chase for the sake
of a little excitement, and to take hazards that others less gifted
were most careful to avoid.

Jack, like all other wild animals, had a certain range or country which
was home to him, and outside of this he rarely strayed. It was about
three miles across, extending easterly from the centre of the village.
Scattered through this he had a number of "forms," or "beds" as they
are locally called. These were mere hollows situated under a sheltering
bush or bunch of grass, without lining excepting the accidental grass
and in-blown leaves. But comfort was not forgotten. Some of them were
for hot weather; they faced the north, were scarcely sunk, were little
more than shady places. Some for the cold weather were deep hollows
with southern exposure, and others for the wet were well roofed with
herbage and faced the west. In one or other of these he spent the day,
and at night he went forth to feed with his kind, sporting and romping
on the moonlight nights like a lot of puppy Dogs, but careful to be
gone by sunrise, and safely tucked in a bed that was suited to the
weather.

The safest grou