“Seeing that the leadership is yet open, and being asked tospeak——” Shere Khan began.
“By whom？” said Mowgli. “Are we all jackals, to fawn on thiscattle butcher？ The leadership of the Pack is with the Pack alone.”
There were yells of “Silence, you man"s cub！” “Let him speak.
He has kept our Law”; and at last the seniors of the Pack thundered: “Letthe Dead Wolf speak.” When a leader of the Pack has missed his kill, heis called the Dead Wolf as long as he lives, which is not long.
Akela raised his old head wearily:
“Free People, and you too, jackals of Shere Khan, for twelveseasons I have led you to and from the kill, and in all that time not one hasbeen trapped or maimed. Now I have missed my kill. You know how thatplot was made. You know how you brought me up to an untried buck tomake my weakness known. It was cleverly done. Your right is to kill me here on the Council Rock, now. Therefore, I ask, who comes to make anend of the Lone Wolf？ For it is my right, by the Law of the Jungle, thatyou come one by one.”
There was a long hush, for no single wolf cared to fight Akela tothe death. Then Shere Khan roared: “Bah！ What have we to do withthis toothless fool？ He is doomed to die！ It is the man-cub who haslived too long. Free People, he was my meat from the first. Give him tome. I am weary of this man-wolf folly. He has troubled the jungle for tenseasons. Give me the man-cub, or I will hunt here always, and not giveyou one bone. He is a man, a man"s child, and from the marrow of mybones I hate him！”
Then more than half the Pack yelled: “A man！ A man！ Whathas a man to do with us？ Let him go to his own place.”
“And turn all the people of the villages against us？” clamoredShere Khan. “No, give him to me. He is a man, and none of us can lookhim between the eyes.”
Akela lifted his head again and said, “He has eaten our food. Hehas slept with us. He has driven game for us. He has broken no word ofthe Law of the Jungle.”
“Also, I paid for him with a bull when he was accepted. Theworth of a bull is little, but Bagheera"s honor is something that he willperhaps fight for,” said Bagheera in his gentlest voice.
“A bull paid ten years ago！” the Pack snarled. “What do wecare for bones ten years old？”
“Or for a pledge？” said Bagheera, his white teeth bared underhis lip.
“Well are you called the Free People！”
“No man"s cub can run with the people of the jungle,” howledShere Khan. “Give him to me！”
“He is our brother in all but blood,” Akela went on, “andyou would kill him here！ In truth, I have lived too long. Some of youare eaters of cattle, and of others I have heard that, under Shere Khan"steaching, you go by dark night and snatch children from the villager"sdoorstep. Therefore I know you to be cowards, and it is to cowardsI speak. It is certain that I must die, and my life is of no worth, or Iwould offer that in the man-cub"s place. But for the sake of the Honorof the Pack,——a little matter that by being without a leader you haveforgotten,——I promise that if you let the mancub go to his own place,I will not, when my time comes to die, bare one tooth against you. I willdie without fighting. That will at least save the Pack three lives. More Icannot do; but if you will, I can save you the shame that comes of killinga brother against whom there is no fault——a brother spoken for andbought into the Pack according to the Law of the Jungle.”
“He is a man——a man——a man！” snarled the Pack. Andmost of the wolves began to gather round Shere Khan, whose tail wasbeginning to switch.
“Now the business is in your hands,” said Bagheerato Mowgli. “We can do no more except fight.” Mowgli stoodupright ——the fire pot in his hands. Then he stretchedout his arms, and yawned in the face of the Council; buthe was furious with rage and sorrow, for, wolflike, thewolves had never told him how they hated him. “Listenyou！” he cried. “There is no need for this dog"s jabber.
You have told me so often tonight that I am a man (andindeed I would have been a wolf with you to my life"s end)that I feel your words are true. So I do not call you mybrothers any more, but sag [dogs], as a man should. Whatyou will do, and what you will not do, is not yours to say.
That matter is with me; and that we may see the matter more plainly, I, the man, have brought here a little of the Red Flower which you, dogs, fear.”