"I promise by the Broken Lock that freed me, Little Brother."

"Then, by the Bull that bought me, I will pay back Shere Khan for this, and maybe even pay back a little more," said Mowgli, and he ran off.

"That is a man. Oh, yes, a man," said Bagheera to himself, and he lay down again. "Oh, Shere Khan, you never did worse than hunt that little frog ten years ago!" Mowgli went a very long way through the forest, running hard, and his heart was hot in him, because he was angry and upset. He came to the cave of his parents in the evening mist. He stopped for breath, and looked down the valley. The cubs were out, but Mother Wolf, at the back of the cave, knew by Mowgli's breathing that something was troubling him.

"What is it, Son?" she said.

"Some stupid talk by Shere Khan," Mowgli called back. "I hunt among the ploughed fields tonight," and he ran through the bushes, to the stream at the bottom of the valley. There he stopped for a moment, for he heard the sound of the Pack hunting, heard they were hunting a Sambhur, and the sounds 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! Go on, Akela!" The Lone Wolf must have sprung and missed, for Mowgli heard the snap of his teeth and then a yelp as the Sambhur knocked him over.