"He should not speak," whispered Bagheera. "Say so. He is a dog's son. He will be frightened."

Mowgli sprang to his feet. "Free People," he cried, "does Shere Khan lead the Pack? What has a tiger to do with our leadership?"

"The leadership is not yet decided, and I was asked to speak - " Shere Khan began.

"By whom?" said Mowgli. "Are we all jackals, to lick the feet of this cattle butcher? The leadership of the Pack is something the Pack alone should decide."

There were shouts of "Silence, you man's cub!" "Let him speak. He has kept our Law"; and at last the seniors of the Pack said in voices like thunder: "Let the Dead Wolf speak." When a leader of the Pack has missed his kill, he is 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 twelve years I have led you when we hunted, and in all that time not one has been trapped or injured. Now I have missed my kill. You know how that plan was made. You know how you brought me up to a fresh buck to show how weak I was. It was a clever plan. Now you can kill me here on the Council Rock, now. Therefore, I ask, who comes to kill the Lone Wolf? For it is my right, by the Law of the Jungle, that you come one by one."