From inside cover of dustjacket:
Poised beside the big van from which he had just escaped, Swimmer crouched and quivered. Was he too overcivilized and soft to cope with the wilderness? Could he reach the stream he scented, and find food? Could he survive with a broken leg?
Swimmer is about four and a half feet of very smart otter. Caught by a trapper and deprived of his woodlands as a baby, he had been trained by the famous Dr. Hoffman. Taught to demonstrate mechanical writing on the stage, he, naturally, learned to talk too -- only no one knew it. And, naturally, having been exposed to human pomposity and meanness, he has a sharp tongue. But he has a kind heart and great ingenuity.
Escaping to the wilds, Swimmer soon finds an odd collection of allies: Penny, the red-haired Welfare girl; Clarence, his old friend; a Cherokee laywer; a newspaperman; an outcast dog; and an engaging female otter named Ripple. But he acquires enemies too. As a cruel bounty hunters, kidnappers, and the angry Professor close in on him, it takes all his wits to elude them.
It is only one step from the stream to a wild chase and a great adventure.
Poised beside the big van from which he had just escaped, Swimmer crouched and quivered. Was he too overcivilized and soft to cope with the wilderness? Could he reach the stream he scented, and find food? Could he survive with a broken leg?
Swimmer is about four and a half feet of very smart otter. Caught by a trapper and deprived of his woodlands as a baby, he had been trained by the famous Dr. Hoffman. Taught to demonstrate mechanical writing on the stage, he, naturally, learned to talk too -- only no one knew it. And, naturally, having been exposed to human pomposity and meanness, he has a sharp tongue. But he has a kind heart and great ingenuity.
Escaping to the wilds, Swimmer soon finds an odd collection of allies: Penny, the red-haired Welfare girl; Clarence, his old friend; a Cherokee laywer; a newspaperman; an outcast dog; and an engaging female otter named Ripple. But he acquires enemies too. As a cruel bounty hunters, kidnappers, and the angry Professor close in on him, it takes all his wits to elude them.
It is only one step from the stream to a wild chase and a great adventure.
