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 lawyer; a newspaperman; an outcast dog; and an engaging young female otter named Ripple. But he acquires enemies too. As 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.
Everyone who loves Alexander Key's previous books knows that in his special world animals communicate without words. Only humans have forgotten the silent radar that tells of the feelings and intentions of other living things. But Swimmer, who has taken advantage of his technological training, can talk the language of men. Only a quixotic, acerbic otter could have managed it perhaps, but for Swimmer it is perfectly natural. And most convenient.
