The Boy Hunters of Kentucky

CHAPTER X.

HUNTING THE HUNTERS

It looked to the young hunters as though they had struck the popular hour for the visitors to the salt lick. They were no more than fairly rid of the bisons when they were met by three bears, that showed no wish to yield the path to them. It was this fact that led Will and George to take to their heels while Jack Gedney held his ground.

Now, it was the season of the year, as I have said, when the bears are generally in good condition. You know that they are what are called hibernating animals-that is, they spend most of the winter in sleep, during which their nourishment is the fat of their own bodies, though it is claimed that each sucks his fore paw. It is in the spring, when the bears come forth from their winter's sleep, that they are lean, fierce, and dangerous. In the autumn they are in such comfortable form that they will not go far out of their way to harm any one, unless he first provokes them.

Jack did not mean to fight the three bears single-handed. He was impatient when he saw that there was just one apiece, and that his two friends had fled.

"You're my game," said Jack to himself, drawing his gun to his shoulder and aiming at the foremost.

The latter was less than twenty yards away when he observed the lads. He halted and raised his pig-like snout, while the others, some distance to the rear, lumbered forward, not seeing the cause that had checked their leader.

I must do the brothers credit, however, by making haste to say that they had run but a short distance when both stopped as if by one accord.

"This won't do," said the elder; "if Jack makes a fight with the bears we must help him."

"That's what I think," added George, who, as he faced about, raised the flint of his gun.

The sight was a stirring one. There stood Jack with his gun at his shoulder, and pointed at the front of the savage-looking beast that had paused, as if from curiosity, and was looking at him. Close behind were the other two brutes, swinging along in their awkward fashion, indifferent to the drama that must open within the next few moments.

Both Will and George could have sent a bullet into the body of the leading bear without stirring from where they stood, had they been so minded, but one or two causes restrained them.

it was clear that, so to speak, the foremost brute belonged to Jack himself, and he might well take offence if they should open on him before it was seen that their help was needed.

Then, too, the instant the first one should be disposed of, the others would demand attention. The crack of the rifle, and the fall or struggles of the brute, would tell his companions what had taken place, even though Bruin is one of the most stupid of animals. Jack's gun having been fired, it was more than likely that he would be unable to re-load it in time to make defence against the others. He would have to leave them, therefore, for his comrades to dispose of. They knew that Jack would be able to take care of his special charge unless some slip took place. And that slip did take place. The young hunter observed, while his eye was running along the sights of his rifle, that a small limb or twig, no thicker than his finger, reached across the trail between him and the bear, so that it was in the exact line of his fire.

While ordinarily this would have made no difference to the swift-speeding bullet, yet the lad was wise enough to wait until the bear had advanced far enough to shift the line out of the way. This was the cause of the brothers thinking that Jack held his aim a long time.

At the instant of firing, however, a slight puff of wind stirred the leaves and moved the twig, so that the stem bowed again across the path of the bullet.

The consequence was that the ball was turned just enough out of its course to wound instead of killing the brute. It chipped its way through a corner of the skull without making a fatal hurt, though it was one that roused all the fury of the enormous beast.

Will and George, who were closely watching events, were sure that Jack had killed Bruin, who reared on his hind legs and swung his paws as if trying to draw the supposed splinters from his flesh. Then, instead of toppling over like a small mountain, he made straight for the young man who he well knew had caused his hurt.

Jack Gedney, like his young friends, was astonished at this proof that he had made a failure. He stood for a moment, waiting for the royal game to fall to the ground, but the vigour of the beast told plainly enough that there was a dangerous amount of life left in him.

Unfortunately, this alarming truth did not break upon Jack until the beast was on him. He knew better than to try to re-load his gun, but hastily clubbing it, he swung it back over his shoulder, and brought the stock down on the head of the bear with the utmost strength he could command.

It may be said that the blow for one of the boy's years was powerful, but it did no more harm when it landed on the iron-like skull of Bruin than if it had been a feather-duster. Instead of striking squarely, it glanced with such force that the weapon flew twenty feet out of the hands of the owner.

By this time, as you may well suppose, Will and George discovered the peril of their friend, and hastened to his rescue; but the seconds passed fast, and the bear had reared for the purpose of seizing Jack, whose blow was descending before the brothers brought their own guns to their shoulders and fired.

They had no time to run closer or to make their aim as effective as they wished, but they sent both bullets into the big black body that rose in front of the brave boy. The result was what you can well understand: Bruin was hit hard, but for a time at least he was as strong as ever, while his rage was the more intensified.

He reached out both ponderous paws to seize Jack, who, had he been caught, would have received a hug sufficient to crush all the bones in his body to a pulp; but with a dexterity and coolness wonderful in one of his years, he dropped down, so that the paws clasped vacancy over his head, and, darting to one side, he made a dash to the nearest sapling.

When the animal turned to see what had become of his victim, he observed him dashing off in a full run. Heavy and clumsy as is the bear, he is capable of considerable speed, and the one of which I am telling you dropped upon all fours, swung around, and made after the boy with astonishing dexterity.

It need not be said that Jack did not let the grass grow under his feet. Fortunately, indeed, for him that he did not have far to run before he flung his arms and legs about a small tree, up which he began travelling with desperate energy.

As it was, his pursuer was so close, that when he reared again, and reached upward with his paws, his long sharp nails rattled against one of Jack's shoes. The boy jerked up both feet as though he had felt the fangs of a rattlesnake, and one more hitch took him beyond reach of the brute.

CHAPTER XI.

GEORGE MAKES A SHOT

The bear found not one, but two boys, who would serve equally well as substitutes for the one that had just escaped him. Will stood less than fifty feet away, hastily ramming a bullet into his rifle, while George was a little farther to the right, busy at the same thing. Bruin decided that the lad who was the nearer of the two would serve him best, so he straightway went after him.

No one could hold the hug of a bear in greater dread than did Will Burton. Had he coolly stood still, and kept on re-loading his gun, it is likely he would have had it ready to fire before the beast reached him; but, as the boy expressed it, he was taking no such chances. He whirled on his heel, and followed the example of Jack, with a suppleness fully equal to his.

One of the hardest things for a man or boy to do is to climb a tree with a gun in hand. Much as Will wanted to keep his weapon, so as to use it when perched above the reach of his enemy, he did not dare to try to do so. He threw it from him, and even then the pursuit was so close that he escaped by a chance as narrow as that of Jack himself.

From his perch in the sapling the latter saw all this, which, you must remember, took place in a very brief time. The two elder boys of the little company had been treed by a huge bear, and neither of them had his gun with which to defend himself. It was clear that much now depended on George, the youngest of the company.

"Don't let him see you," called Jack. "Keep out of sight until your gun is loaded, and then make your aim sure."

George did not reply, through fear of attracting the notice of the bear, but he was doing his duty like a hero. During the fracas between Bruin and Will he had dodged behind the trunk of a tree large enough to screen his body, and then gave his whole attention to re-loading his weapon.

Now and then he peeped forth, taking care to show as little of himself as possible. What he saw encouraged him to hope that he would be able to do all that was expected of him.

For the second time the bear found his victim slipping away from him after he was within reach. You cannot wonder that he was in the angriest possible mood. He must have called to mind, too, that a third boy was somewhere near, for he could not have failed to see him when he started after the bigger lad.

But where was the third of the party?

The bear looked here, there, everywhere, but saw nothing of him.

Ah! if the brute had gazed a little closer at that big oak trunk, off to his left, he would have seen a short, sturdy-looking boy, who had just finished pouring the priming into the pan of his rifle, and drawing back the hammer, was stealthily peering around the trunk, so as to decide how best to aim at the creature.

It so happened that the latter was in the best position to receive such a charge, and George took but a few seconds to make his aim sure. When he let fly, the little sphere of lead that whistled from his rifle tore its way through the heart of the beast, which rolled over on his side and died immediately, almost without a struggle.

You remember there were two other bears. They were lumbering along the trail some distance behind the leader, but quite close together. They did not become aware that anything unusual was going on until Jack fired his first shot. Then they looked up in their stupid way, and stood still while the first part of the stirring incidents took place.

Before the crisis was reached, the couple seemed to conclude that there was no necessity to stay where they were likely to get hurt. So, without turning aside from the trail, they pushed on in the direction they were following when first seen.

Jack and Will quickly slid down from the saplings in which they had taken refuge, and, catching up their guns, ran towards the carcase of the bear, reached it almost at the same time with George, the three converging from different directions.

"He's dead sure enough," said Jack, kicking the bulky body.

"He ought to be, with three or four bullets in him," said Will; "George and I struck him the first time we fired, and you must have hit him. How was it, Jack, that you didn't kill him?"

"I'll find out," replied Jack, stooping down and examining the skull of the brute.

"I see how it is," he said, straightening up again; "I fired for his eye, but there was a stick across my line of aim-just enough to turn the ball aside, so that it didn't hurt him much."

"But it made him mad," suggested George.

"I should say it did; and then the other two balls made him so mad that he couldn't get any madder."

"He stood just right for me," said George; "and since he couldn't see me, I had all the time I wanted to take aim."

"And you did it well," added Jack; "and it was fortunate for us, for we couldn't use our guns. But what's become of the other two bears?" he asked, looking around.

"They didn't see any fun in staying here," replied Will, "and so they went off."

"Let's follow them."

But Will was not inclined to do so.

"You know we started out for a hunt," said he, "and I am in favour of making it as varied as we can. You found a couple of painters last night, and an Indian or two this morning. Awhile ago, you had a little fun with a bull buffalo, and he had more fun with you. We are just through with the bears, and I'm in favour of trying something else."

"What shall it be?" asked his brother.

"Whatever comes along-wolves, deer, or anything that turns up."

While the three stood near the carcase they were busy re-loading their guns, for the brothers, as well as Jack, had been taught that that was the first duty after discharging their weapons.

Naturally the boys were in high spirits over their adventure, which had ended without harm to any one of the company.

"It seems to me," said George, "that we can find all the fun we want by following this path to the lick."

"It looks to me," added Jack, "as though we may find more than we want."

"Not unless we meet more buffaloes," remarked Will, with a sly glance at Jack, whose face flushed.

"I wouldn't mind having one of them, for it will soon be dinner time, and their meat is good at this season."

"There may be others along the path, and then you can run out and scare one to death."

"To do that," retorted Jack, "I would have to run as fast as you did when the bear was at your heels."

"But hardly as fast as you ran when you missed your shot and got up the tree just in time."

"Any boy that will run from a wounded bear will run from a buffalo bull when he has his head down and is coming for him: I think one is as bad as the other."

"That may be, which is a good reason why you shouldn't try to drive him off as though he were a rooster scratching up your corn."

George grinned over this bit of conversation, which took place with the best nature on both sides. When it had gone on for a few minutes more, Will stopped, laughed, and reached out his hand.

"Shake," said he; "I have laughed until I can't laugh any more, and now we'll drop it."

"I notice one thing that you may not know," said Will, looking up as he spoke, through the tree tops, "and that is that the sky is not anything like as clear as it was a little while ago."

"And it is colder," added Jack, with a shiver; "it looks to me very much as though a storm is coming."

"If there is, it's likely to be a snow-storm, I feel sure."

"It's well I brought this blanket along with me," said George; "Will didn't think we needed it at all."

"I didn't think so as long as I believed mother meant that I should carry it. When I found that you were to take charge of it, why I concluded it well to bring it."

"I almost wish I had mine," said Jack; "but there are plenty of places where we can build a good roaring fire and the wind won't reach us, and so after all we will be comfortable, and that's everything."

"Yes," said Will, looking around as though he half expected to see what they were talking about; "there are spots where we could sleep without a blanket, after we had kindled a good fire, and it won't take us very long to find one of them."

At that moment, when all three were about to move toward the trail, they heard the report of a rifle. It sounded perhaps a quarter of a mile off, and directly to the south.

Now, there was nothing in this to cause any excitement on the part of the boys, but they looked in each other's faces with a half scared and half wondering expression, as though in doubt whether there was ground for fear or whether there was not.

"I believe that gun was fired by an Indian," said George in a whisper.

"How can you know that?" asked his brother, impatiently.

"I don't know it," answered the younger, "but I only think so."

"I don't know that it makes any difference to us whether it was an Indian or white man who fired it."

"Of course; and we can't know until we find out for ourselves," was the sensible but not altogether necessary remark of Master Jack.

CHAPTER XII.

THE STRANGE CAMP FIRE

The young hunters now asked themselves whether it was worth while to try to find out who had fired the gun whose report broke in upon them with such startling suddenness.

It was not at all unlikely that some of their friends from the settlement up the river, or from the scattered cabins, were out on a hunt through the woods.

But when young George blurted out his belief that it was an Indian who had fired the weapon, he uttered the very thought that was in the mind of Jack.

Ever since his meeting with the Wyandot chief and his son that morning he had been uneasy in mind. There were times when he would not think about the red men, but very soon his thoughts went back to the subject.

His misgiving may be understood when I repeat what I have already hinted, namely, that the presence of Hua-awa-oma and his son in the neighbourhood of the two cabins meant that a band of his warriors were not far away. The Wyandots, as you have already learned, were among the fiercest enemies of the settlers, and the painted faces of the chieftain and his son made it look as if the latter was on his first war path.

All this might be hard to explain in the light of the treatment received by Jack at the hands of Hua-awa-oma, or "He who fights without falling" but still it was not inexplainable. More than likely the chief gave back the gun as part punishment to his boy because he was beaten so badly in the wrestling bout.

Probably the dusky leader felt so much faith in his own place at the head of a war party of Wyandots that he believed it safe to indulge such a whim, believing as he did that not only the rifle but also the boy himself would be at his disposal whenever he cared to claim them.

"If there are Indians near us," said Jack, "we ought to know it, so as to be able to keep out of their way."

"They must have heard our guns, since we heard one of theirs," remarked Will.

"If they are white men, we ought to know that too," added George.

"Well, if we are careful I guess we can find out. Come on."

Jack led the way back to the path which they had followed for some distance, and crossing it, plunged into the wood on the other side. They had gone only a short way when the ground grew rougher, and sloped upward like a ridge. They pushed on until they reached the top of an elevation of several hundred feet.

Beyond this the land sloped off again into a valley, fully a half mile in width, beyond which it rose almost to the same height as the surface on which they stood.

The spot where they halted was so open and free from undergrowth that they had a good view of the small valley spread out before them, and over which they gazed with keen interest.

"Hallo, there they are!" whispered Will.

Following the direction of his finger, his companions saw near the middle of the valley a column of smoke ascending from among the trees, and lazily mingling with the air above, where it rested almost stationary, as though it had been there for hours.

"Yes," said Jack, "a camp fire is there, but we don't know whether it belongs to Indians or white men."

"That's what we have come to find out."

"It seems to me," said George, "that instead of going down together we ought to separate. What do you think, Jack?"

"It strikes me as a good plan; if we keep together it will be hard work for us to find out what we want to know without letting the Indians-if they are Indians-find out more than we want them to learn about us."

"That is good enough," observed Will, to whom the others looked to hear his opinion, "and I guess we may as well try it; but if we separate we have got to be mighty careful that we don't run into danger before we know it. I will turn to the right, you, Jack, to the left, while George can push straight down into the valley; we must be on the watch all the time. As soon as one of us sees anything that tells what we want to know, he must turn back to this place and wait for the others."

"The first one who finds the camp and learns who started it ought to signal to the others, so that they need not run any more risk."

"We will do that," said Jack; "and that is likely to be George, because he has a shorter distance than either of us to travel."

"What shall be the signal?"

Jack placed his two hands in front of his mouth, the palms curved toward each other, so that a hollow space was enclosed, the thumbs being in front. Pressing his lips against these, he blew gently, and made a soft, deep whistle, whose volume he could increase until it was audible for several hundred yards.

While the call thus made bore little resemblance to that of any animal or bird, it had the advantage of being hard to locate. That is, if a person should detect it in the forest it would require the closest attention, and then would have to be repeated several times before the hearer could fix the exact spot whence it came.

"You know how to do that?" he said, looking inquiringly at the brothers.

By way of reply, each fashioned his hands as Jack had done, and, with the lips against the thumbs, emitted a precisely similar sound.

"That's it," he said. "It is understood then that the first one who finds out what we want to know is to start straight back to this spot, and as soon as he reaches a point where it is safe to make the signal he will do so. Neither of the others will be too far off to hear, and will hurry back. Then, after we learn the truth, we'll settle what is best to be done."

All this was simple enough, and when each had added several cautions to the others they silently parted company.

You will see from what has been told that there was reason to believe that George Burton, who took the direct course to the camp fire, would be the first to reach it. Indeed, the others were so confident of his doing so that they were rather indifferent to their own progress.

Feeling the responsibility on him, young George acted like an old campaigner, using more care than seemed necessary at first; but he had felt quite sure from the beginning that they were near a party of Indian warriors, and he did not mean to betray himself and friends into their hands by any lack of caution. He was glad to see, after going a short distance down the slope, that there was an increase of undergrowth. This gave him a better chance to keep his body screened while approaching the camp.