by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.
THE JUMPING MOUSE AND THE ERMINE.
Large as the hare was, she would have made but a meal for our fourhungry voyageurs, had they eaten at will. By Lucien's advice, however,they restrained themselves, and half of her was left for supper, whenthe "cook" promised to make them hare-soup. The head, feet, and otherspare bits, fell to Marengo's share. The owl, whose flesh was almost aswhite as its plumage, and, as Norman well knew, most delicate eating,was reserved for to-morrow's breakfast.
They had pitched their tent with the intention of remaining at thatplace all night, and continuing their journey next day; but, as it stillwanted several hours of sunset, and the strength of all was considerablyrecruited, they resolved to hunt about the neighbourhood as long as theyhad light. It was of great importance that they should procure moregame. The owl would make but a spare breakfast, and after that wherewas the next meal to come from? They had had a temporary relief, andwhile their strength lasted, they must use every effort to procure afurther supply. The valley in which their new camp was placed lookedwell for game. It was a sort of oasis in the Barren Grounds. There wasa lake and a considerable skirting of timber around it--consisting, aswe have said, of willows, poplars, spruce-pine, and dwarf birch-trees(_Betula nana_). The Alpine arbutus, whose berries are the food of manyspecies of animals, also grew upon the side of the hills; and theLabrador tea-plant (_Ledum palustre_) was found upon the low groundaround the lake. The leaves of this last is a favourite food of thePolar hare, and our voyageurs had no doubt but that there were many ofthese animals in the neighbourhood. Indeed, they had better evidencethan conjecture, for they saw numerous hare-tracks in the snow. Therewere tracks of other animals too, for it is a well-known fact that whereone kind exists, at least two or three others will be found in the samehabitat--all being connected together by a "chain of destruction."
A singular illustration of this was afforded to Lucien, who remained atthe camp while the rest went out hunting. He had gathered some of theleaves of the Labrador tea, and was drying them over the coals,intending to cheer his comrades with a cup of this beverage aftersupper. The hare-soup was boiling, and the "cook" sat listening to thecheerful sounds that issued from the pot--now and then taking off thelid to examine its savoury contents, and give them a stir. He wouldthen direct his attention to the tea-leaves that were parching in thefrying-pan; and, having shifted them a little, felt himself at libertyto look about for a minute or two.
On one of these occasions, while glancing up, his attention wasattracted to an object which appeared upon the snow at a short distancefrom where he sat. A wreath of snow, that had formed under the shelterof the hill, extended all around its base, presenting a steep front inevery direction. This front was only two or three feet in height; butthe top surface of the wreath was many yards wide--in fact, it extendedback until it became blended with the slope of the hill. It was smoothand nearly level, but the hill above was steep, and somewhat rough androcky. The steep front of the wreath came down within half-a-dozenpaces of the fire where Lucien was seated; and it was upon the top orscarpment of it that the object appeared that had drawn his attention.It was a small creature, but it was in motion, and thus had caught hiseye.
A single glance showed him that the little animal was a mouse, but of asomewhat singular species. It was about the size of the common mouse,but quite different in colour. The upper half of its body was of alight mahogany tint, while the lower half, including the legs and feet,were of a milky whiteness. It was, in fact, the "white-footed mouse"(_Mus leucopus_), one of the most beautiful of its kind.
Here and there above the surface of the snow protruded the tops ofarbutus-trees; and the little creature was passing from one of these tothe other, in search, no doubt, of the berries that remain upon thesetrees all the winter. Sometimes it ran from point to point like anyother mouse, but now and then it would rear itself on its hind-legs, andleap several feet at a single bound! In this it evidently assisteditself by pressing its tail--in which it possesses muscular power--against the snow. This peculiar mode of progression has obtained for itthe name of the "jumping mouse," and among the Indians "deer"-mouse,because its leap reminds them of the bounding spring of the deer. Butthere are still other species of "jumping mice" in America that possessthis power to a greater degree even than the _Mus leucopus_.
Lucien watched its motions without attempting to interfere with it,until it had got nearly out of sight. He did not desire to do injury tothe little creature, nor was he curious to obtain it, as he had alreadymet with many specimens, and examined them to his satisfaction. He hadceased to think of it, and would, perhaps, never have thought of itagain, but, upon turning his eyes in the opposite direction, he observedanother animal upon the snow. This creature had a far different aspectfrom the mouse. Its body was nearly a foot in length, although not muchthicker than that of the other! Its legs were short, but strong, andits forehead broad and arched convexly. It had a tail more than halfthe length of the body, hairy, and tapering like that of a cat. Itsform was the well-known form of the weasel, and it was, in fact, aspecies of weasel. It was the celebrated _ermine (Mustela erminea_),celebrated for its soft and beautiful fur, so long prized as an ornamentfor the robes of the rich. It was white all over, with the exception ofits tail; and that, for about an inch or so at the tip, was covered withblack silky hair. On some parts of the body, too, the white was tingedwith a primrose yellow; but this tinge is not found in all animals ofthis species, as some individuals are pure white. Of course it was nowin its winter "robes;" but in the summer it changes to a colour thatdoes not differ much from that of the common weasel.
When Lucien first saw it, it was running along the top of the wreath,and coming from the same direction from which the mouse had come. Nowand then it paused awhile, and then ran on again. Lucien observed thatit kept its nose to the ground, and as it drew nearer he saw that it wasfollowing on the same path which the other had taken. To hisastonishment he perceived that it was _trailing the mouse_! Whereverthe latter had doubled or made a _detour_, the ermine followed thetrack; and where the mouse had given one of its long leaps, there theermine would stop, and, after beating about until it struck the trailagain, would resume its onward course at a gallop. Its manoeuvres wereexactly like those of a hound upon the fresh trail of a fox!
Lucien now looked abroad to discover the mouse. It was still in sightfar off upon the snow, and, as Lucien could see, busily gnawing at thearbutus, quite unconscious that its _greatest_ enemy was so near. I saygreatest enemy, for the _Mus leucopus_ is the _natural_ prey of the_Mustela erminea_.
The mouse was soon made aware of the dangerous proximity, but not untilthe ermine had got within a few feet of it. When it perceived thelatter it shrunk, at first, among the leaves of the arbutus; but seeingthere would be no protection there--as the other was still springingforward to seize it--it leaped up, and endeavoured to escape by flight.Its flight appeared to be in alternate jumps and runs, but the chase wasnot a long one. The ermine was as active as a cat, and, after a fewskips, its claws were struck into the mouse. There was a short, slendersqueak, and then a "crunch," like the cracking of a hazel-nut. Thislast sound was produced by the teeth of the ermine breaking through theskull of its victim.