CHAPTER VIII. OUT FOR BIG GAME.
"Whew! so that's a moose, is it?" gasped Giraffe, being the first tobreak the tense silence that had fallen upon the campers.
"What a queer old sound," almost whispered Bumpus. "My stars! but I guesshe's most as big as our old red barn at home. Is he heading this way,Sebattis, Eli, Jim?"
Bumpus cast a despairing look around him while saying this. Thad had anidea he must be trying to pick out a desirable tree which he could"shinny up" in case the moose raided the camp; for owing to his buildBumpus was not so good at climbing as some others, Giraffe or Davy Jonesfor instance.
"Just now that's what the ole duffer, he's a-doin'," replied Eli; whilethe Indian guide only nodded his head, being a man of few words usually.
"Who's goin' to tackle him?" demanded Step Hen. "Now, don't you fellersall look at _me_, just because I said that little rifle of mine was goodfor any animal that walked these here Maine woods. I gave up first chanceto Thad long ago, didn't I, Thad? You see, a feller that hasn't had greatexperience at such things don't want to rush in too fast. I promised mymaw to be careful, and I mean to. As for me, you see, I said that Thadhad to try out my new gun. The man in the store told me not to think ofstanding up before any big game till I'd practiced how to use the pumppart. You see, if a feller got rattled, and needed to send in a secondshot, he might try to work the thing wrong, get it stuck, and then have afine old time. So Thad for mine."
"So say we all of us," remarked Giraffe. "We'd like to see what Thadcould do. He hasn't never had a chance at a moose. You go with Sebattis,Thad. The rest of us'll sit by the fire here, and wait for things tohappen."
"No fire," remarked Sebattis. "Eli put um out. You come 'long with me,Tad!"
Somehow the Indian could never get the hang of Thad's name, and calledhim Tad; but it was rather a curiosity to hear him talk at all, so nobodyever objected, least of all the patrol leader.
"This is mighty fine of you boys," whispered Thad, as he watched Eli andJim proceeding to scatter the fire, and trample on the embers; in whichtask the other members of the party only too willingly assisted.
In a minute, almost, they were in darkness under the pines. MeanwhileSebattis had baited the moose with another of his wonderful calls,thrilling the lads just as much as on the first occasion.
"Ugh! make me shiver," muttered Bumpus. "Seems like there just must be agreat big critter, with horns ten feet high, ready to rush the camp. Hey!don't get away from me, Jim; I want to squat alongside in the dark. Afterall that light it seems rough to be left in the gloom."
"Mustn't talk no more, or sneeze, or cough! Skeer moose right bad,"whispered the younger guide, as he threw an arm across the fat shouldersof Bumpus, for whom he seemed to have taken an especial fancy.
And so the balance of the campers crouched there, with every nerve onedge, listening eagerly for the slightest sound, which of course wasmagnified a dozen fold, owing to the tension under which they werelaboring.
Meanwhile Thad had followed after the Indian guide.
His very first act, before the light of the fire was extinguished, hadbeen to hastily examine the small-bore repeating rifle which belonged toStep Hen, and which the owner was so anxious to have Thad christen withthe first shot, at game worth while.
It seemed to be in splendid working order, and Thad believed he coulddepend on it to do the work, providing he aimed straight. There is a vastamount of result depending on the man behind the gun, whether in war, orin hunting.
At first it seemed pitch dark to the boy, as he kept close at the heelsof the Penobscot Indian. That was partly because his eyes had beenblinded from sitting there, looking into the heart of the blazingcamp-fire so long. Now that this did not happen to be the case anylonger, he found that he could gradually see better; until presently thedim form of Sebattis began to make itself noticeable just in front.
How silently the Indian moved along. Thad wondered whether this came fromthe fact of his wearing elkskin moccasins, or because he had been raisednever to make a noise when passing through the woods; perhaps it wasboth; but Thad wished he could only emulate his example; and then andthere he determined to possess himself of the soft-soled hunting boots ofthe same type as those of Sebattis, at the first opportunity.
He knew from the confidence with which the guide was advancing throughthe darkness that he must have immediately settled in his mind just wherethey should lie in wait for the bull moose.
And it struck Thad right then and there that the dark-faced guide wasabout as good a pattern for a Boy Scout to follow, as any one whom hecould imagine. Surely Sebattis kept his eyes constantly on the alert; andnever could be caught napping.
For instance, look at the way he lifted his head to listen some tenminutes before the sheriff arrived upon the scene, and gave the boys thatrude jolt when he called out to them to surrender. Sebattis must haveheard some slight sound that warned him of the stealthy approach ofeither human beings or game, and he had crept out of camp so as to be ina position to hold the upper hand, in case of any necessity.
Perhaps it was a little strange how all these thoughts crowded throughthe mind of Thad, as he was following silently as possible at the veryheels of the guide.
Other things trooped through that active brain of his, too; for Thad hadschooled himself to see and notice everything he could. For instance, hebecame aware of the fact that they were heading almost directly up intothe wind. That in itself was nothing surprising, for a true still hunteralways looks to have the air blowing from the game toward himself, as inthat way he prevents the keen-scented animal from getting notice of hisapproach, and fleeing before he can find a chance to send in a shot.
Yes, the night breeze was coming out of the north, and the moose wasapproaching from the same quarter. The last time they heard his echoingchallenge it seemed much closer than ever, showing that the bull wasadvancing with little rushes. He would push on for a couple of minutes,and then halt to send out a call, and listen. Then Sebattis would proceedto lure him on with the most seductive calls he could extract from hiswonderful birch bark horn.
So it went on, the two parties approaching one another at a speed whichpromised a meeting very shortly.
Thad felt his heart beating almost twice as fast as ordinarily. He didnot like this, and sternly resolved to control his nerves. The party whoexpects to shoot big game must be able to aim straight, and keep his witsabout him, so as to send in a second and a third shot, should they beneeded; else he may find that the boot is on the other foot, and that itis he himself who is being hunted.
Fighting down this nervousness as best he could, the boy set his teethfirmly together, and was resolved to do all in his power to justify theconfidence his comrades seemed to have in his ability to "do the troopproud," as Giraffe would have said.
Another thing he noticed by this time. They did not seem to be trying toget to higher ground at all, as he had expected would be the case. On thecontrary, Sebattis was following the upward trend of the river. Perhapshe only wanted to move as far away from the camp as possible, so that thesuspicious animal might not get a whiff of air that, to him, might bearsome sign of the extinguished fire; or detect uneasy movements among thescouts left behind, and who could not keep just as still as they should.
But somehow Thad had an idea there might be yet another reason for theirkeeping on in this direction, as if meaning to intercept the coming bullmoose; and presently he found it out for a fact.
Once, twice, three times had the guide stopped to send out that strangesound that went reverberating down the river, until it died away inmournful cadence in the distance.
Then he came to a sudden stop.
"Here do, Tad; you drop down this way. Keep eye on top ridge up there.See um moose stand out 'gainst sky. Try hit back shoulder. No get, p'rapsme shoot too. How that suit?"
That was more than Thad had ever heard Sebattis say in one breath sincemeeting the Old-town guide. But he
instantly saw what the other meant,for Thad had the instincts of a born hunter in him.
From the spot where they knelt, by looking up just a little, they couldsee the bald top of a low-lying ridge close at hand, where it wasoutlined sharply against the star jeweled sky. Any bulky object as big asa cow, or even a wolf, would, if standing there on the ridge, be plainlyshown against the heavens.
"I understand, Sebattis," the boy whispered back; "and I'll try to do youcredit. Tell me when to shoot, that's all."
Then the two relapsed into silence. The last defiant call of the comingmoose was just dying out. It had been fearfully close, and Thad knew thatthe animal must be less than a quarter of a mile away from them at thetime he stood still to give that call.
Sebattis answered it, and Thad began to notice that he no longer sent outthat vociferous challenge as before. He believed that the guide must nowbe imitating the voice of the moose cow, to tempt the other bull on so asto fight for the possession of a mate, which he doubtless lacked.
A few more minutes passed away. Thad imagined he could actually hear hisheart pounding away within its prison, so loudly did it throb. He beganto fear that after that last challenge the bull had become suspicious,and declined to advance any closer. But apparently the guide did notshare in his apprehensions; for he continued to make those lower sounds,as though wheedling the other into coming on, and entering the lists withthe bull who already had a mate.
Still there was no answering blast. What could it mean?
Thad was beginning to have a feeling of bitter disappointment andchagrin, when all at once he heard something that gave him an electricshock.
It was like the crackling of branches, or the breaking of dead bushesunder the impact of a ponderous body. Thad knew now that the guide hadnot been mistaken with regard to his ability to coax the suspicious oldbull to close quarters; for the moose was even then climbing the otherside of the low ridge, and must appear in sight on the summit at anymoment!
The Boy Scouts on the Trail; or, Scouting through the Big Game Country Page 8