LOST IN THE WOODS
There was no time wasted in shooting at the partridges which were flying
along so close to the tree tops. The six cadets did their best but four
of the charges went wild. The aim of Jack and Gif was effective, and one
wounded partridge came fluttering down to the snow while another dropped
dead on the branches of a nearby cedar.
"Hurrah! we've got two of them, anyhow," cried Gif, as he reached
forward and quickly put the wounded bird out of its misery.
"We've got two provided we can reach that one up in the tree," answered
Jack. "I'm afraid it's going to be some climb to get it down."
"That's so," said Randy.
"Oh, I can get up there in no time!" cried Andy gayly. "Here, take my
gun," and with his usual agility he was soon mounting the branches of
the big tree, taking particular delight in shaking down great masses of
loose snow on the heads of those below.
As is usual with cedars, the branches were close together, and Andy soon
found he would have his own troubles in reaching the point where the
dead partridge rested. However, he kept on, worming his way upward as
best he could, until he was within a few feet of the prize.
"Some climb, believe me!" he called out to those below. "This tree is
almost as close-grown as a cedar bush."
Up went Andy, and presently managed to get hold of the dead partridge
and drew the game toward him. Just as he did this he heard a peculiar
sound a few feet below him on the other side of the tree.
"Hello! is somebody following me?" he questioned, looking down to see
what the movement among the branches below meant.
There was no reply to his question, and Andy came to the conclusion that
the branches must have become crossed in some way and then loosened
themselves. He continued his descent, but just as he reached a branch
two feet further down a peculiar cry came to his alert ears, a cry not
unlike that of an angry cat.
"Hello! something is up in this tree, that is sure," he told himself.
He listened, and then heard another cry, this time less than two yards
below him, coming from one of the larger branches of the big cedar. At
once he sent up a shout.
"What's wanted?" questioned his twin. "Why don't you hurry up down so we
can do some more hunting?"
"There is some wild animal in this tree!" answered Andy. "I don't know
what it is, but it sounds like a wildcat."
"A wildcat!" burst out several of the others.
"And Andy hasn't any gun!" cried Gif. "Come on, let us see if we can't
shoot the thing!"
"Go slow there," cautioned Jack. "Let us see if we can't locate it and
find out what it is first. We don't want it to attack Andy while he is
unarmed."
"Are you in any danger, Andy?" called out Fred.
"Where is the cat--or whatever it is?" asked Randy.
"It's just below me somewhere. I can't see it, but I can hear it plainly
enough. It's moving around in those lower branches. I guess I had better
stay up here for a while;" and as he spoke Andy mounted to a higher
limb. With no weapon handy, he had no desire to face any wild animal.
Those below slowly circled the big cedar, keeping their eyes on the
alert for a view of whatever might be prowling around among the
branches. They had their guns ready for use, but realized that they must
fire with great caution, or otherwise they might hit the lad who was in
peril.
"I suppose the wildcat, or whatever it is, was up in the tree and didn't
know what to do when Andy started to come up. The beast knew we were
down here, or otherwise it would probably have jumped down and run off."
"Squirrels don't cry like a cat, and I heard that beast just cry," said
Jack. "All squirrels do is to chatter."
"There's another danger," said Gif. "If we come too close to that tree
we'll probably drive the wildcat, or whatever it is, up to where Andy
is."
"Here's the bird!" shouted Andy from above, and threw the partridge down
and away from the tree.
Jack and Andy's twin took a few steps closer to the big cedar, at the
same time holding their guns ready for instant use. They peered upward
among the snow-laden branches, and presently caught sight of a slinking
form resting in a crotch of the tree.
"There it is!" exclaimed Randy, and was on the point of firing when the
wildcat--for such it had proved to be--dropped out of sight and leaped
to a branch on the other side of the tree trunk.
"Hi there! don't drive that beast up here," called out Andy.
"Andy," called back his twin suddenly, "weren't you carrying that
flashlight?"
"No, I left it at the Lodge. I didn't think I would want it on the trip
to Henryville."
"I've got my flashlight," remarked Gif. "Here it is," and he brought it
forth.
The light was flashed up into the tree and around from branch to branch.
As the rays traveled through the cedar there was a sudden wild cry from
the animal, and then came a swish and a whirr as the wildcat sprang to
the outer end of a limb and then down into the snow.
Bang! bang! bang! went the guns in the hands of Gif, Randy, and Spouter.
But whether they hit the wildcat or not, they could not tell. There was
a whirl in the snow, and then in a twinkling the beast had disappeared
into the forest behind them.
"Well, it's gone, anyhow," declared Jack, in a tone of great relief.
"You can come down, Andy."
Andy was soon out of the tree, and, having picked up the two partridges,
the six young hunters continued on their way, as they supposed, in the
direction of Cedar Lodge.
Presently they came to another clearing, and on the far side of this
noted some animals hopping about which they felt certain must be
rabbits.
"Let's go over there!" cried Fred excitedly. "Maybe we can make a good
haul."
"It's a pretty good tramp around to the other side of this clearing,"
remarked Gif. "And it looks to me as if it might begin to snow again,"
he added, with a glance at the sky which was now heavily overcast.
But all of the others wanted a chance to get more game, so in the end
the six cadets tramped around one edge of the clearing until they
reached a point close to the spot where the rabbits had been seen. Here
the bunnies were out in force, trying to find something to eat, and they
had but little difficulty in bagging four of the creatures.
"Well, that's not so bad but what it might be worse," announced Jack.
"We should have had more than four," grumbled Randy. "There were at
least fifteen or sixteen rabbits to be seen." He had missed what he had
thought to be a comparatively easy shot.
"Well, we can't have everything," declared Spouter philosophically.
They trudged on once more, Gif, as before, taking the lead. But
presently the tall cadet called a halt.
"What's the matter now?" questioned Randy. "See any more game ahead?"
"No." Gif was staring around first to the right and then to the left.
"Hang it if I know whether we are on the right trail or not!"
"Do you mean to say, Gif, you don't know in what direction the Lodge is
located?" questioned Spouter quickly.
"I think it's off in that direction, Spouter," was the reply, and Gif
pointed with his hand, "but I'm not dead sure of it. Circling that
clearing threw me off the track."
"Well, were you sure of the trail before we came over here?" questioned
Jack. "If you were, we can go back you know, even though it is quite a
tramp."
"I thought I was sure, Jack. But now I'm not sure of anything," answered
Gif helplessly. "Someway or other, I seem to be completely turned
around."
"Gee! then we're in a pretty pickle," groaned Fred, who was beginning to
grow tired of tramping through the snow.
"If we could only get down to the river again we'd be all right," came
from Randy.
"I wonder if I could locate the Lodge from the top of one of these
trees," remarked Jack. "It would be quite a climb to get such a view,
but it would be better than tramping around without knowing where one
was going."
"I'll do the climbing," answered Gif quickly. "I got you fellows into
this mess, and it's up to me to get you out."
"Oh, don't think I'm complaining," returned Spouter quickly.
"None of us is complaining, Gif. We all know it's the easiest thing in
the world to get lost in a big woods like this--especially when there is
snow on the ground to cover up the landmarks."
A tall pine was selected, and the others boosted Gif upward as far as
they could. Then he mounted from branch to branch, and the others waited
below as patiently as possible for what he might have to report. In the
meantime a few flakes of snow came drifting downward, and soon it was
snowing steadily.
"Well, what can you see?" called out Jack, after those below had waited
quite a while for their chum to make a report.
"I can't see very much on account of the snow coming down," announced
Gif. "I can see the edge of a clearing that might be the one where Cedar
Lodge is located, but I am not certain of it."
"Well, take another good look," advised Spouter. "Wish we had field
glasses," he added.
It was a full fifteen minutes before Gif rejoined the others. He had
located but one place that looked like the clearing surrounding the
Lodge, but, as he had said before, he was by no means certain that this
was the right location.
"Well, we might as well try it anyway," announced Jack. "We can't stay
here all night."
[Illustration: BANG! BANG! BANG! WENT THE GUNS IN THE HANDS OF GIF,
RANDY, AND SPOUTER.]
"It's too bad it began to snow so heavily just as I was climbing the
tree," remarked Gif. "If it hadn't been for that I might have gotten
quite a view and maybe located the bungalow without difficulty. However,
this may prove to be the right trail after all. Come on, before it gets
dark."
"Wish I had something more to eat," remarked Andy. The few sandwiches
and doughnuts they had brought along had long since been eaten.
As they walked on the way seemed to grow more difficult. They soon found
themselves at a point where there were a series of rocks backed up by
low-hanging bushes thickly covered with snow. There was no wind, but the
snow was now coming down more thickly than ever.
"Gee! it looks to me as if we were lost," remarked Fred.
All gazed around them, but saw little to give them satisfaction. Behind
them lay the thick forest, and in front of them the rocks and bushes. It
was now growing dark, and this added to their uneasiness.
"Well, what shall we do next?" questioned Gif.
Nobody answered that question. They were undoubtedly lost, and what was
to be done about it was a serious problem.