THE CHIMNEY JUMPER
"HOLD on, Lil Artha, don't rush things so fast!" called out Toby.
"Because this isn't our cabin, and before you knock over the uninvited
guest it might be just as well to ask permission from the owner," added
Elmer.
All eyes were of course turned on Uncle Caleb, although, according to
the mind of the impulsive Lil Artha, there was only one thing that could
be done, which was to suddenly open the door, and when the wildcat
rushed out give him a shot.
"I've been trying to get a picture of that cat so long," Uncle Caleb
told them, "that I'd really be very much disappointed now if he met with
his fate, and I had to go without a snapshot, even though a distant one,
to remember him by."
"It might be arranged," suggested Elmer, quietly.
"Put your trust in our scout master, sir, and you won't be
disappointed," Lil Artha went on to say, meanwhile looking curiously
toward Elmer, as though wondering what sort of plan he could have
conceived on the spur of the moment.
"Tell us how, Elmer?" George demanded, at the same time eying the cabin
with a dubious manner, as though he half believed the boys who said they
had seen _something_ through the small window must have deceived
themselves.
"Why, if the beast came down through the chimney, it strikes me he ought
to know enough to go out the same way if alarmed enough," was what Elmer
told them.
"A good idea, my boy!" declared Uncle Caleb, "and if I had everything
ready, with my little pocket camera focussed on the chimney, I suppose I
could snap him off as he climbed out. Now I'll fix that up right away,
and when I'm ready I'll sing out. After that some of you can bang on the
door, and start shouting, which should be enough to alarm the cat and
make it think of scampering out the way it came in."
He was as good as his word. Pushing forward until he was within thirty
feet of the cabin, with a good view of the rude chimney-top, and the
light in the right quarter to promise a good picture, Uncle Caleb waved
his hand to the others.
"All ready here, boys!" he exclaimed after he had fixed himself.
Elmer had spoken to Lil Artha and Toby, who were delegated to be the
attacking squad. George and the scout master accompanied Uncle Caleb,
the latter holding his gun in readiness.
"Remember," said Elmer, in a tone that every one could easily hear,
"there is to be no shooting unless it becomes necessary. If the cat
attacks us we'll have to defend ourselves. If it chooses to go about
its business we don't expect to bother it any. Get that, Lil Artha?"
The tall scout replied that he did, though he looked disappointed, as
though this thing of sparing so ferocious a varmint as a wildcat just
because some one wanted to catch a few pictures of the beast from time
to time, did not appeal very much to his sense of the fitness of things.
To Lil Artha the cat was without the pale of the law, because it
destroyed all sorts of useful things, from young partridges, rabbits and
squirrels to domestic fowls; and he knew there never was a time that any
State in the Union ever attempted to bar its hunters from killing every
bobcat they could find, the more the merrier.
"Then start your racket!" Elmer told the two who were standing close to
the cabin door.
Upon thus getting orders Lil Artha and Toby began to immediately make
all the noise they could. They pounded on the door with their fists,
together with the butt end of Lil Artha's gun; and the jargon of talk
they put up was enough to drive any ordinary cat distracted.
Toby even partly opened the door--just a few inches for he did not want
to make the acquaintance of that cat at close quarters--and banged it
shut again, meanwhile sending a whoop through the slit. It must have
been a brave animal that could have stood out against all that
combination of sounds.
Through the small opening Toby had glimpsed something that made him have
a chilly sensation along the region of his spine. He had caught sight
of the intruder. The cat was an exceptionally large one, and it stood
there in the middle of the floor, its hair bristling with fury, and its
eyes glaring like yellow balls. No wonder Toby slammed that door so
speedily, while his whoop ended in a yell. He almost thought he could
hear the heavy thud as the springing cat landed against the door close
to his head.
That may have only been his imagination working overtime, and inspired
by the one glimpse he had obtained of the fierce beast. He fancied as
much himself later on, when in a condition to survey the sequence of
events calmly.
While Toby and Lil Artha continued to whoop things up another shrill
outcry, this time from George, stilled their clamor.
"Oh! there he is coming out of the chimney, Elmer!" was what George
shrieked in his excitement, and afterwards the others laughed when they
made mention of the fact that for once George did not seem to doubt the
evidence of his eyes, or say that he thought it might be the cat he saw.
"I've got him!" added Uncle Caleb, who doubtless must have managed to
work his snapshot camera instantly, though no one heard the "click" of
the flying shutter on account of all the other sounds that were arising.
The wildcat had indeed appeared on top of the chimney, having remembered
the route it had taken when entering. This alone proved that it was a
clever beast, because in the midst of such excitement many another
animal would have lost its head, and gone plunging around the interior,
trying to push through the window perhaps, and utterly forgetting that
there was such a thing as a vent in that slab and hard mud "smoke
chaser," as Lil Artha always called the chimney.
"Look out, Elmer, he's going to jump at you!" warned the tall scout, in
a frenzied tone.
A wildcat is possibly one of the most vicious of small beasts of prey to
be found in American forests. It will often attack a hunter without any
seeming provocation, although doubtless there is some reason for the
reckless act, such as hidden kittens near by, or consuming hunger.
In this particular case neither of these reasons would apply, but the
animal was enraged on account of being disturbed while eating, and then
badgered by those yells on the part of the two scouts, as well as their
banging of the cabin door. George afterwards told them that they could
hardly blame the poor cat for getting its back up when abused and
shouted at in such a way; he also said that if he happened to be a wild
beast he would certainly be "mad clear through, and ready to fight at
the drop of the hat."
Elmer was on the alert, not that he had really anticipated such a thing
as having the wildcat spring at him, but he knew enough about such
animals to be aware of their fickle temper, and that one is never to be
trusted within leaping range. An old hunter had once told him never
under any possibility to lower his gun when a bobcat was facing him,
because their spring is like a flash of lightning. And as we happen to
know, Elmer was a boy who always believed in the efficiency of the
scout's motto, "Be Prepared!"
The cat crouched there on the top of the chimney for just three seconds.
That was the time when Uncle Caleb managed to press the button, and get
his picture. It was also when Lil Artha sent out his shrill warning, and
at the same time swung his Marlin gun around so that the stock rested
against his shoulder.
Then the wildcat sprang, with every powerful muscle in play--sprang
straight toward the little group of three--George, Elmer and Uncle
Caleb!
George was unarmed and being a cautious fellow he knew that the best
thing for him to do was to get out of range as speedily as possible.
Accordingly his movement was exactly timed with that of the leaping cat;
for just as the animal quitted the apex of the short chimney, and
launched its agile body into the air, George fell flat on his face on
the ground and made himself as small as possible.
There sounded a double report. Both Elmer and Lil Artha had fired so
near the same time that until told differently later on, George supposed
that the scout master alone had made use of his ready gun.
Uncle Caleb knew considerable about these savage cats, and he jumped
aside even as the roar of the guns sounded. Elmer, too, had no sooner
pulled the trigger than he took a quick step to the right, and then held
his gun ready to make use of the other barrel if necessary.
It turned out that such a thing was not needed. Halted in midair by the
double charge of shot, which at such close range must have had the same
tearing effect as so many bullets, the wildcat fell with a heavy thud to
the ground, some five feet away from where Elmer stood. He instantly
covered the beast with his gun.
"No need of another shot, my boy!" cried the owner of the cabin,
hastily; "you've already settled him handsomely."
The wretched invader had indeed paid the penalty for his crimes, and all
because he possessed such a terrible temper. Had he been willing to jump
in the other direction the chances were nothing would have been done to
prevent his escape, so that he might furnish Uncle Caleb with other
opportunities to snap him off when in the act perhaps of devouring a
partridge he had captured in the snow forest. When he allowed his fury
to get the better of his discretion he made the one mistake of his life.
All of them gathered around the now dead wildcat to admire his size, and
comment on his recklessness in daring to attack a party of human beings.
"Did you ever hear of such nerve in all your life?" remarked Lil Artha,
who was grinning all over with the satisfaction it gave him to be
instrumental in disposing of such a pest of the woods. "Why, if there
had been a regiment I reckon he'd have jumped at 'em just the same.
Mebbe cats go mad sometimes, and just don't know what they're doing."
"I've known of similar cases before," remarked Uncle Caleb, who was
looking at the wretched beast rather sadly, Elmer thought, "and a hunter
who has had experience never trusts a cat further than he can see it.
They get those crazy freaks once in a while, and fear seems to be driven
out of their system. When a Malay or a Chinaman loses his head, and
starts to wipe out the whole town, they say he is 'running amuck,' and
they always shoot him down as they would a mad dog. This cat species
when rendered furious does the same thing, and hesitates at nothing. But
I'm sorry it had to be done. He was a splendid specimen of a wildcat.
Look at those powerful muscles, and see what a square head he has. I'd
have given considerable to have had him a little more sociable, so that
I might have snapped off several pictures showing how he secured his
food, and crept up on game. But it couldn't be helped, apparently; he
just had to go and commit suicide as it seemed. And, Elmer, you
certainly pulled a quick trigger."
"Half the credit goes to Lil Artha, for he fired at the same time,"
Elmer quickly admitted. "I'm sure both of us hit him, because you can
see how badly the pelt is cut up. It would never bring ten cents in the
market after that riddling."
"Is it possible that there were two shots, and I never suspected it?"
Uncle Caleb observed, turning on the tall scout with a smile. "Well, I
can easily see that you boys have long ago learned how to take care of
yourselves, which is one of the best things any lad can know. All of
which increases my desire to hear more about this organization that is
doing such wonders for our American lads."
"Do you think you got your picture of the cat, Uncle?" asked Toby. "I
heard you call out something or other about it."
"I pressed the button while he was squatting on the top of the chimney,"
the owner of the cabin went on to say, "and that should be a fine
picture. Then almost mechanically I turned the screw that brought
another section of film into play, and my recollection is that I snapped
off another shot even as the beast was in the air. I'm curious to know
if I got anything worth while with that one. It would be a great triumph
if I should develop the film and find that I'd caught the cat just as it
received your shots and crumpled up in midair."
"That would be something worth seeing, sir," Lil Artha told him, "and
we'll hope it turns out that way."
George had scrambled to his feet as soon as he realized that the danger
was over. He looked a little ashamed, but there was no occasion for
feeling that way. When any one is unarmed, and sees such a fury as that
wildcat certainly was coming in his direction, he would be foolish
indeed not to dodge, and even hug the ground in an effort to escape
contact with those cruel poisonous claws.
"Gee whiz! look at the sharp teeth, would you; and then those open
claws," Lil Artha continued, as he bent down and took one of the dead
cat's feet in his fingers; "excuse me from meeting up with such a crazy
customer when walking through the woods at sundown. I might manage to
get the best of the beast, but my bully khaki suit would be in ribbons,
and mebbe my face clawed into a map of Ireland."
"As for me," spoke up Toby, "I'd never feel easy if I knew such a terror
was always hanging around, watching for a chance to grab me when my back
was turned. And say what you will, Uncle Caleb, I'm tickled half to
death because we bagged your pet cat before he had a chance to mark any
of us. I tell you I'll enjoy my tramps around this section better after
this. If he'd got away you wouldn't have caught Tobias Ellsworth Jones
wandering fifty feet away from home base without carrying a club or a
gun along. His room is going to be a whole sight better than his
company."
Uncle Caleb smiled at hearing what his nephew thought.
"Perhaps you're right in saying that, Toby," he remarked, "and it may be
that in pursuing my pet hobby I'm going too much to extremes in wanting
to preserve the life of such a savage animal. Possibly your ending his
career of piracy may be the means of saving me from a very unpleasant
experience; for I was planning to push my campaign against this same
cat, and follow him into his den, to get a good flashlight picture of
what he looked like at home. It would have been a foolhardy experiment,
I begin to realize. I suppose it's all for the best, and I'll cure the
skin just to remember the adventure by."
Lil Artha, who had pushed up close to Elmer, managed to say in a low
tone:
"I reckon that it was you knocked the stuffing out of the beast, Elmer,
because I'm afraid I fired too low." But the scout master immediately
hushed him up, and told him never to mention it again, for he felt sure
both of them had made a hit.