BEAR POND AT LAST.
It was indeed a moment of supreme peril, and Dick felt very much as if
his last moment on earth had come. He put out his hands mechanically and
grabbed the wildcat by the throat, but his grip was poor and the beast
shook itself clear with ease.
It was now that John Barrow showed himself to be a master of quick
resources. To fire his rifle at the wildcat would have meant taking the
risk of hitting Dick, and this the guide thought too perilous. Leaping
to the fire, he caught up a long, burning brand and rushed at the beast
with this.
To have a part of the fire thrust directly into its eyes was more than
the beast had bargained for, and as soon as it felt the flame it gave a
cry of alarm and fell back. As it did this Dick leaped to his feet and
sprang several feet away.
[Illustration: DICK AND THE WILDCAT.
_Rover Boys and the Mountains_.]
John Barrow was now free to shoot, and hurling the firebrand at the
wildcat, he caught up his rifle and blazed away in short order. The
wildcat had turned to retreat, but the guide was too quick for it, and
down went the beast with a shot through its head. It gave a shudder or
two, and then stretched out, dead.
"Is he--he dead?" panted Dick, when he felt able to speak.
"Reckon so," responded John Barrow. "But I'll make sure." And catching
up a club, he aimed a blow which crushed the animal's skull.
"That was a narrow escape," went on Dick. "If you hadn't come to my aid,
I'm afraid he would have done me up." And he shivered from head to foot.
"You want to be careful how you attack wildcats around here, lad. It
aint likely they'll tech you, if you don't tech them. But if you do,
why, look out, that's all."
"Do you think he would have sneaked off with the turkey? I was thinking
first he would attack you."
"Reckon he was after the game, and nuthin' more, Dick. He must have been
powerful hungry, or he wouldn't have come so close to us. He's a putty
big fellow," went on the guide, as he dragged the carcass closer to the
firelight.
The fire was burning low, and Dick lost no time in heaping on some of
the newly cut brushwood, and then he reloaded and the guide did the
same.
"Might have a mate around," suggested John Barrow. "We had better keep
our eyes peeled, or we may be surprised. Wonder what time it is?"
By consulting a watch they found it was just midnight. After the
excitement Dick felt quite sleepy, and inside of half an hour he
followed the guide's advice and laid down to rest--not under the tree,
however, but as close to the camp-fire as safety permitted.
Dick had requested John Barrow to call him in three hours, so that the
guide might get a little more sleep, but the youth was allowed to
slumber until he aroused of his own accord, just as day was breaking.
"Hullo, I've slept all night!" he exclaimed, leaping up with something
of a hurt look. "Why didn't you call me?"
"I thought as how you needed the rest," was the answer from the guide.
"Aren't you sleepy?"
"Not very. A sleep early in the night generally does me more good nor
hours o' it later on."
"You haven't seen or heard anything of Tom or Sam?"
"Nary sight or sound, lad. It's too bad, but don't worry too much."
"They couldn't have seen the firelight," returned Dick, with a sorry
shake of his head. "It beats all where they went to, doesn't it?"
"I've been a-thinking that maybe they went on ahead, Dick."
"Ahead? That they somehow passed us?"
"Yes; while we were lookin' for 'em. They may be up at B'ar Pond now,
waitin' for us."
"Do you advise going up there?"
"We might as well. We can put up a post here, with a message for 'em--in
case they do come this way."
"That's an idea, and we can put up other posts, too. Then, if they
strike our trail, they'll be sure to go straight in following us." And
Dick's face brightened a bit.
John Barrow was already preparing breakfast, and he agreed with Dick to
leave some cooked meat in a cloth tied to the top of the pole the youth
erected not far from the fire. On the cloth they pinned a note, telling
of the direction to Bear Pond, and asking Tom and Sam to follow and fire
two shots, a minute apart, as a signal.
It was a clear day and the sun, shining over the mountain tops, made the
snow and ice glitter like pearls and diamonds. There was no wind, so the
journey toward Bear Pond was far from unpleasant. They moved slowly,
dragging the sled behind them, and searching to the right and the left
for some trace of the missing Rovers.
"I don't believe they came up here," said Dick after half the distance
to the pond had been covered, "I don't see the least trace of any human
being, although I've seen the footprints of several wild animals."
"The wind might have covered the tracks during the night," was John
Barrow's hopeful response.
"I'd rather lose the treasure, even if it is worth thousands, than have
anything happen to Sam and Tom."
Just before noon they came to a point in the river where it divided into
several branches.
"We'll stop here and put up another sign pole," said the guide.
"Remember what I said? All these streams run into the pond and into
Perch River. Now, which one you want, at tudder end, I don't know."
"Which is the largest branch?"
"Can't say, exactly. This one an' the one yonder are about the same
size, and that one aint much smaller."
"Well, which do you suppose was the largest years ago?"
"Can't say that neither, although that one yonder might have been, by
the looks o' the banks."
"Then let us start on that one. And if that fails us, we can then try
the others."
They skated to the stream in question and erected a pole in the middle
of the ice, upon which a second note was posted. Having gone to the
trouble of chopping a hole for the pole, John Barrow suggested they
might try their hand at fishing.
"Might as well stay here a while," he said. "If they are behind us, they
may catch up."
Dick was willing, and soon a line was baited and let down into the hole.
It was in the water only a few seconds when the guide felt a bite and
drew up a fine fish, weighing at least half a pound.
Dick was anxious to try it, and took the line from John Barrow's hands.
He was equally successful, and in a short while they had seven fish to
their credit, weighing from a quarter to three-quarters of a pound
apiece.
"I'm going to tie a fish to the top of the pole," said Dick. "They may
be hungry when they get here, especially if they miss the pole at our
last camping place."
"They won't want to eat raw fish, lad."
"No, and I'm going to put a few matches in a paper and tie it to the
fish, so they can cook it, if they wish."
Dick's idea was followed out, and once more they went on, up a narrow
stream which had many a turn among the cedar brakes and hemlocks which
lined either side. Rocks were likewise numerous, and the lad came to the
conclusion that locating the treasure was going to be no easy task.
"It's rather desolate," he remarked. "I wonder what ever possessed that
old Goupert to come here?"
"It's not so desolate in the summer time, Dick. But I reckon Goupert was
a mighty odd stick, as it was."
At last they rounded a turn in the stream and came in sight of Bear
Pond, a long and wide stretch of water located in the very midst of two
tall mountains. The pond was covered with thick ice, and the snow lay
upon it in long drifts and ridges. The ice was blackish and almost as
hard as flint.
"We may as well go into camp near the mouth of this stream," said Dick.
"For from this spot we'll make our first hunt for the treasure."
"I hope with all my heart that you find it, lad. But if you don't, don't
be too disappointed."
"I want to find Sam and Tom first. I shan't hunt for the treasure until
I know of them."
"That's right. We'll go on a hunt this afternoon, jest as soon as we've
had some of these fish broiled for dinner."
If there was one thing which John Barrow could do to perfection, it was
to broil fish, and the meal he set before Dick half an hour later was so
appetizing the lad could not help enjoy it, in spite of his anxiety over
his brothers' prolonged absence. The fish was as sweet as a nut, and
both lingered some time over the meal, until all that had been broiled
were gone.
"And now to find Tom and Sam," said Dick, at last, as he leaped up from
the log upon which he had been sitting. "What shall we do with our
things?"
"Here is a hole in the rocks," answered the guide. "We'll hide them
there and cover them with stones. I don't think anything will disturb
the things between now and nightfall."
The stores were placed in the cache and carefully covered, so that the
wild animals might not get at them, and then they saw to it that their
firearms were ready for use. A minute later they were off, on the hunt
for Tom and Sam.