FRANK'S ADVENTURES--THE REINDEER FOLLOWED--UNWELCOME INTERLOPERS--
COWARDLY WOLVES STALKING THE FAWNS--REPELLED BY THE GALLANT BUCKS--CLOSE
QUARTERS--SUCCESSFUL SHOTS--DIFFERENT GAME THAN REINDEER--VISIONS OF
SPLENDOUR.
Frank's experience was a very different one from that of Alec. He and
his companion had started out in a westerly direction until they sighted
the herd of deer a few miles away. They followed them up until they
came so near as to have been able to have shot some, but, like other
hunters, they were anxious to kill the leader, so as to throw the herd
in confusion. With this object in view they carefully skulked along,
hiding behind the clumps of bushes and rocky ridges that were quite
numerous.
All at once they heard a snorting and a sound of rushing hither and
thither among the deer, and so they carefully climbed up some rocks and
cautiously looked over to try and find out what was the cause of the
commotion. At first they could not make out what was the matter, but
after a while they saw that the herd had other hunters than themselves
after them. These were a pack of wolves.
They were at the front of the herd, and so Frank and the Indian quickly
drew back from the rock, and hurried on to see the battle. Fortunately
for them, the reindeer were so excited by the presence of the wolves
that our two hunters were able to get among some large jagged rocks that
rose up fifty or sixty feet, not very distant from them. Here they had
a capital view of the valley in which were the deer and the wolves.
There seemed to be about a dozen wolves in the pack, and perhaps two
hundred reindeer in the herd, including about thirty young ones that
seemed about five or six months old.
The object of the wolves seemed to be to evade the great antlers of the
bucks and to capture those very pretty young fawns. It was very
interesting to watch the skill and courage, with which the great
antlered bucks would close up, like a company of cavalry, and charge the
wolves when they ventured too close to the herd. The wolves never
waited to receive the charge, but ignominiously turned tail and ran for
their lives. They, however, soon returned when no longer pursued.
There seemed to be a thorough understanding among the deer as to the
position each should take while menaced by the wolves. The large
antlered ones formed the outside circle. Next inside were the hornless
males and the does, while in a compact body in the centre were the
fawns.
Thus on they slowly moved, while the wolves attempted at various parts
to break through, but always quickly retreated when a company of the
bucks gallantly charged them.
This strange conflict was watched by Frank and his companion for some
time with intense interest, until it had an abrupt ending. It came
about this way. In one of the determined charges made upon the wolves
by, perhaps, thirty reindeer, they drove their cowardly enemies right up
among the rocks just beyond where Frank and his companion had hid
themselves. The close proximity of the wolves so excited Frank that he
whispered to the Indian:
"Let us fire at the wolves and never mind the deer."
The fact was that Frank's sympathies had so gone out for the deer, as he
watched the incessant schemings of the wolves to get at the beautiful
fawns and the gallant efforts of the older ones to defend them, that he
had no heart to fire into the herd. He could well see that their firing
into the herd would so terrify and disorganise them that the wolves
would easily destroy the little ones.
From where they were hid the two hunters noticed that the wolves, now no
longer chased by the reindeer, were again clustering near the rocks,
utterly unconscious of the fact that between them and the herd were some
more dreaded foes than even the antlered deer.
"All right," said the Indian, in answer to Frank's request, "but be sure
and kill two with your bullet."
Simultaneously there rang out the double report, and four wolves fell
dead, while the others, terrified by this attack, so unexpected and so
close, fled away toward the distant forest.
After seeing that the wolves did not stop in their flight, it did not
take Frank and his Indian companion long to reach a position where the
herd of deer could again be seen. Frank was delighted to observe that,
although they seemed to be somewhat startled by the distant report of
the guns, they had not broken their formation, but were more quickly
hurrying away. To skin the four wolves and return with their pelts to
the camp was all the sport they had, or wanted, for that day.
At first Alec was inclined to boast of a more successful day in reindeer
hunting, but when he heard the whole story he was willing to admit that
perhaps, after all, Frank's had been the nobler experience.
Sam's characteristic comments were:
"Man, but I would have liked to have had a crack at that great leader!
But, after all, I think I would have preferred to have had the
satisfaction of knocking over a couple more of those dirty, thievish,
murdering wolves."
One more great excursion was arranged ere they returned, and that was to
a large lake to which watchers had been sent some days before.
A couple of days after Frank and Alec had had the adventures with
reindeer, these watchers returned with word that the deer were numerous
on the shores of the lake, and were often seen swimming out in its
water. The two days' rest in the camp had been much needed and enjoyed.
Now all were fresh and eager to be off again.
Very little time is lost in breaking up a camp when once it is decided
to move, and so in a short time the canoes, propelled by the paddles in
the hands of the stalwart Indians, were dancing over the sunlit waves to
their next destination, some twenty miles away. Here they found the
Indians who had been sent as scouts or watchers had already returned and
prepared a cozy camp for their reception. A dinner of venison, bear's
meat, and ducks was ready for them, and after the score of miles of
paddling--for the boys always insisted on each doing his share--they
were all, with good appetites, ready to do ample justice to the hunter's
fare.
As the anticipated sport would be exciting, and was generally considered
to be more successful in the forenoons, it was decided to keep quiet
that afternoon and evening. So the guns were all cleaned and oiled and
many pipes of tobacco were smoked by the Indians, while the boys
wandered along the shores and enjoyed the sights of that picturesque
land. Just a little before sunset they had a display of colour such as
is seldom given to mortals to see upon this earth of ours. In the west
there floated a cloud that seemed to hang in the sky like a great prism.
Beyond it the sun in his splendour was slowly settling down toward the
horizon. Through this prism-like cloud there were reflected and settled
upon the waters all the colours of the rainbow. Every dancing wave
seemed at times to be of the deepest crimson, then they all seemed like
molten gold, then they were quickly transformed into some other gorgeous
hue, until the whole lake seemed literally ablaze with dazzling colours.
The boys were awed and silenced amid these glories, and sat down on a
rock entranced and almost overwhelmed. By-and-by the prism-like cloud
that had hung for perhaps half an hour in that position slowly drifted
away, and the sun again shone out in undimmed splendour and the glorious
vision ended.
Then the spell that had so long entranced the boys was broken, and in
silence for a time they looked at each other. Frank was the first to
speak, and his quiet words were:
"I have seen the `sea of glass mingled with fire' that John saw in
Patmos."
"And I," said Alec, "thought of the city of mansions where the streets
are of gold, and the walls jasper, and the gates pearl."
"And I," said Sam, "thought, `If that is a glimpse of heaven I can
understand why one has said, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared
for them that love him."'"
With quiet actions, and yet with happy hearts, they returned to the camp
from the long stroll.