They had plenty of meat for their breakfast though--such as it was--and
came nigh paying dearly enough for it.
The three brothers slept lying along the ground within a few feet of one
another. Their tent was gone, and, of course, they were in the open
air. They were under a large spreading tree, and, wrapped in their
blankets, had been sleeping soundly through the night. Day was just
beginning to break, when something touched Francois on the forehead. It
was a cold, clammy object; and, pressing upon his hot skin, woke him at
once. He started as if a pin had been thrust into him; and the cry
which he uttered awoke also his companions. Was it a snake that had
touched him? Francois thought so at the moment, and continued to think
so while he was rubbing his eyes open. When this feat was accomplished,
however, he caught a glimpse of some object running off, that could not
be a snake.
"What do you think it was?" inquired Basil and Lucien, in the same
breath.
"A wolf, I think," replied Francois. "It was his cold nose I felt.
See! yonder it goes. See--see--there are two of them!"
Francois pointed in the direction in which the two animals were seen to
run. Basil and Lucien looked, and saw them as well. They were about
the size of wolves, but appeared to be quite black, and not like wolves
at all. What could they be? They had suddenly passed into a darker
aisle among the trees, and the boys had only caught a glimpse of them as
they went in. They could still distinguish their two bodies in the
shade, but nothing more. What could they be? Perhaps javalies? This
thought, no doubt, occurred to the brothers, because of their late
adventure with these animals.
"They are too large, and run too clumsily, for javalies," said Lucien.
"Bears?" suggested Francois.
"No, no; they are not large enough for bears."
All three were puzzled.
They had risen upon their hands and knees, disencumbered themselves of
their blankets, and each had grasped his gun, which they always kept
close by them when asleep.
They remained in this position, straining their eyes up the gloomy alley
after the two black objects that had stopped about fifty yards distant.
All at once the form of a man rose up before them, and directly in front
of the animals. Instead of retreating from the latter, as the boys
expected, the upright figure stood still. To their further
astonishment, the two animals ran up to it, and appeared to leap against
it, as if making an attack upon it! But this could not be--since the
figure did not move from its place, as one would have done who had been
attacked. On the contrary, after a while, it stooped down, and appeared
to be caressing them!
"A man and two dogs," whispered Francois; "perhaps an Indian!"
"It may be a man," returned Lucien, also speaking in a whisper. "I know
not what else it could be; but those _are no dogs_, or I never saw
such."
This Lucien uttered with emphasis and in a serious tone, that caused the
brothers to draw closer to each other.
During all this time Marengo stood by, restrained by them from rushing
forward. The dog had not awaked until the first cry of Francois roused
him. He was wearied with the long gallop of the preceding days; and,
like his masters, had been sleeping soundly. As all started almost
simultaneously, a word from Basil had kept him in--for to this he had
been well trained--and without a signal from him he was not used to
attack any creature, not even his natural enemies. He therefore stood
still, looking steadily in the same direction as they, and at intervals
uttering a low growl that was almost inaudible. There was a fierceness
about it, however, that showed he did not regard the strange objects as
friends. Perhaps he knew what they were, better than any of the party.
The three mysterious creatures still remained near the same spot, and
about fifty yards from the boys. They did not remain motionless though.
The two smaller ones ran over the ground--now separating from the
upright figure and then returning again, and appearing to caress it as
before. The latter now and then stooped, as if to receive their
caresses, and--when they were not by--as though it was gathering
something from the ground. It would then rise into an upright position,
and remain motionless as before. All their manoeuvres were performed in
perfect silence.
There was something mysterious--awe-inspiring in these movements; and
our young hunters observed them, not without feelings of terror. They
were both puzzled and awed. They scarcely knew what course to adopt.
They talked in whispers, giving their counsels to each other. Should
they creep to their horses, mount, and ride off? That would be of no
use; for if what they saw was an Indian, there were, no doubt, others
near; and they could easily track and overtake them. They felt certain
that the strange creatures knew they were there--for indeed their
horses, some thirty yards off, could be plainly heard stamping the
ground and cropping the grass. Moreover, one of the two animals had
touched and smelt Francois; so there could be no mistake about _it_
being aware of their presence. It would be idle, therefore, to attempt
getting off unawares. What then? Should they climb into a tree? That,
thought they, would be of just as little use; and they gave up the idea.
They resolved, at length, to remain where they were, until they should
either be assailed by their mysterious neighbours, or the clearer light
might enable them to make out who and what these were.
As it grew clearer, however, their awe was not diminished; for they now
saw that the upright figure had two thick strong-looking arms, which it
held out horizontally, manoeuvring with them in a singular manner. Its
colour, too, appeared reddish, while that of the small animals was deep
black! Had they been in the forests of Africa, or _South_ instead of
_North_ America, they would have taken the larger figure for that of a
gigantic ape. As it was, they knew it could not be that.
The light suddenly became brighter--a cloud having passed off the
eastern sky. Objects could be seen more distinctly, and then the
mystery, that had so long held the young hunters in torturing suspense,
was solved. The large animal reared up and stood with its side towards
them; and its long pointed snout, its short erect ears, its thick body
and shaggy coat of hair, showed that it was no Indian nor human creature
of any sort, but _a huge bear standing upright on its hams_.
"A she-bear and her cubs!" exclaimed Francois; "but see!" he continued,
"_she_ is red, while the cubs are jet-black!"
Basil did not stop for any observation of that kind. He had sprung to
his feet and levelled his rifle, the moment he saw what the animal was.
"For your life do not fire!" cried Lucien. "It _may be a grizzly
bear_!"
His advice came too late. The crack of Basil's rifle was heard; and the
bear dropping upon all fours, danced over the ground shaking her head
and snorting furiously. The light had deceived Basil; and instead of
hitting her in the head as he had intended, his bullet glanced from her
snout, doing her but little harm. Now, the snout of a bear is its most
precious and tender organ, and a blow upon that will rouse even the most
timid species of them to fury. So it was with this one. She saw whence
the shot came; and, as soon as she had given her head a few shakes, she
came in a shuffling gallop towards the boys.
Basil now saw how rashly he had acted, but there was no time for
expressing regrets. There was not even time for them to get to their
horses. Before they could reach these and draw the pickets, the bear
would overtake them. Some one of them would become a victim.
"Take to the trees!" shouted Lucien; "if it be a grizzly bear, she
cannot climb."
As Lucien said this, he levelled his short rifle and fired at the
advancing animal. The bullet seemed to strike her on the flank, as she
turned with a growl and bit the part. This delayed her for a moment,
and allowed Lucien time to swing himself to a tree. Basil had thrown
away his rifle, not having time to reload. Francois, when he saw the
great monster so near, dropped his gun without firing.
All three in their haste climbed separate trees. It was a grove of
white oaks, as we have already stated; and these trees, unlike the
pines, or magnolias, or cypress-trees, have usually great limbs growing
low down and spreading out horizontally. These limbs are often as many
feet in length as the tree itself is in height.
It was upon these that they had climbed--Basil having taken to that one
under which they had slept, and which was much larger than the others
around. At the foot of this tree the bear stopped. The robes and
blankets drew her attention for the moment. She tossed them over with
her great paws, and then left them, and walked round the trunk, looking
upward, at intervals uttering loud "sniffs," that sounded like the
"'scape" of a steam-pipe. By this time Basil had reached the third or
fourth branch from the ground. He might have gone much higher; but,
from what Lucien had suggested, he believed the animal to be a grizzly
bear. Her colour, which was of a fern or fulvous brown, confirmed him
in that belief--as he knew that grizzly bears are met with of a great
variety of colours. He had nothing to fear then, even on the lowest
branch, and he thought it was no use going higher. So he stopped and
looked down. He had a good view of the animal below; and to his
consternation he saw at a glance that it was _not_ a grizzly, but a
different species. Her shape, as well as general appearance, convinced
him it was the "cinnamon" bear--a variety of the black, and one of the
best tree-climbers of the kind. This was soon put beyond dispute, as
Basil saw the animal throw her great paws around the trunk, and commence
crawling upward!
It was a fearful moment. Lucien and Francois both leaped back to the
ground, uttering shouts of warning and despair. Francois picked up his
gun, and without hesitating a moment ran to the foot of the tree, and
fired both barrels into the hips of the bear. The small shot hardly
could have penetrated her thick shaggy hide. It only served to irritate
her afresh, causing her to growl fiercely; and she paused for some
moments, as if considering whether she would descend and punish the
"enemy in the rear," or keep on after Basil. The rattling of the latter
among the branches above decided her, and on she crawled upward.
Basil was almost as active among the branches of a tree as a squirrel or
a monkey. When about sixty feet from the ground, he crawled out upon a
long limb that grew horizontally. He chose this one, because he saw
another growing above it, which he thought he might reach as soon as the
bear followed him out upon the first; and by this means get back to the
main trunk before the bear, and down to the ground again. After getting
out upon the limb, however, he saw that he had miscalculated. The
branch upon which he was, bending down under his weight, so widened the
distance between it and the one above, that he could not reach the
latter, even with the tips of his fingers. He turned to go back. To
his horror the bear was at the other end in the fork, and _preparing to
follow him along the limb_!
He could not go back without meeting the fierce brute in the teeth.
There was no branch below within his reach, and none above, and he was
fifty feet from the ground. To leap down appeared the only alternative
to escape the clutches of the bear, and that alternative was certain
death!
The bear advanced along the limb. Francois and Lucien screamed below,
loading their pieces as rapidly as they could; but they feared they
would be too late.
It was a terrible situation; but it was in such emergencies that the
strong mind of Basil best displayed itself; and, instead of yielding to
despair, he appeared cool and collected. His mind was busy examining
every chance that offered.
All at once a thought struck him; and, obedient to its impulse, he
called to his brothers below,--
"A rope! a rope! Fling me a rope! Haste! for heaven's sake haste! a
rope, or I am lost!"
Fortunately, there lay a rope under the tree. It was a raw-hide lasso,
used in packing Jeanette. It lay by the spot where they had slept.
Lucien dropped his half-loaded rifle, and sprang towards it, coiling it
as he took it up. Lucien could throw a lasso almost as well as Basil
himself; and that was equal to a Mexican "vaquero" or a "gaucho" of the
Pampas. He ran nearly under the limb, twirled the lasso around his
head, and launched it upwards.
Basil, to gain time, had crept out upon the limb as far as it would bear
him, while his fierce pursuer followed after. The branch, under their
united weight, bent downward like a bow. Fortunately, it was oak, and
did not break.
Basil was astride, his face turned to the tree and towards his pursuer.
The long snout of the latter was within three feet of his head, and he
could feel her warm breath, as with open jaws she stretched forward,
snorting fiercely.
At this moment the ring-end of the lasso struck the branch directly
between them, passing a few feet over it. Before it could slip back
again, and fall off, the young hunter had grasped it; and with the
dexterity of a packer, double-knotted it around the limb. The next
moment, and just as the great claws of the bear were stretched forth to
clutch him, he slipped off the branch, and glided down the lasso.
The rope did not reach the ground by at least twenty feet! It was a
short one, and part of it had been taken up in the hasty knotting.
Lucien and Francois, in consternation, had observed this from below, as
soon as it first hung down. They had observed it, and prepared
themselves accordingly; so that, when Basil reached the end of the rope,
he saw his brothers standing below, and holding a large buffalo-skin
stretched out between them. Into this he dropped; and the next moment
stood upon the ground unhurt.
And now came the moment of triumph. The tough limb, that had been held
retent by Basil's weight, becoming so suddenly released, flew upward
with a jerk.
The unexpected violence of that jerk was too much for the bear. Her
hold gave way; she was shot into the air several feet upwards, and
falling with a dull heavy sound to the earth, lay for a moment
motionless! She was only stunned however, and would soon have struggled
up again to renew the attack; but, before she could regain her feet,
Basil had laid hold of Francois' half-loaded gun; and, hurriedly pouring
down a handful of bullets, ran forward and fired them into her head,
killing her upon the spot!
The cubs by this time had arrived upon the ground, and Marengo, who had
now partially recovered, by way of revenging himself for the castigation
he had received from their mother, attacked them with fury. The little
creatures fought fiercely; and, together, would have been more than a
match for Marengo; but the rifles of his masters came to his assistance,
and put an end to the contest.