THE MOOSE HUNT
For several days the storm continued, and during that time no member of
the party dared to leave camp, except to gather wood for the fire,
which by great exertion and care was kept burning.
It was a miserable time for all. La Tour fumed and fretted at the
delay, and the other whites shared his feelings, although the Indians
seemed stolidly content with the forced inaction.
Temporary tents had been hastily made out of spruce boughs, and these
being covered thickly with snow, afforded passable protection; yet they
were poor places in which to spend a long day, and their occupants soon
grew utterly weary of them.
Raoul was hard put to it to while away the dreary hours. His uncle was
in too ill a humour to be pleasant company, and so the boy fell back
upon the society of the men, who were inclined to be rough in their
ways and coarse in speech.
On the evening of the third day of the storm La Tour called Raoul to
him, and said in a sneering tone:
"How much good can your prayers do, think you? If you were to pray for
the storm to stop, would it have any effect? You certainly couldn't
wish a better chance to show what you can do."
Raoul was sorely puzzled to reply. He suspected that his uncle was
only seeking to make fun of him, and yet it did not seem right to
respond in the same spirit, thus making a jest of what was so sacred.
Looking very confused, he kept silence, until La Tour exclaimed
impatiently:
"Have you lost your tongue? Why don't you answer me?"
"Because I don't know what to say," murmured Raoul. "Aunt Constance
told me that we must not expect every prayer to be answered right away,
and maybe even if she were to pray for the storm to stop it would not
do it."
At this point La Tour's better nature asserted itself. He began to
feel ashamed at thus teasing the boy, and to be impressed by his
evident sincerity, so patting him affectionately upon the shoulder, he
said:
"Don't mind my foolish words, Raoul. I didn't mean to hurt your
feelings, or to weaken your faith. Keep on doing what you feel to be
right, even if you are made fun of by those who ought to know better."
Raoul was deeply touched by these words, and thenceforward admired his
uncle more than ever.
Ere he closed his eyes that night he did pray fervently for the storm
to abate, and then curled up in his blankets to sleep as soundly as if
in his own snug bed in Fort St. Louis.
He was awakened next morning by his uncle giving orders to the men in
so cheery a tone that it was evident there had been a great change in
his spirits; and, in making his way out of the half-buried tent, Raoul
at once understood the reason, for the storm was all over, and the sun
shone dazzlingly upon a world of spotless white.
"Good!" cried Raoul joyously. "Now we needn't stay here any longer. I
am so glad," and he felt like dancing a little by way of expressing his
feelings.
In his delight at the return of fine weather he might have forgotten to
be thankful for the answer to his prayer, had not Monsieur La Tour
reminded him by calling out:
"Good-morning, Raoul. You see the snow has ceased, and perhaps it was
your prayers that caused it to stop."
Raoul laughed, and shook his head in disclaimer of such being the case.
"And now, uncle, we can be off again, can't we?" he responded. "I hope
we won't have any more such storms."
In their journey across country they presently came to the region where
huge moose, the grandest of all antlered animals, were to be found, and
La Tour, as their supply of food was running low, decided to halt for a
few days, in order that they might have a moose hunt.
This was good news to the whole party, and there was keen competition
among the members to be allowed to take part in the hunt, La Tour's
purpose being to have one-half of the men accompany him, while the rest
remained at the camp.
Raoul took it for granted that he was to go, and was quite dismayed
when his uncle let fall a remark which implied that he was to stay
behind.
"Why, uncle," he exclaimed, "am I not to go with you?"
"Well, I hadn't thought about it, Raoul," was the reply. "Won't it be
rather hard work for you to keep up with us? And then there may be
some danger, you know."
"Oh, but I don't mind either the hard work or the danger," Raoul
promptly responded. "Please let me go too, uncle, I want to so much."
"Very well then," replied La Tour, good-naturedly. "You can come
along, but you'll have to look after yourself, for I'm going to give my
whole attention to the moose."
Mounted upon broad snow-shoes, which enabled them to travel with ease
and speed over the deepest snow, the hunting-party set forth amid the
cheers of those who regretfully remained behind. They were all in high
spirits, and the men made little boasts among themselves as to which of
them would be the first to sight a moose, and to get the first shot at
one.
"This heavy fall of snow will make things easier for us," Monsieur La
Tour said to Raoul, as they tramped along together. "The big fellows
will not be able to run very fast through such deep drifts."
It was not until mid-day drew near that signs of moose were seen, and
then one of the keen-sighted Indians, who was in the van, came hurrying
back to announce that he had found fresh tracks in the snow.
After examining them La Tour consulted for a moment with his
companions, and then laid out his plan of campaign, which was that the
party should spread out in a wide line, so as to cover as much ground
as possible, and yet keep within hearing of signals, so as to be able
to gather together again at the proper time.
"As for you, Raoul, you had better follow me," he said. "You'll not
miss any of the excitement, and you'll be less likely to get astray."
This suited Raoul perfectly, and having seen to it that his gun was
ready for instant action he followed his uncle's lead, although it was
no easy matter to keep pace with his rapid stride.
On they went through the forest, with every sense alert to detect the
proximity of their prey.
Presently La Tour stopped short, and bent his gaze intently to the
right. Raoul looked in the same direction, but at first could not make
out anything, yet from his uncle's action, it was plain that he must
have sighted a moose, for he began to creep forward stealthily, with
his gun held in readiness to fire.
Raoul, holding his breath, kept close behind, and at last his eyes fell
upon a dark form scarcely distinguishable from the thick evergreen
against which it stood.
"There he is! I see him!" he whispered to himself, while his heart
throbbed wildly.
Just then La Tour levelled his gun, and the silence was shattered by
its startling report.
A moment later the evergreens were violently agitated, and out of them
rushed a huge bull moose, made furious by the wound, which at once
charged fiercely down upon the hunters.