IN THE NICK OF TIME
As it happened, the snow did not lie very heavily at this particular
place, and the great creature was able to move with tremendous speed.
"Look out, Raoul!" shouted La Tour, as he darted aside to evade the
moose's onset. "Get behind a tree, and then fire at him."
This was precisely what Raoul had in mind to do, and he made a gallant
effort to accomplish it, but unfortunately in his haste he caught his
snow-shoes together, and over he went headlong into the snow with such
violence as to nearly bury himself.
Confused by the fall, and blinded by the snow, he lay there helplessly,
while the bull moose, infuriated by its wound, and seeing only the
prostrate boy to account for it, bore down upon him with murderous
intent.
He fully realized his danger, and yet felt powerless to avert it, for
to regain one's feet after a tumble with snow-shoes on is no easy
matter.
In the meantime La Tour had rushed out from behind the tree, and by
waving his arms and shouting, strove to attract the attention of the
animal to himself until Raoul should have time to get upon his feet
again, and find a place of safety.
But the moose was not to be thus diverted from its victim, and kept on
until it was within ten yards of Raoul, whose fate now seemed to be
sealed.
La Tour, quite forgetting himself in his anxiety for the boy, made a
desperate effort to get in between him and the animal, and groaned
aloud as he saw that it could not avail.
Then, suddenly, Raoul raised himself upon his knees, and pointing his
gun at the moose's head, pulled the trigger.
[Illustration: "SUDDENLY, RAOUL RAISED HIMSELF UPON HIS KNEES."]
At the report the big brute pitched forward upon its antlers, almost
turning a somersault, and La Tour with an exclamation of joy ran to
Raoul, and lifting him up clasped him to his breast, crying:
"Bravo! my nephew, bravo! That was a splendid shot. I never thought
you could do it."
But hardly had the words left his lips than his exultation changed to
alarm, for the moose, which had been only stunned by the bullet, and
not mortally wounded, rose to its feet again to renew the charge.
Happily the shock of the bullet had bewildered it so that it went off
at a tangent, and ere it could recover itself La Tour had hurried Raoul
to safe shelter behind a mighty tree.
Hastily reloading his gun, an action which Raoul lost no time in
imitating, La Tour watched his chance to give the great animal a final
shot.
After plunging about for a little it once more located its assailants,
and, looking very terrible in its rage, made another furious rush at
them.
This they both evaded without difficulty, and then La Tour got the
opportunity he sought, and sent a bullet into the heart of the mighty
creature, which brought its career to a sudden end.
"Phew!" he exclaimed in a tone of profound relief, as he took off his
fur cap and wiped the perspiration from his forehead. "That was lively
work, wasn't it, Raoul? What a grand fight the old fellow did make!
He pretty nearly had you under his hoofs. You managed to fire in the
nick of time. That was a clever shot, my boy, and I am proud of you
for it."
Raoul flushed with pleasure at his uncle's praise, which he appreciated
all the more because La Tour was far more prone to find fault than to
express approval.
"I thought it was all over with me, Uncle Charles," he said, "for the
snow had got into my eyes so that I could not see properly, but I did
the best I could."
"And a very good best it was, my boy. No man could have done better.
You'll make a fine hunter when you're full grown. Ah, ha! here come
some of the men. I wonder what fortune they have had."
Attracted by the sound of the firing, the rest of the hunting party had
hurried to the scene, and La Tour was in his element as he proudly
displayed the fallen monarch.
"Raoul and I are partners in him," he said laughingly. "Raoul hit him
in the head, and I hit him in the heart, but he came within an ace of
finishing Raoul first." And he then proceeded to relate what had
happened.
Raoul was warmly congratulated upon his lucky escape, and upon the
excellence of his marksmanship, and everybody rejoiced over the
splendid prize which had been secured, for the moose was in superb
condition, and would supply them with savoury steaks and roasts for
many days.
After what had occurred at the moose hunt, it was evident that his
uncle regarded Raoul in a different light. He dropped his bantering
tone toward him, and treated him more on an equal footing, and Raoul
fully appreciated the change.
During the remainder of their trip they were favoured with such good
fortune--the game proving plentiful all along the route, and the
Indians whose villages they visited being so well supplied with furs
and so eager to trade--that La Tour, in high good humour, told Raoul he
brought him good luck, and must accompany him again.
The whole party got back to Fort St. Louis without a mishap, and then
everybody settled down for the winter, as there were to be no more
trading expeditions.
But Madame La Tour did not suspend her missionary work because it was
winter time. As soon as her husband had returned and relieved her of
the charge of the fort, she resumed her visits to the Indian
encampments. This was the best season for what she sought to
accomplish, because the men were about the wigwams most of the time,
and she could get a hearing from them as well as from the women and
children.
Raoul usually went with her. He liked the idea of being in some sense
her protector, and she was always such good company that the hours
never seemed long that were spent in her society.
He always carried his gun, not that there was anything to fear from the
Indians. They were altogether to be trusted. But some wild animal
might be encountered that would venture to attack, or that might be
worth having a shot at, any way.
Right glad he was that he did have his gun one afternoon when he and
his aunt were returning from a day spent at the Souriquois village,
where the good woman had been teaching the squaws, not only how to be
Christians, but also how to be better wives and mothers.
They were walking rapidly, and talking busily, when a horrible scream
that sent a chill of terror to their hearts, and caused them to stop
suddenly in the path, issued from the thick woods in front of them.
A stranger would have been at a loss to guess what sort of creature
could produce so frightful a sound, but Madame La Tour recognized it at
once, and she perceptibly shrank closer to Raoul as she said in a
startled voice:
"It is a _loup cervier_, Raoul, and right in our way!"