A DOUBLE PERIL.
After supper that evening a light snow began to fall, but it ceased at
midnight. The increased cold wakened Brick, and while he was searching
for an extra blanket he heard a long, wailing cry outside.
The youth was scared almost stupid for a moment. Then he tremblingly lit
a lantern, and roused his companions.
The boys peeped through the crevices of the lean-to, but they could see
nothing. Twice they heard the dismal sound. It was certainly coming
nearer. They seized their guns, and huddled close together.
"What do you suppose it is?" whispered Brick.
"A catamount," replied Jerry, "or Indian Devil, as some call them."
"That's right," added Hamp. "It's going to attack us, too."
"Then be ready to shoot," warned Jerry. "I'll give the word when the
time comes."
The brute now seemed to have stopped, though the blood-curdling wail
echoed several times on the frosty air.
"I saw a catamount in Central Park once," whispered Brick. "It was an
awful-looking creature."
Just then the unseen prowler wailed again. The boys peered anxiously at
the snowy open space before the lean-to.
"No wonder the brute is bold," exclaimed Hamp. "There's nothing left of
the fire but a couple of hot embers."
"We must build it up right away," declared Jerry. "Come on, you fellows.
We'll stick together."
"But won't the catamount jump at us?" asked Brick.
"Not while we have the lantern," assured Jerry. "All wild animals are
afraid of fire."
The boys ventured out of the lean-to. They timidly advanced to the
fireplace, which was in the center of the glade.
"Where's the wood you brought at bedtime?" asked Jerry. "I don't see
it."
"I--I forgot all about it," admitted Hamp. "I was too sleepy to think.
I'm awfully sorry."
"Being sorry won't help us now," said Jerry, grimly. "There's not even a
stick."
There was silence for a moment. The boys expected nothing less than to
be pounced upon by the hungry beast.
"I believe the catamount has sneaked off," declared Hamp. "Give me the
lantern, and I'll get some wood. It's my fault that we have none."
"I'll go with you," replied Jerry. "There's a windfall under the roots
of that dead pine tree. It's only half-a-dozen yards from here. Come
on."
The two lads started, taking their guns and the lantern. They crossed
the glade, and vanished in the timber.
Brick was left standing by the fireplace. He was afraid to go after his
companions, nor did he like to be alone. He rested his gun on a stone,
and stooped over the dying embers of the fire, trying vainly to fan them
into a blaze. As he rose to his feet he heard a crackling noise, and was
horrified to see a great, dusky animal crouching on the edge of the
timber, directly opposite the spot where the boys had disappeared.
The beast's arrival was so unexpected that Brick lost his wits. With a
yell he turned and dashed across the glade, and rolled into a copse of
bushes.
There he lay, shouting for help at the top of his voice, and expecting
to be immediately torn to pieces.
Lusty cries quickly answered him, and trampling footsteps came near. He
saw the gleam of the lantern go by, and then a rifle cracked sharply.
The next thing he knew Jerry and Hamp were hauling him to his feet.
"Where's the catamount?" he panted. "Did you kill it?"
"Missed," replied Jerry. "I only had a snap shot. The creature bolted
into the forest when it saw the lantern. We didn't get here any too
soon."
"I thought I was a goner," declared Brick.
His face was pale, and he trembled like a leaf.
Hamp had a great load of wood on his back, and the fire was soon blazing
merrily.
The catamount made no sign for ten minutes, and then a wailing cry from
far off told that he was retreating.
After waiting a little longer the boys went back to their warm blankets
and pine boughs.
They fell asleep very quickly, and it was broad daylight when they got
awake. The sun was behind murky gray clouds, and the air was bitterly
cold. The snow crunched sharply under foot, and the lake was frozen from
shore to shore.
The presence of the catamount in the vicinity decided the boys to hunt a
new camping-place.
After breakfasting on bacon and fried potatoes, they packed the sleds
and started.
They traveled northward over the ice, following all the bays and
indentations of the lake's crooked shore. At noon they stopped for
lunch. The cold was something awful.
"It looks as though we were going to have a hard winter," said Jerry
when they were on the march again. "It's a good thing that we brought
snowshoes, and plenty of extra blankets along."
"I hope we don't see anything more of that catamount," replied Brick. "I
suppose there are plenty of them in the woods, though."
"A good many," assented Hamp. "But they don't often trouble hunters.
This fellow was extra savage. He must have been hungry."
"They've been known to follow men for days and weeks in bitter
weather," said Jerry.
The conversation shifted to another topic, and the boys trudged on for
half an hour. Then Brick suddenly gave a sharp cry, and pointed to a
spot on the shore, some fifty yards distant.
"I saw the catamount over there," he declared. "It was a big,
yellowish-gray animal, and it slipped past that rock into the bushes."
"Sure?" asked Hamp, anxiously.
"Dead sure."
The boys looked and listened. They were about moving on, when a long,
thick-set animal stole out of the forest, and crouched by the edge of
the ice. It wailed in a mournful tone, and crept a little nearer. It was
as large a catamount as the two Maine lads had ever seen.
"There's a chance," exclaimed Jerry. "Come on. We'll try to get within
easy shooting distance of the brute. Three of us can't well miss."
The boys abandoned the sled, and advanced toward shore, with loaded
rifles. But before they had taken a dozen steps the catamount turned
tail, and vanished in the timber.
"No use," muttered Hamp. "That's a crafty fellow, and he's not going to
give us any advantage. He'll stick to us like a leech, though, and some
time, when we are off our guard----"
A significant pause ended the sentence.
"What are we going to do about it?" asked Brick. "This knocks all the
fun in the head. We won't dare go to sleep at nights."
"We've got to get rid of the brute," replied Jerry, "and I think I know
how to do it. What do you say to cutting straight across the lake, and
making our camp on the other side? I don't believe the catamount will
follow us over miles of open snow and ice."
This suggestion was warmly approved. They headed due west toward the
faintly visible forest on the further shore of the lake, a distance of
ten or twelve miles.
To keep off the intense cold they ran along on a dog trot. The sleds
trailed easily behind them over the patches of crisp snow and glassy
ice.
Two hours later the western shore of Moosehead Lake loomed clearly
before the young voyagers. They were not half a mile away. They could
look right into the dense forest that stretched far away to Canada.
"Got the time, Brick?" asked Jerry.
"Yes; it's just half-past three."
"Well, suppose we push up the lake for another hour. By that time we'll
likely strike the sort of a camping-place we want."
The others agreed, and Jerry led them to within twenty yards of the
shore. Then they turned northward, and went on at a rapid trot.
About half a mile ahead a spit of rocky and timbered land jutted out
from the shore.
"We ought to find a good place behind that," said Hamp.
"No doubt we shall," Jerry added.
"I hope so," declared Brick. "I'm as hungry as a bear. I haven't had
such an appetite since the day----"
Brick never finished. He was interrupted by a crashing noise a short
distance back in the forest. The sound came rapidly nearer and louder.
The boys stopped, and looked at one another in alarm.
"It must be a deer," exclaimed Jerry, "and some animal is chasing it.
The wind is blowing this way. We may get a shot."
Crash! out from the forest burst a magnificent buck, with
widely-branching antlers. He bounded down the sloping bank, and over the
ice. He was panting and exhausted.
Close behind leaped a gaunt, ravenous wolf, flecked with foam and
perspiration. Both animals swept out on the lake, making straight at the
frightened and amazed boys.
Brick had a sudden attack of buckfever. He stood stupidly still. The
others hurriedly grabbed their rifles from the sled. Jerry ran a few
steps in front of his companions.
Then, for the first time, the buck saw the lads. He snorted with terror,
and tried vainly to check himself on the slippery ice.
Jerry knelt and took aim. He was too excited to be cautious. He pulled
trigger at a range of fifteen feet.
The ball failed to reach a mortal part. It hit the buck in the left
flank, inflicting a painful wound. The huge animal's terror instantly
changed to wrath. With lowered antlers, he dashed full tilt at Jerry.
The lad started to run, but his rifle caught between his legs. He
sprawled headlong on the ice. He was right in front of the enraged
buck. In a few seconds the cruel hoofs and sharp horns would mangle his
body.
At the same instant the wolf, maddened by hunger and passion, veered
with a shrill yelp. He leaped savagely upon Hamp's breast, and bore him
to the ice.