THE FACE IN THE TREES.
The night passed without alarm. In the morning the cold was more intense
than ever, and the sky was still overcast with sullen-looking clouds.
During the forenoon the boys put a few extra touches to the cabin, and
gathered enough fuel to last for several days. After dinner Brick and
Hamp chopped holes through the ice, and caught a number of fat
pickerel. Jerry took his gun, and trudged into the woods. He returned
with a brace of spruce partridges.
Toward evening the wind shifted to the east, and it grew even colder.
The boys put an extra layer of boughs on the cabin floor, and got all
their blankets out. The only comfortable part was around the fire.
Just before supper a bird flew out of the forest and over the camp. It
alighted in some bushes near the verge of the jutting headland. Jerry
snatched his gun, and hurried after it across the ice.
When he reached the spot he saw something that drove the bird entirely
from his mind. Nearly a mile down the lake two black specks were
visible. They were moving slowly toward the western shore.
Jerry summoned his companions by a cautious shout.
"Bring your field-glasses, Brick," he added.
When the boys arrived, Jerry pointed out the far-away objects. Brick
had the glasses--a long-range pair purchased at Bangor. Each took a turn
at them.
"Hullo, those things are only men," said Brick, in a tone of relief. "I
was afraid they were wild animals."
"They are odd-looking chaps for this neighborhood," replied Jerry. "They
ain't dressed like trappers or hunters. They have guns, though, and
there's a hand-sled trailing behind them."
"I wish we could make out their faces," said Hamp. "They've come across
the lake, just as we did."
"Perhaps they are following us," suggested Brick, uneasily.
"Hardly," replied Jerry. "Where are they now, Hamp?"
"Just climbing the bank. Now they've disappeared in the woods."
And Hamp lowered the glasses, and restored them to Brick.
After some futile discussion of the mystery, the boys went back to camp.
It was natural that they should feel a little curious and alarmed.
Ruffianly characters are often encountered in the Maine wilderness.
When supper was over the boys cheered up. They washed the dishes, and
then built a roaring fire of great logs directly in front of the cabin.
With blankets wrapped about their shoulders they sat beside the flames.
All at once Hamp sprang in excitement to his feet. He pointed toward the
lower side of the ravine.
"Look!" he cried. "Oh! it's gone now. I saw a face peeping from behind
the trees."
"What did the fellow look like?" demanded Jerry.
"I don't know," was the reply. "He was only there for a couple of
seconds. He had savage, black eyes, and no mustache or beard. The fire
shone right on him."
"Well, we've got to investigate this thing," declared Jerry. "Come on,
fellows."
They delayed enough to get their guns and to light a lantern. Then they
boldly climbed the bank of the ravine, and poked about among the trees.
But not a trace of the intruder could be found. There were no footprints
on the few bare patches of snow.
"Are you sure you weren't mistaken?" asked Jerry.
"Not a bit of it," replied Hamp, indignantly. "I saw the face as plainly
as I see yours now."
The boys listened in silence for a moment, and then they made another
short search. In all directions were dense thickets of undergrowth.
Through this a man on snowshoes might easily have fled without leaving a
trail.
"We may as well go back," said Jerry. "We can't find the spy, whoever he
was."
For the next half-hour nothing else was talked about. Hamp was positive
that he had seen the face, and his companions believed him. All were
uneasy and scared. They knew that had the stranger been an honest man
he would have shown himself. His spying actions and hasty flight seemed
to indicate some evil design.
"We'll have to be on the watch, that's all," said Hamp. "The fellow was
probably looking for a chance to steal something."
"I don't believe he'll come back," replied Brick. "He knows by this time
that we're not to be trifled with."
About nine o'clock Jerry slipped away on the pretext of getting a drink.
He took an ax with him, but instead of pausing to chop the ice he went
on to the headland.
Here he quickly climbed a tall pine tree. From its top he could look
down the lake and over the surrounding forest. But all was dark and
silent. Nowhere was the gleam of a campfire visible.
He concluded that the strangers had pushed on into the wilderness, and
were no longer in the vicinity. With a relieved mind he descended from
the tree and started back. He was now really thirsty, so he stopped to
get a drink.
There were pretty deep shadows around him, for the timbered sides of the
ravine kept the glow of the campfire shut in from the ice. He found a
spot that had been chopped open at supper time, and was since frozen
over to the thickness of several inches. He stooped down, ax in hand.
Just as he dealt the first stroke a low, mewling cry caused him to look
up. Out on the lake, and less than twenty feet distant, crouched a long,
grayish beast. With stealthy steps it came nearer and nearer, whipping
its thin tail over the snow.
Jerry uttered one terrific screech that echoed far and wide through the
forest. He flung the ax madly toward the creature, and, without pausing
to look behind, dashed for camp at his top speed. The beast was
actually in pursuit, but it stopped at a distance of thirty feet, and
uttered a yowl of disappointment.
Brick and Hamp had armed themselves, having heard Jerry's first yell of
terror. Hamp lifted his rifle, and fired at random. He missed, of
course, but the flash and the report scared the savage creature away.
It was a full minute before Jerry could talk intelligibly.
"It would have scared the bravest man alive to be jumped on so
suddenly," he declared. "I was kneeling on the ice, and the brute nearly
had me. Cracky! I thought I was a goner."
"What was it?" asked Hamp. "A catamount?"
"Yes; the biggest one I ever saw. You can bet he's hungry, and savage,
too."
"Do you think it's the same animal that was after us night before last?"
asked Brick.
"I reckon so," Jerry admitted, reluctantly. "It must have come across
the ice. There's just one thing about it, fellows. If we expect to have
any peace we've got to kill the creature."
"That's easier said than done," replied Hamp. "I wish I had taken
careful aim when I had the chance. Now the measly varmint will lurk
around here all night, and keep us from sleeping."
"We'll do our best to put him to sleep with a bullet," declared Jerry.
"Keep a stiff upper lip, Brick. We've got long odds on our side."
"I'm not afraid," Brick protested, stoutly. "I can kill a catamount as
easy as a deer if I get the chance."
It was the chance that was wanting, however. Evidently, the beast had
no intention of being killed. He was hungry enough to hang onto the
forlorn chance of a I meal, but not once did he show himself, though the
boys I lay behind the fire for an hour, watching with cocked and I
loaded rifles.
"The cunning fellow is lurking close by, you may be sure," said
Jerry. "If we watch long enough we'll catch him in the act of snatching
the deer."
"It's no fun to sit here in the cold," replied Hamp, as he tossed a
log on the fire. "How snug it looks inside the cabin. Confound that
catamount!"
"You fellows turn in if you want to," suggested Jerry. "I'll keep guard
for a couple of hours."
"No; I'll stick it out with you," replied Hamp.
"And so will I," added Brick.
Half an hour slipped away in silence. The drowsiness of the boys
increased. They felt strongly tempted to go to bed, and leave the
catamount in possession of the camp.
Suddenly they were startled to hear the dull report of a gun far back in
the woods. Another shot followed, and then another.
"Something wrong," exclaimed Hamp. "Those men must be camping within a
mile or two of us."
"That's where the racket comes from," admitted Jerry. "I can't account
for it, though."
His lips framed the word murder, but he did not utter it.
"I hear something else," declared Brick; "a sort of a roaring noise. It
sounds like the wind among the trees."
All listened intently.
"There's no wind," said Jerry, in a puzzled tone, "unless there's a
hurricane coming from the west. I know now what it means. It's the
howling of wolves, fellows."
No one spoke. The assertion was too plain for denial. Nearer and louder
rose the weird, moaning sounds. Howl answered howl. The ravenous
scavengers of the forest were out on a night hunt for food.
"Yes, it is wolves," muttered Hamp. "We ought never to have crossed the
lake. The bitter weather has driven the pack down from Canada. Those
brutes we saw yesterday were part of it."
"Now they're headed this way," declared Jerry. "They must have attacked
the camp of those two men, and been driven off. That's what the shooting
meant."
"Can't we climb trees?" Brick asked.
"If we do the catamount will likely climb after us," replied Jerry.
"Keep cool, fellows. A wolf is a born coward, and hates powder. We'll
give the pack a good dose of lead if they molest us. Have your rifles
ready."
The boys hurriedly built up the fire with great logs. Then, after a
short discussion, they retreated to the cabin.
"This is the safest place," said Hamp, as he barricaded the entrance
with one of the sleds. "Tear a hole in that lower wall, Jerry. About as
big as your head."
As soon as the opening was made the boys crowded before it. It faced the
direction from which the wolves seemed to be approaching, and commanded
a view of the buck's dangling carcass.
Closer on the frosty air rang the dismal howling of the wolves. They
could be heard scurrying through the undergrowth. The boys waited,
nervously fingering their rifles.
Suddenly a great, tawny beast sprang into full view from behind a rock.
It was the hungry catamount. With a bound it fastened teeth and claws in
the haunch of venison. It pulled it to the ground, and then dragged it
lightly to the top of the bluff.