DEER HUNTING.
Every one of the boys took a good look, to make sure that he was not
mistaken, and then they drew back several yards from the crest of the
hill.
“Deer, and four of them!” whispered Andy, excitedly.
“We can’t shoot them so far off,” added Boxy.
“No, we have to get closer and on the other side of them,” replied
Harry.
“Why on the other side?” questioned Andy, impatiently.
“Deer always scent a person if he is to the windward.”
“Oh, I see. Well, shall we cross the valley here?”
“No, we will have to go up to the north and make a wide detour behind
that bit of woods,” said Jack. “Come on, there is no time to lose. The
deer may shift their position at any moment.”
In the excitement of the moment all thoughts of the midday meal were
forgotten. And they likewise forgot that they were tired. With such
game in view they would have tramped five miles without a murmur.
Harry led the way along the ridge, taking care that they should not
expose themselves to the view of the deer below. It was a tedious walk,
especially to Andy, who wanted half-a-dozen times to try a shot at
long range.
At last they reached the crest of the hill, and began to climb down the
other side. This was hard work, for fear of striking an icy surface and
going down--no one could tell where.
It was half an hour before they stood in the valley. Here it was
warmer, on account of the shelter from the wind.
“Now come on and we’ll get to some spot directly behind the deer,” said
Harry. “Then we will spread out in a semi-circle and do our best to bag
the lot.”
Without another word, and scarcely daring to breathe, they moved along
in the snow, their guns, and the rifle carried by Jack, ready for
immediate use.
Luckily, there was a small rise of rocks between the game and the boys,
and using this as a shelter, they approached closer and closer to the
deer.
“Now all fire when I give the signal, a sharp whistle,” said Jack.
“Don’t fire before, and don’t forget to have a second charge ready for
your guns.”
With these instructions, he stationed Andy and Boxy in one spot,
Pickles in another, and then went on with Harry.
Fifty feet farther Jack and Harry came to a halt, and selected places
not over two yards apart.
“I’ll take the one by the tree,” whispered Jack. “You take any of the
others you please. All ready?”
“Yes.”
At that instant one of the deer raised his head and sniffed the air.
Something had alarmed him.
Jack gave a sharp whistle, and up came the other deer heads.
Bang! bang! bang! went the rifle and the guns in a running fire. One
of the deer leaped up into the air and fell mortally wounded. A second
staggered off, shot in the fore legs. The others were apparently
unharmed, and bounded off down the valley on the wings of the wind.
“Go for the wounded one!” shouted Harry, as he rammed another load into
his gun. “I’m going after those other deer!”
And away he went, before Jack could utter a single protest.
Harry knew enough to keep out of sight, and to move along silently. He
covered the ground with all the speed at his command, nevertheless,
forcing his way through the woods and over rocks for nearly a quarter
of a mile.
At this point the valley narrowed, and he was forced by the lay of the
land to come out into the open.
As he had hoped, the two unwounded deer had come to a halt, and were
standing on a rocky slope, looking back curiously, to learn what manner
of fate had overtaken their companions.
They soon spied the young hunter, however, and turned to run on. It was
then that Harry fired at the hindmost.
His aim was true, and the entire charge entered the creature’s back.
He stumbled into the snow and rolled over and over.
Thinking him about done for, the boy ran forward to view his prize.
Scarcely had he come within five yards, when the deer, a small but
strong-built buck, scrambled up and charged upon him.
Harry leaped to one side in the nick of time. Had it been otherwise,
those sharp prongs would have pierced him through and through. The buck
staggered on several yards, and then turned and made a second assault.
Again Harry sprang out of the way. Then he started to run, but had gone
scarcely thirty feet when he stumbled on an icy rock, slipped along a
yard or two and fell forward.
The poor boy gave himself up as lost. But help was close at hand. The
sharp report of Jack’s rifle rang out, and over tumbled the buck, shot
through the eye, and quite dead.
“Are you hurt, Harry? Did he buck you?” questioned Jack, quickly.
“No, I’m all right,” panted Harry. “And thanks to you for killing him.”
“You wounded him, didn’t you?”
“Yes, his back is full of buckshot. But it only made him ugly. What of
that deer that was wounded first?”
“Andy, Boxy and Pickles took care of him. This makes three out of four,
and that is not bad.”
Getting some branches, the boys made a rough drag and placed the buck
upon it. Luckily, there was a little creek running through the middle
of the valley, and on the ice covering they slid their game down to the
spot where the sport had first begun.
The others were waiting for them, and they set up a yell of delight
when they saw a third deer had been brought down.
“Dis am sumfing to be proud ob, an’ no mistake,” observed Pickles. “My
dad won’t most beliebe me when I dun tell him ob it.”
“We’ll take along the horns and skins, and that will certify to our
story,” said Jack. “The question is, what’s to be done with all of this
meat?”
“It’s a pity, but most of it will have to be left behind, I suppose,”
returned Harry. “Let us carry as much of the choice pieces as we can.”
They set to work with a will to skin the deer, saving the heads just as
they were. They were hard at work when a loud, drawling voice disturbed
them.
“Wall, neow, jess tew look at thet!” exclaimed the voice. “Dew yeou
boys mean tew say thet yeou killed the three of ’em?”
They looked around, and standing on the rocks beheld a tall, slim-built
farmer, evidently of Yankee extraction, surveying the scene in wonder
and admiration.
“Yes, we killed them,” replied Harry. “Pretty good for one morning’s
hunt, eh?”
“Most etarnally good, young man--in fact, the best Josh Higginson hez
seed in many a year. It does yeou proud, boys, take my word on it!”
“We are proud,” returned Andy, honestly.
“I came deown here tew see if I could git a shot myself, but I guess
it’s tew late neow. Too bad, tew, for the old woman wuz calkerlatin’ on
a bit o’ vension fer tew-morrow’s dinner.”
“You can have some and welcome,” returned Jack, quickly. “We do not
wish it all, and cannot carry it to our camp on Rock Island Lake.”
“Yes, he might as well take all that is left,” added Harry. “It will
only spoil here.”
“That’s so,” put in Andy and Boxy.
Josh Higginson was greatly pleased. In truth, he was not much of a
hunter, and it is doubtful if he could have brought down a deer even if
given the chance.
He thanked them over and over again, and said he would go home and
bring a sled and horse down to carry away the meat. He asked the boys
about themselves, and said he hoped that they would have the best
possible time during the balance of their outing in the woods.
“I have a tidy little place up tew the end o’ the valley,” he said;
“an’ if yeou come up thet way drap in, an’ I’ll treat yeou the best I
know heow.”
Not to get back to camp too late, they rushed matters, and half an hour
later were on their way. Each was loaded heavily, but no one grumbled,
for was it not the prize of the day they were carrying?
“Won’t folks in Rudskill be astonished when they learn of all we shot!”
exclaimed Boxy. “I guess they’ll think we are regular hunters, true
enough!”
“This meat will last us the balance of the outing,” said Harry. “So we
won’t have to worry about food any more.”
On and on they went, over the hills, until, when it was growing quite
dark, they came in sight of the camp.
“Home again!” sang out Andy, “and I am not sorry. Another mile would
have done me----”
“Somebody has been here!” interrupted Harry, quickly. “See, the fire
has been scattered right and left, and the oven torn to pieces!”
“Who could have been mean enough to do this?” put in Jack, angrily.
Then he stopped short, and both he and Harry made a rush for the hut.
A single glance around showed that their sudden fear was realized. The
hut had been looted. Every one of their traps, including the sled, was
gone!