ADRIFT IN THE SNOW FOREST
Felix did not have much time to settle this question, for immediately
the hounds swerved upon the trail, they must have caught sight of him,
for there came an even more savage and vengeful tone to their baying;
and leaving the scent, they plunged helter-skelter straight toward the
standing figure of the young hunter. Perhaps the pack of meat at his
feet aroused their instincts for food; Felix never knew.
One look would be sufficient to tell what they meant to do. To Felix it
became patent that, since running would not avail him in the least, he
must either climb up a tree in a big hurry, or else defend himself;
unless he meant to allow those savage beasts to drag him down, and
mangle him shockingly, before their owners could reach the scene.
The prospect was not to his liking, but he had made up his mind as to
what his course should be; so he threw up his gun, with the full
intention of settling one, or all of the dogs, unless something
intervened.
He heard a loud shout as he did so, from some little distance away; but
it was impossible to tell whether the call was intended as a warning to
him not to fire on the ferocious pack; or an endeavor to recall the
hounds; but no matter, it was a wasted effort, since Felix could not
hold back his fire, his very life being in peril.
Remembering the serious consequences that had followed his hasty shot at
the big buck, Felix was a little more careful when pressing the trigger
of his repeating rifle. In return he had the satisfaction of seeing the
leading hound roll over immediately after he fired.
Calmly the boy threw out the empty cartridge, and sent another into the
firing chamber. Had he been a volunteer upon parade, and firing at an
inanimate target, he could not have gone through the manoeuvre with more
precision and exactness. Consequently, the gun, being made by the most
skillful workmen, did its duty faithfully, as it always will when
properly handled; and in about two winks of an eye Felix stood there,
ready to repeat his performance, in case the necessity awaited.
Neither of the other two dogs had taken the least warning from the fate
that had overtaken their companion. If anything, they tried to increase
their speed in chasing toward the boy who stood there as though defying
them to come on, though of course this was hardly the thought animating
the actions of Felix.
"All right; you will have it, then!" he muttered, as his eye glanced
along the matted barrel; and then his forefinger ever so slightly
touched the willing trigger, at which there was a second sharp report.
Dog Number Two proceeded to whirl around, leaping up in the air, and in
many ways showing he had received a dose that was likely to put him
forever out of the running.
Felix put him immediately away from his mind. There was one more, and
all the danger now centered in that remaining beast. By this time the
leaping dog was fearfully close to him, and coming with unabated speed
that proved him a stayer, after such a long chase.
He presented a really terrifying aspect, with the foam dribbling from
his open jaws; the hair on his short neck standing on end like bristles;
and his eyes seeming to be bloodshot through the heat and excitement of
the long pursuit.
Still, Felix did not seem to be rattled even a little bit, a fact that
caused him to feel considerable wonder, as well as satisfaction, later
on, when reviewing all the circumstances connected with the momentous
occasion.
He had his gun up to his shoulder with pretty much the confidence of a
veteran Nimrod, meeting the charge of an old rogue elephant, or a
wounded tiger, in the East Indian jungles. When the dog was not more
than twenty feet away, he pressed the trigger.
His confidence was well placed, it seemed, for his ball must have
entered the brain of the third and last hound; which whirled half way
around, to fall in a heap; staggered to his feet, took several tottering
steps forward, still strong in his overmastering impulse, even in death,
and then once more dropped, never to rise again.
The lad had hardly dared hope to meet with such remarkable success in
such an adventure, yet there were the three hounds lying on the
ground--Felix had doubtless saved the poor hunted buck from destruction;
but at what cost to himself?
Loud curses could be heard, drawing rapidly closer; and it was evident
that the owners of the pack would presently burst upon the scene, filled
with fury at the fate of their hounds.
Most young fellows might have deemed discretion the better part of
valor, and abandoning the meat, made themselves scarce as soon as
possible; taking to their heels, with but one thought in view, and that
to leave the immediate neighborhood as speedily as possible.
That might have been the wisest plan, too, considering all things; but
somehow Felix Edmondson was too proud to give in to this impulse. He was
still flushed with the success of his battle; and also with indignation
toward those who would resort to such unsportsmanlike methods for
securing game.
Besides, would he not have been torn to pieces by the fierce animals,
only for his ability to handle that faithful rifle?
So Felix simply took a look at his gun, to make sure that it was ready
for use, slipping in several more cartridges where they would give a
good account of themselves, and awaited the coming of the fuming owners
of the defunct pack.
They proved to be two in number, and at sight of them Felix realized
that his worst fears were about to be realized, in that he was face to
face with a pair of the most notorious characters in the whole
region--the descriptions tallied exactly, even to the single eye of Abe
Cozzins; and the flaming red beard of Perley Kline.
In times past these men had served as guides, and possibly skillful ones
too, because they were born woodsmen; but the love of liquor had dulled
their sense of honesty, and after a time they began to gain a reputation
for being light fingered, valuables disappearing mysteriously from camps
where they had charge. By degrees, then, they lost all chance for
securing regular employment, since gentlemen coming from the East for
big game shooting, liked to feel that they could depend fully on the
guide, in whose hands they entrusted their fortunes, even their lives,
at times.
Consequently Cozzins and Kline, being unemployed most of the time, began
to hunt game illegally within the confines of Yellowstone Park; which,
coming to the attention of the authorities, always keen to punish
anything of this sort, the men were really being looked for, far and
wide, and in a measure found themselves in the place of the hunted.
It was this unwholesome looking couple who now strode angrily up to
young Edmondson, with fury blazing in their eyes.
Felix held his rifle in such a manner that, had they shown a disposition
to attack him, he could have defended himself, and treated them to a
dose of the same medicine he had handed out to their dogs.
"Hold hard, there!" he remarked, sharply; "you've come close enough. Now
say what you want from there!"
The two rough men, while evidently astonished to find themselves spoken
to in this strain, understanding that the young fellow who could stand
there and deliberately knock over three savage hounds in succession was
not one to be easily daunted, pulled up, and divided their scowling
glances between the hunter and the dead dogs, for the last animal had
ceased to make a movement by now.
"Say, what d'ye mean ashootin' our dawgs thataways?" spluttered the
fellow who had only one eye, though that was now glaring with a
fierceness equal to half a dozen ordinary optics; he also punctuated his
words with a variety of forcible exclamations, which there is no
necessity for repeating, though doubtless Abe Cozzins imagined they
added vim and picturesqueness to his query, and might help awe the boy.
"I was minding my own business when they started to attack me, with
murder in their eyes. If I hadn't shot I'd have been torn to pieces.
Everybody has a right to defend himself. If I hadn't happened to have a
repeating rifle of the best make to fall back on, and knew how to use
it, there'd have been murder done; and you'd have to stand the blame.
I'm sorry, now, I had to kill the poor brutes, for they hardly knew what
they were doing. I reckon the whole blame lies with their owners."
Bold words these, from a young fellow not yet fully grown, and addressed
to two of the wildest, most reckless spirits in all Wyoming; perhaps
those men could not remember having been taken so to task for many a
day; and in surprise they exchanged dubious glances, and then looked
hastily and uneasily around, as though half expecting that Felix must be
backed up by half a dozen comrades.
Seeing no signs of such an enemy, however, they became themselves again,
though far too tricky to throw off the mask wholly, while that lad stood
by his gun, and seemed ready to try conclusions with them.
Felix should have known that they were just as furious as ever under the
surface; but then he was not experienced in such matters, and judged
other people more or less by his own feelings.
He saw them talking together in low tones; after which they allowed
their dark faces to take on a more affable look, as they once more
turned toward him.
"Say, younker," commenced Abe Cozzins, in a whining voice, "we ain't got
no grudge aginst yuh for what yuh done. Them dawgs was some valuable tuh
us, sure, but if so be they pestered yuh, thar was on'y one thing yuh
could do; an' we reckons yuh done thet good an' hard. The pesky critters
broke away from us, an' we was atryin' tuh git holt o' 'em agin, when
this hyar thing happened. They's no reason we should hold hard feelin's
aginst yuh fur defendin' yerself aginst 'em; anybody'd a done the same.
But it comes mighty hard on two pore guides outen a job; fur yuh see, we
was atakin' of them dawgs tuh Colonel Walpole over at ther reservation,
who'd promised tuh buy 'em off us, tuh run down fellows as gits too gay
ashootin' up the game in ther Park."
Abe put on a piteous face while telling this hastily constructed yarn;
and altogether he did succeed in disarming the suspicions of Felix, even
though the boy might still consider that the two men were hard
characters. Felix felt sorry at once.
"If that's so I don't mind chipping in, and giving you something to help
out. Perhaps it wasn't your fault, then, that the dogs were loose; and
I've heard of Colonel Walpole, too. Here's ten dollars on account; and
if you choose to leave me an address, I might send you another bill when
I get back home."
Felix spoke from the depths of a frank and honest heart. He felt that he
had unwittingly been the cause of depriving these men of something they
doubtless valued highly; and so far as he could within reason make
amends, Felix was willing to settle the claim, unjust though it might
be.
The two men exchanged looks, and actually grinned, as though with
pleasure; after which Cozzins advanced with extended hand, at the same
time talking volubly, evidently with the intention of taking the boy off
his guard, though Felix did not suspect such a thing.
"Say, that's purty white in yuh, stranger. 'Taint many fellers as'd do
sech a nice job as thet, arter the dawgs'd broke loose on 'em. Me an' my
pal is much obliged, and yuh bet we'll never furgit sech kindness.
'Taint often we sees a tenner these hard times. Now, if so be we kin do
anything in return, why--take thet, ye young cub!" and of a sudden,
catching Felix off his guard, he struck him a vicious blow in the face,
and at the same instant snatched the rifle out of his hands.
The boy staggered back, and would have fallen, only for the support of a
tree. For half a dozen seconds he stood there, staring at the brutal
ruffian, now laughing, and examining the captured repeating rifle; while
the blood trickled down his cheek, where the heavy and hard knuckles of
the man had bruised and broken the skin.
Then, as if realizing the dastardly and cowardly nature of the attack
upon him, even while he was in the act of generously compensating them
for having killed their dogs, Felix became wild with anger. Uttering a
scream he started to leap at Cozzins, reckless as to the consequences,
and only desirous of returning that foul blow.
The man swung the rifle up so as to cover the advancing lad; though it
may be deemed doubtful whether he would have fired under any
provocation, since they were already two against one; and then there was
always a possibility that the boy might be connected with those grim
guardians of the Park, whose advent on the scene Abe and his comrade
dreaded more than they would be willing to confess.
Perley Kline, however, sprang in between, throwing aside the barrel of
the gun, and giving Felix a push that sent him headlong to the grim
ground, his head striking with such force that for a brief time he
actually lost all consciousness of what was going on.
He felt hands searching his person, and knew that the rascals were
actually turning to downright robbery in their extremity; though truth
to tell, possibly this was not the first time they had had their hands
in the pockets of others who happened to be asleep.
Then they seemed to consult in low tones, after which each of them gave
the lad a contemptuous kick, as if to vent their spleen further, in
order to cancel the debt they thought he owed them on account of the
slaughter of their trained dogs.
As Felix lay there in a half conscious condition, smarting from his
wounds, he realized that they had gone off, after stripping him of
everything of value he possessed, and even taking the pack of venison he
had "toted" over such a weary distance, up to that time.
Felix, still full of grit, attempted to follow them, after staggering to
his feet; but really he found himself so weak from his injuries that his
head began to fairly swim, and he had to drop down on a friendly log
before going twenty paces.
He heard a derisive laugh that made him groan with disgust over his
inability to do anything; then the sound of footsteps grew fainter, and
he knew that he had been left alone in the heart of the wilderness, with
no weapon for self defense, or to be used in an effort to procure the
means of continued existence, in case he could not find the camp.
This, however, sank into insignificance beside the ignominy of those
kicks; and his proud young soul writhed under the memory of the insult;
while he mentally registered a vow to make those two ruffians pay dearly
for the experience, sooner or later, as the chance arose.
By slow degrees he began to get back his strength, and could think
seriously concerning his next step. At first he burned with the desire
to try and follow after those scoundrels, and in some way manage to
recover all they had taken from him; but second thought convinced him
that such a task was far beyond his capacity in his present helpless
condition; even supposing he could follow successfully, which was
extremely doubtful, how could he hold two armed men up, and make them
disgorge?
No, it would surely be better for him to conserve his powers in every
way possible, and try to effect a junction with his chum; when they
could talk it over, and decide what ought to be done in order to turn
the tables on Cozzins and Kline.
The fact that he was now without food seemed to give Felix more cause
for concern than anything else. The thieves had confiscated the contents
of the little knapsack he had carried with him, or rather ditty bag; all
he found of any value was a lone match that seemed to have escaped the
hasty search of the men; and in his eyes this assumed an importance all
out of proportion to its size.
Felix believed that if only he could follow his back trail, and reach
the tree where his desperate encounter with the wounded buck had taken
place, he would find plenty of meat to last him many days; and with that
last precious match he could start a fire that he would not allow to go
out; so that here he might camp until such time as Tom came hunting for
him.
This, then, was the sensible programme that finally took possession of
the boy; although it was with considerable disappointment he gave up all
idea of following after the two men, seeking revenge because of their
cowardly conduct.
Every time Felix put a hand up to his bruised cheek he gritted his
teeth, and in imagination saw the rogues brought to account through his
instrumentality; and it was surprising how much satisfaction such a
pleasing prospect gave him.
Quitting the vicinity of the three dead dogs that had been left where
they lay by their late masters, he started to follow his back trail,
with all the skill he was capable of calling to his assistance.
This was, of course, something he had never dreamed of doing half an
hour previously; but all the same, he was glad to see he had somehow
managed to leave such a plain series of tracks, burdened with the meat
pack as he had been, that there promised to be little trouble in
following the trail, if only the snow held off.
That began to worry him now; what if a bitterly cold storm should break
while he was wandering about in the wilderness, with only a single match
between himself and freezing to death?
The idea proved so very unpleasant that it urged him to make better time
in following his back trail; and yet when he remembered how long he had
been walking since starting forth after breakfast; and that it must take
him at least the same length of time to again cover the ground, Felix
began to fear he was in for the worst experience of all.
However, the lad was full of grit, and could not be made to easily lie
down when trouble threatened; he would meet it face to face.
When almost an hour had passed, and he reckoned that he was possibly
half way back to the tree that had been a haven of refuge to him in that
fight with the wounded buck, he took heart of grace, and hope began to
rise stronger in his breast; but only for a brief space of time.
Then he took notice of the fact that the lazy flakes were beginning to
descend more thickly and it began to look as though the air would soon
be filled with the feathered harbingers of coming winter, until he could
not see ten feet away.
The remembrance of that single match gave him a strange sense of
comfort, small item that it might be reckoned. What did cause him to
fret, though, was the possibility of the ground soon being so covered
with the snow that he could no longer find his own late trail, and must
give over the hope of reaching supplies under the big tree.
Five minutes later and he realized that this condition really faced him,
since he was now utterly unable to discern the faintest trace of his
footprints; while around him stretched the vast woods, each quarter
looking the same in the rapidly descending snow.
He had taken his bearings after a fashion, and continued to stumble
along for a little while, in the hope that he might by good luck run
across the tree in which he had fastened the antlered head of the buck.
Finally Felix realized the hopelessness of his hunt, and determined to
make a camp, where he could hold out the best way possible against cold
and hunger. Imagine his utter dismay when he discovered that in some
strange manner his little ditty bag, containing that one precious match,
must have been detached by some officious branch, when he was making his
way along. At least, it had utterly disappeared, and he was now facing a
condition rendered doubly bad on account of the increasing cold which
deemed to come with the snow.