CHAPTER 7
For two or three days Baree's excursions after food took him fartherand farther away from the pond. But each afternoon he returned toit--until the third day, when he discovered a new creek, and Wakayoo.The creek was fully two miles back in the forest. This was a differentsort of stream. It sang merrily over a gravelly bed and between chasmwalls of split rock. It formed deep pools and foaming eddies, and whereBaree first struck it, the air trembled with the distant thunder of awaterfall. It was much pleasanter than the dark and silent beaverstream. It seemed possessed of life, and the rush and tumult of it--thesong and thunder of the water--gave to Baree entirely new sensations.He made his way along it slowly and cautiously, and it was because ofthis slowness and caution that he came suddenly and unobserved uponWakayoo, the big black bear, hard at work fishing.
Wakayoo stood knee-deep in a pool that had formed behind a sand bar,and he was having tremendously good luck. Even as Baree shrank back,his eyes popping at sight of this monster he had seen but once before,in the gloom of night, one of Wakayoo's big paws sent a great splash ofwater high in the air, and a fish landed on the pebbly shore. A littlewhile before, the suckers had run up the creek in thousands to spawn,and the rapid lowering of the water had caught many of them in theseprison pools. Wakayoo's fat, sleek body was evidence of the prosperitythis circumstance had brought him. Although it was a little past the"prime" season for bearskins, Wakayoo's coat was splendidly thick andblack.
For a quarter of an hour Baree watched him while he knocked fish out ofthe pool. When at last he stopped, there were twenty or thirty fishamong the stones, some of them dead and others still flopping. Fromwhere he lay flattened out between two rocks, Baree could hear thecrunching of flesh and bone as the bear devoured his dinner. It soundedgood, and the fresh smell of fish filled him with a craving that hadnever been roused by crayfish or even partridge.
In spite of his fat and his size, Wakayoo was not a glutton, and afterhe had eaten his fourth fish he pawed all the others together in apile, partly covered them by raking up sand and stones with his longclaws, and finished his work of caching by breaking down a small balsamsapling so that the fish were entirely concealed. Then he lumberedslowly away in the direction of the rumbling waterfall.
Twenty seconds after the last of Wakayoo had disappeared in a turn ofthe creek, Baree was under the broken balsam. He dragged out a fishthat was still alive. He ate the whole of it, and it tasted delicious.
Baree now found that Wakayoo had solved the food problem for him, andthis day he did not return to the beaver pond, nor the next. The bigbear was incessantly fishing up and down the creek, and day after dayBaree continued his feasts. It was not difficult for him to findWakayoo's caches. All he had to do was to follow along the shore of thestream, sniffing carefully. Some of the caches were getting old, andtheir perfume was anything but pleasant to Baree. These he avoided--buthe never missed a meal or two out of a fresh one.
For a week life continued to be exceedingly pleasant. And then came thebreak--the change that was destined to meant for Kazan, his father,when he killed the man-brute at the edge of the wilderness.
This change came or the day when, in trotting around a great rock nearthe waterfall, Baree found himself face to face with Pierrot the hunterand Nepeese, the star-eyed girl who had shot him in the edge of theclearing.
It was Nepeese whom he saw first. If it had been Pierrot, he would haveturned back quickly. But again the blood of his forebear was rousingstrange tremblings within him. Was it like this that the first womanhad looked to Kazan?
Baree stood still. Nepeese was not more than twenty feet from him. Shesat on a rock, full in the early morning sun, and was brushing out herwonderful hair. Her lips parted. Her eyes shone in an instant likestars. One hand remained poised, weighted with the jet tresses. Sherecognized him. She saw the white star on his breast and the white tipon his ear, and under her breath she whispered "Uchi moosis!"--"The dogpup!" It was the wild dog she had shot--and thought had died!
The evening before Pierrot and Nepeese had built a shelter of balsamsbehind the big rock, and on a small white plot of sand Pierrot waskneeling over a fire preparing breakfast while the Willow arranged herhair. He raised his head to speak to her, and saw Baree. In thatinstant the spell was broken. Baree saw the man-beast as he rose to hisfeet. Like a shot he was gone.
Scarcely swifter was he than Nepeese.
"Depechez vous, mon pere!" she cried. "It is the dog pup! Quick--"
In the floating cloud of her hair she sped after Baree like the wind.Pierrot followed, and in going he caught up his rifle. It was difficultfor him to catch up with the Willow. She was like a wild spirit, herlittle moccasined feet scarcely touching the sand as she ran up thelong bar. It was wonderful to see the lithe swiftness of her, and thatglorious hair streaming out in the sun. Even now, in this moment'sexcitement, it made Pierrot think of McTaggart, the Hudson's BayCompany's factor over at Lac Bain, and what he had said yesterday. Halfthe night Pierrot had lain awake, gritting his teeth at thought of it.And this morning, before Baree ran upon them, he had looked at Nepeesemore closely than ever before in his life. She was beautiful. She waslovelier even than Wyola, her princess mother, who was dead. Thathair--which made men stare as if they could not believe! Thoseeyes--like pools filled with wonderful starlight! Her slimness, thatwas like a flower! And McTaggart had said--
Floating back to him there came an excited cry.
"Hurry, Nootawe! He has turned into the blind canyon. He cannot escapeus now."
She was panting when he came up to her. The French blood in her gloweda vivid crimson in her cheeks and lips. Her white teeth gleamed likepearls.
"In there!" And she pointed.
They went in.
Ahead of them Baree was running for his life. He sensed instinctivelythe fact that these wonderful two-legged beings he had looked upon wereall-powerful. And they were after him! He could hear them. Nepeese wasfollowing almost as swiftly as he could run. Suddenly he turned into acleft between two great rocks. Twenty feet in, his way was barred, andhe ran back. When he darted out, straight up the canyon, Nepeese wasnot a dozen yards behind him, and he saw Pierrot almost at her side.The Willow gave a cry.
"Mana--mana--there he is!"
She caught her breath, and darted into a copse of young balsams whereBaree had disappeared. Like a great entangling web her loose hairimpeded her in the brush, and with an encouraging cry to Pierrot shestopped to gather it over her shoulder as he ran past her. She lostonly a moment or two, and then once again was after him. Fifty yardsahead of her Pierrot gave a warning shout. Baree had turned. Almost inthe same breath he was tearing over his back trail, directly toward theWillow. He did not see her in time to stop or swerve aside, and Nepeeseflung herself down in his path. For an instant or two they weretogether. Baree felt the smother of her hair, and the clutch of herhands. Then he squirmed away and darted again toward the blind end ofthe canyon.
Nepeese sprang to her feet. She was panting--and laughing. Pierrot cameback wildly, and the Willow pointed beyond him.
"I had him--and he didn't bite!" she said, breathing swiftly. She stillpointed to the end of the canyon, and she said again: "I had him--andhe didn't bite me, Nootawe!"
That was the wonder of it. She had been reckless--and Baree had notbitten her! It was then, with her eyes shining at Pierrot, and thesmile fading slowly from her lips, that she spoke softly the word"Baree," which in her tongue meant "the wild dog"--a little brother ofthe wolf.
"Come," cried Pierrot, "or we will lose him!"
Pierrot was confident. The canyon had narrowed. Baree could not getpast them unseen. Three minutes later Baree came to the blind end ofthe canyon--a wall of rock that rose straight up like the curve of adish. Feasting on fish and long hours of sleep had fattened him, and hewas half winded as he sought vainly for an exit. He was at the far endof the dishlike curve of rock, without a bush or a clump of grass tohide him, when Pierrot and Nepeese saw him again. Nepeese made stra
ighttoward him. Pierrot, foreseeing what Baree would do, hurried to theleft, at right angles to the end of the canyon.
In and out among the rocks Baree sought swiftly for a way of escape. Ina moment more he had come to the "box," or cup of the canyon. This wasa break in the wall, fifty or sixty feet wide, which opened into anatural prison about an acre in extent. It was a beautiful spot. On allsides but that leading into the coulee it was shut in by walls of rock.At the far end a waterfall broke down in a series of rippling cascades.The grass was thick underfoot and strewn with flowers. In this trapPierrot had got more than one fine haunch of venison. From it there wasno escape, except in the face of his rifle. He called to Nepeese as hesaw Baree entering it, and together they climbed the slope.
Baree had almost reached the edge of the little prison meadow whensuddenly he stopped himself so quickly that he fell back on hishaunches and his heart jumped up into his throat.
Full in his path stood Wakayoo, the huge black bear!
For perhaps a half-minute Baree hesitated between the two perils. Heheard the voices of Nepeese and Pierrot. He caught the rattle of stonesunder their feet. And he was filled with a great dread. Then he lookedat Wakayoo. The big bear had not moved an inch. He, too, was listening.But to him there was a thing more disturbing than the sounds he heard.It was the scent which he caught in the air--the man scent.
Baree, watching him, saw his head swing slowly even as the footsteps ofNepeese and Pierrot became more and more distinct. It was the firsttime Baree had ever stood face to face with the big bear. He hadwatched him fish; he had fattened on Wakayoo's prowess; he had held himin splendid awe. Now there was something about the bear that took awayhis fear and gave him in its place a new and thrilling confidence.Wakayoo, big and powerful as he was, would not run from the two-leggedcreatures who pursued him! If Baree could only get past Wakayoo he wassafe!
Baree darted to one side and ran for the open meadow. Wakayoo did notstir as Baree sped past him--no more than if he had been a bird or arabbit. Then came another breath of air, heavy with the scent of man.This, at last, put life into him. He turned and began lumbering afterBaree into the meadow trap. Baree, looking back, saw him coming--andthought it was pursuit. Nepeese and Pierrot came over the slope, and atthe same instant they saw both Wakayoo and Baree.
Where they entered into the grassy dip under the rock walls, Bareeturned sharply to the right. Here was a great boulder, one end of ittilted up off the earth. It looked like a splendid hiding place, andBaree crawled under it.
But Wakayoo kept straight ahead into the meadow.
From where he lay Baree could see what happened. Scarcely had hecrawled under the rock when Nepeese and Pierrot appeared through thebreak in the dip, and stopped. The fact that they stopped thrilledBaree. They were afraid of Wakayoo! The big bear was two thirds of theway across the meadow. The sun fell on him, so that his coat shone likeblack satin. Pierrot stared at him for a moment. Pierrot did not killfor the love of killing. Necessity made him a conservationist. But hesaw that in spite of the lateness of the season, Wakayoo's coat wassplendid--and he raised his rifle.
Baree saw this action. He saw, a moment later, something spit from theend of the gun, and then he heard that deafening crash that had comewith his own hurt, when the Willow's bullet had burned through hisflesh. He turned his eyes swiftly to Wakayoo. The big bear hadstumbled; he was on his knees. And then he struggled to his feet andlumbered on.
The roar of the rifle came again, and a second time Wakayoo went down.Pierrot could not miss at that distance. Wakayoo made a splendid mark.It was slaughter. Yet for Pierrot and Nepeese it was business--thebusiness of life.
Baree was shivering. It was more from excitement than fear, for he hadlost his own fear in the tragedy of these moments. A low whine rose inhis throat as he looked at Wakayoo, who had risen again and faced hisenemies--his jaws gaping, his head swinging slowly, his legs weakeningunder him as the blood poured through his torn lungs. Bareewhined--because Wakayoo had fished for him, because he had come to lookon him as a friend, and because he knew it was death that Wakayoo wasfacing now. There was a third shot--the last. Wakayoo sank down in histracks. His big head dropped between his forepaws. A racking cough ortwo came to Baree's ears. And then there was silence. It wasslaughter--but business.
A minute later, standing over Wakayoo, Pierrot said to Nepeese:
"Mon dieu, but it is a fine skin, Sakahet! It is worth twenty dollarsover at Lac Bain!"
He drew forth his knife and began whetting it on a stone which hecarried in his pocket. In these minutes Baree might have crawled outfrom under his rock and escaped down the canyon; for a space he wasforgotten. Then Nepeese thought of him, and in that same strange,wondering voice she spoke again the word "Baree." Pierrot, who waskneeling, looked up at her.
"Oui, Sakahet. He was born of the wild. And now he is gone--"
The Willow shook her head.
"Non, he is not gone," she said, and her dark eyes searched the sunlitmeadow.