CHAPTER II
IN POSSESSION OF THE DUGOUT
"Wow! would you hear that, now?" exclaimed Tom. "Pleasant sort ofwelcome to a pair of tired, footsore pilgrims, I should say."
"By George! there's some sort of animal that thinks it owns the shebang,and has made its den in the dugout!" remarked Felix, in a tone ofastonishment.
"Just what's happened," continued his chum, stepping back, rifle inhand, in order to look around; "but what's bothering me, is to know howthe beast got in, when both door and window blind were closed tight.Why, to be sure, it was the easiest thing going, to drop down thatchimney! Old Sol forgot to fix that against a smart bobcat!"
"A bobcat!" echoed Felix, "do you think that's all it was? Sounded to meheavier than any cat's growl I ever heard. You must have whoppers uphere in Wyoming, when you find them at all, Tom."
"Why, what did you think it could be?" asked the other, quickly.
"My first idea was that it might turn out to be a panther," said Felix,"or one of those bad fighters that they call Indian devils; but then,you ought to be the best judge. No matter what it is, we want thatshack, don't we, Tom?"
"And we're going to have it, right away, Felix, as soon as we candislodge that critter. I was in hopes he'd crawl up out of the chimney,and give us a crack at him; but it looks like he was too smart to trysuch a dodge, with two handy guns waiting to bowl him over."
"Suppose I pound on the door, and give him notice that he'd better bemaking his way out as fast as he can," proposed the taller lad.
"Let me do that, while you stand here, ready to give him a bullet theinstant his head shows above the top of the chimney; that's made ofslabs, you notice, and mud baked so hard that it's more like cement now.The light ain't all it might be; but by stepping over here, you ought toget him against that brighter background. All ready, are you, Felix?"
"Go ahead; and it's just like you, Tom, waiting to give me the firstchance at everything. Knock him up, and tell him to vamose the ranch,"with which Felix raised his Marlin repeater to his shoulder, and stoodat attention.
With the butt of his rifle Tom gave several sharp pounds on the door ofthe dugout cabin. In response, the hairy occupant simply growled somemore. Again did Tom tap his summons, and the growling continued.
"That's what I call real sassy," chuckled Tom. "He says he won't budgean inch, if we have got a quit claim deed from Old Sol to this shack!And he wants to know what we're going to do about it, either."
"I don't suppose it would be the right thing to do to open the door, andrush the beast," remarked Felix. "They're a bad lot, and scratches fromtheir claws are apt to give a fellow blood poisoning, unless he's gotthe stuff to counteract it. How are we going to dislodge that cat, Tom?"
"You watch my smoke," went on Tom, "and in this case that ain't just afigure of speech, either, let me remark."
"Smoke! Oh! I'm on to your game, old fellow; and let me say it's thebest thing we could do. Want any help?" Felix remarked, deeplyinterested.
"Not me," sang out the other, who had laid his gun aside, and seemed tobe looking around for certain dead twigs, and such things as would beapt to take fire readily; "I'll get a little blaze started, and thengive this green weed a chance to smoulder. It'll put up the rankestsmell you ever did whiff, and when I toss the same in through the door,take my word for it that cat will soon make a run up the chimney."
He busied himself for another minute, and then struck a match. As alittle fire started Tom stepped back and gathered an armful of a certainweed that had not yet been killed by the frost. This he threw upon theflame, when immediately a dark smoke began to rise. As Felix got a scentof it he gave a snort.
"You're sure right, when you said that beat anything I ever ran upagainst," he declared, vigorously; "whew! it must be the stink-weed ofthe Indians. Nothing else could throw off that awful smell."
"Just what it is; and now take care, for I'm going to open the door alittle to toss the stuff inside," replied Tom.
"I see our finish, if that weed ever gets to smoking inside the dugout,"sighed Felix, rather disconsolately, as he held his fingers to his nose,and tried to deep his rifle in position at the same time.
"Oh! we'll soon chase that out with coffee and such things," returnedthe cheerful Tom; "besides, you've got to stand lots of things when youcan't help it. Here goes, Felix. Now, Old Claws, will you be good?"
He gathered up the smouldering weeds, and opening the door with onehand, suddenly tossed his burden within, slamming the barrier shutagain, and turning the bar. They plainly heard some heavy object comewith a crash against the door, as if the cat had sprung savagely, hopingto land on its enemy, as it undoubtedly considered the one who wasbothering with its peaceful occupation of the apparently abandonedshack.
Snatching up his gun, Tom sprang back to where he too could get a dimview of the top of the short chimney, not more than ten feet away.
"You first, remember, Felix; I'm only going to break in if you fail toget him," he said, hastily.
They plainly heard the cat jumping around within the place, as though itresented the odor of smoke, and such smoke too! Felix certainly couldsympathize with the animal.
"He's coming!" warned Tom, suddenly.
A distinct scratching sound came to the ears of Felix. He understoodwhat must be the cause of this; the inmate of the dugout was about tovacate. Defying all other arguments, the cat had to succumb to that ofsmoke from the stink-weed.
Felix kept his eyes fixed on the top of that stumpy chimney, and hisgunstock was already fast against his shoulder.
"There," exclaimed Tom, as something pushed up into view, and the formof a big bobcat was seen emerging.
It had just about all appeared in view, when the report of the Marlinsounded sharply through the neighboring woods, where perhaps a gun hadnot been fired for several years, so far as they knew.
"Back!" cried Tom, dragging at the arm of his comrade, as the monstercat came whirling down toward them, in such a mixed-up mess that it wasimpossible to say whether the animal were in its death throes, or makinga savage leap at its tormentors, though in either case it was the safepolicy to sheer off.
When the cat landed on the ground they both saw that it had received itsdeath wound, and hence there was no need of a second shot from either oftheir guns.
"That settles him for good," remarked Tom, when, with a last spasmodicmovement, the savage looking beast stiffened out. "Nice to have such awarm welcome, eh, when you get to your future snug home? Now to kickthat weed out of doors in a big hurry, Felix."
"Go slow," warned the other.
"What for? Do you think there might be another inside? Not much. If onehad to vacate, the other would have been on his heels. This was an oldhermit cat, without any family, I guess; and a buster, too. Here goes,then."
With that he flung open the door. No growling greeted them, which was apretty good indication that the shack had yielded up its entire quota ofcats.
Tom jumped in and in a trice had tossed out the smouldering weeds; whichFelix trampled under foot, until they ceased to give out any smoke orsmell.
"Pretty rank in here, what with the cat and the weed; hard to tell whichis the worse," declared Tom; "but we'll remedy that right quick."
Both boys bustled about, getting wood for a fire; and Tom selected asmuch fragrant burning fragments as his knowledge of the forest treesallowed. They carried this into the dugout, the shutter of which hadbeen opened to admit of fresh air.
The big fireplace seemed to fairly yawn, and ask for a supply of fuel,and in a very short time they had the fire going briskly.
First of all, they did everything possible to get rid of the awfulodors. The two big packs were brought inside and opened, so that thecoffee could be reached, and once Tom had sprinkled a few pinches of thepowdered grain on the hearth, and set a burning brand alongside, tocause it to catch fire, a different scent filled the place.
"Is that any better?" he asked, laughingly.
"A thousan
d per cent," replied Felix. "But say, I'm as hungry as a bear;and we can't get supper any too soon to suit me."
"Same here," chirped Tom; with which remark he started in to makeimmediate preparations for the meal.
Expecting to depend for the most part on the game they would find, fortheir subsistence while in the wilderness, they had carried only certainthings along, in the shape of bacon, salt pork, coffee, tea, some sugar,flour, rice, hominy, and about a quart of onions for an occasionalrelish. That, with their blankets, some extra clothes, and ammunition,made up the heavy packs which the boys had been carrying on their backsfor three full days now--the snow-shoes counted for little, as they werelight weight.
While Tom made the coffee, Felix busied himself in cooking some of thebacon. Until they had managed to knock over a deer, or suppliedthemselves with meat in some other fashion, they must make a raid dailyon their scanty stock of food.
"But tomorrow we'll both get busy, and see what we can bag," remarkedTom, when the other mentioned this depressing fact.
There were a few crackers left, as well as some cheese, upon which theyhad subsisted at "noonings" on the way, not wishing to bother lighting afire, and spending time in cooking anything, when in such haste to getlocated in their quarters.
Altogether they had a good satisfying meal, and Felix declared after itwas over that he felt many times better.
"I'm going to smoke one pipe, just to give a flavor to the old shackwhere Sol burned many a pound of the weed in his day," remarked Tom,settling back comfortably, with a block of wood to support him.
"And what's in the wind then?" asked his cousin.
"I might try my hand at taking our first pelt," chuckled the other.
"Oh! yes, to be sure, I'd about forgotten that he's got a fur worthkeeping. And Tom, every time we look at it, won't we just remember whata welcome he gave us on our arrival. To be sure it was only in growls;but then, that's the only language a poor old cat's got. But when yousay you mean to try your hand, you're only joking, because I wager youtook off many a pelt when out with Old Sol Ten Eyck."
"Of course, and I hope I haven't forgotten the lessons he taught me; forthere never was a better trapper known than Sol in his prime. He'sbrought in the skins of every kind of animal in the country, from ablack fox, down to muskrat hides, when you couldn't hardly give theselast away. But nowadays, with the big demand for all kinds of furs, anda shortening supply, the muskies are fetching a price that makes it paya fellow to gather them."
"That's what I understood from a big fur dealer," Felix went on toremark. "What's going to happen when all the seals and foxes and minkand otter are gone, nobody knows. He said that people would either haveto quit wearing any kind of furs; or else be satisfied with muskrat, orsomething that never will be extinct."
"Look at the wolf, for instance," said Tom. "Time was, when it hardlypaid to skin one on the ranch, when we shot them. How is it now? Why,they've found that those skins make the finest kinds of warm coats formen driving in automobiles; and the consequence is the price keeps goingup right along. Mr. Wolf has a rough road ahead of him in the next tenyears. But nobody will cry if he's wiped out, because he's a bad lot,and sure death to young calves in the herd."
Felix was not addicted to the smoking habit, which probably was a goodthing, as he lacked the robust figure of his western cousin. But Tom didcertainly seem to suck a great deal of consolation from that little pipeof his, and the other boy had no objection to the fumes, indeed, thefragrant odor of the tonca bean, which was mixed with Tom's tobaccorather pleased his senses.
After he had finished that one pipe, Tom arose, and picking up hisknife, said he would step out to attend to the dead cat.
"If I can't get the right light, why, I might hang the old boy up fromthe limb of a tree until morning," he said; "only that's likely to fetchothers of the breed yowling around tonight. But I'll see."
A full moon had arisen after sunset, and while the trees kept much ofher light from reaching the ground, still it was far from dark. Tom,however, was particular with respect to how he took off any pelt, anddecided that it had better wait until morning. He stood outside therequite a little while, until Felix came to the door to ascertain what hewas doing.
"Not taking time to bother with the hide tonight, then?" he asked, as hediscovered the dead cat swinging about six feet from the ground, havingbeen fastened there with a stout cord.
"Changed my mind, and concluded it would make a better job in daylight,"answered the other. "But I was standing here, listening to somethingthat ought to make you feel happy."
"What was that?" asked Felix, his curiosity of course aroused.
"I heard a 'woof woof' over there that told me a bear was passing by,and had got a whiff of human presence here," Tom went on to say,chuckling in his usual way.
"And do you think it could be a grizzly?" demanded Felix, thrilled withthe very thought of such a thing.
"Oh! well, I never shot a grizzly, myself, and in fact only hunted forthe breed once; so my ear isn't educated enough to tell the differencebetween the sounds made by a cinnamon, and his black cousin; but then, abear means game, one way or the other; and that suits us both. Besides,bear steak ain't so _very_ bad, even if it is tough generally. We'lllook up that gentleman tomorrow, Felix, just as sure as anything."