CHAPTER TWELVE.
ROY'S DREAM.
"Nelly, ye-a-a-ow!" exclaimed Roy, yawning as he awoke on the followingmorning from a dream, in which bears figured largely; "what a night I'vehad of it, to be sure--fightin' like a mad buffalo with--" Here Roypaused abruptly.
"Well, what were you fighting with?" asked Nell, with a smile that endedin a yawn.
"I won't tell you just now, lass, as it might spoil your appetite forbreakfast. Set about getting that ready as fast as you can, for I wantto be off as soon as possible to visit my snares."
"I guess we shall have rabbits for dinner to-day."
"What are you going to do with the sled?" inquired Nelly, observing thather brother was overhauling the lashings and drag-rope.
"Well, I set a lot o' snares, an' there's no sayin' how many rabbits mayhave got into 'em. Besides, if the rabbits in them parts aretender-hearted, a lot o' their relations may have died o' grief, so Ishall take the sled to fetch 'em all home!"
After breakfast Roy loaded his gun with ball, and putting on hissnow-shoes, sallied forth with an admonition to his sister to "have aroarin' fire ready to cook a rare feast!"
Nelly laughingly replied, that she would, and so they parted.
The first part of Roy's journey that day led him through athickly-wooded part of the country. He went along with the quick, yetcautious and noiseless, step of a hunter accustomed to the woods frominfancy. His thoughts were busy within him, and far away from the scenein which he moved; yet, such is the force of habit, he never for amoment ceased to cast quick, inquiring glances on each side as he wentalong. Nothing escaped his observation.
"Oh, if I could only get a deer this day," thought he, "how scrumptiousit would be!"
What he meant by "scrumptious" is best known to himself, but at thatmoment a large deer suddenly--perhaps scrumptiously!--appeared on thebrow of a ridge not fifty yards in advance of him. They had been bothwalking towards each other all that forenoon. Roy, having no powers ofscent beyond human powers, did not know the fact, and as the wind wasblowing from the deer to the hunter, the former--gifted though he waswith scenting powers--was also ignorant of the approaching meeting.
One instant the startled deer stood in bewildered surprise. One instantRoy paused in mute amazement. The next instant the deer wheeled round,while Roy's gun leaped to his shoulder. There was a loud report,followed by reverberating echoes among the hills, and the deer lay deadon the snow.
The young hunter could not repress a shout of joy, for he not only hadsecured a noble stag, but he had now a sufficiency of food to enable himto resume his homeward journey.
His first impulse was to run back to the hut with the deer's tongue anda few choice bits, to tell Nelly of his good fortune; but, on secondthoughts, he resolved to complete the business on which he had started.Leaving the deer where it fell he went on, and found that the snares hadbeen very successful. Some, indeed, had been broken by the strength ofthe boughs to which they had been fastened, and others remained as hehad set them; but above two-thirds of them had each a rabbit hung up bythe neck, so that the sled was pretty well loaded when all the snareshad been visited.
He had by this time approached the spot where the bear-trap was set, andnaturally began to grow a little anxious, for, although his chance ofsuccess was very slight, his good fortune that morning had made him moresanguine than usual.
There is a proverb which asserts that "it never rains but it pours." Itwould seem to be a common experience of mankind that pieces of goodfortune, as well as misfortunes, come not singly. Whether the proverbbe true or no, this experience was realised by Roy on that day, for heactually did find a bear in his trap! Moreover it was alive, and,apparently, had only just been caught, for it struggled to free itselfwith a degree of ferocity that was terrible to witness.
It was an ordinary black bear of considerable size and immense strength.Heavy and thick though the trees were that lay on its back and crushedit to the earth, it caused them to shake, leap, and quiver as thoughthey had been endowed with life. Roy was greatly alarmed, for heperceived that at each successive struggle the brute was ridding itselfof the superincumbent load, while fierce growls and short gaspsindicated at once the wrath and the agony by which it was convulsed.
Roy had neglected to reload his piece after shooting the deer--a mostun-hunter-like error, which was the result of excitement. Thinking thathe had not time to load, he acted now on the first suggestion of hisbold spirit. Resting his gun against a tree, he drew the small axe thathung at his belt and attacked the bear.
The first blow was well delivered, and sank deep into bruin's skull; butthat skull was thick, and the brain was not reached. A roar and afurious struggle caused Roy to deliver his second blow with less effect,but this partial failure caused his pugnacity to rise, and heimmediately rained down blows on the head and neck of the bear so fastand furious that the snow was speedily covered with blood. Inproportion as Roy strove to end the conflict by vigorous and quickblows, the bear tried to get free by furious efforts. He shook thetree-stem that held him down so violently that one of the other treesthat rested on it fell off, and thus the load was lightened. Royobserved this, and made a desperate effort to split the bear's skull.In his haste he misdirected the blow, which fell not on the head but onthe neck, in which the iron head of the axe was instantly buried--a mainartery was severed, and a fountain of blood sprang forth. This wasfortunate, for the bear's strength was quickly exhausted, and, in lessthan two minutes after, it sank dead upon the snow.
Roy sat down to rest and wipe the blood from his hands and garments, andthen, cutting off the claws of the animal as a trophy, he left it therefor a time. Having now far more than it was possible for him to drag tothe hut, he resolved to proceed thither with the rabbits, and bringNelly back to help him to drag home the deer.
"Well done, Roy," cried Nelly, clapping her hands, when her brotherapproached with the sled-load of rabbits, "but you are covered withblood. Have you cut yourself?"
She became nervously anxious, for she well knew that a bad cut on ajourney costs many a man his life, as it not only disables fromcontinuing the journey but from hunting for provisions.
"All right, Nell, but I've killed a deer--and--and--something else!Come, lass, get on your snow-shoes and follow me. We'll drag home thedeer, and then see what is to be done with the--"
"Oh, _what_ is it? do tell!" cried Nell, eagerly.
"Well, then, it's a bear!"
"Nonsense!--tell me true, now."
"That's the truth, Nell, as you shall see, and here are the claws. Looksharp, now, and let's off."
Away went these two through the snow, until they came to where the deerhad been left. It was hard work to get it lashed on the sled, and muchharder work to drag it over the snow, but by dint of perseverance andresolution they got it home. They were so fatigued, however, that itwas impossible to think of doing the same with the bear. This was aperplexing state of things, for Roy had observed a wolf-track when out,and feared that nothing but the bones would be left in the morning.
"What _is_ to be done?" said Nelly, with that pretty air of utterhelplessness which she was wont to assume when she felt that her brotherwas the proper person to decide.
Roy pondered a few moments, and then said abruptly, "Camp-out, Nelly."
"Camp-out?"
"Ay, beside the bear--keep it company all night with a big fire to scareaway the wolves. We'll put everything into the hut, block up the door,and kindle a huge fire outside that will burn nearly all night. So now,let's go about it at once."
Although Nelly did not much relish the idea of leaving their comfortablehut, and going out to encamp in the snow beside the carcase of a deadbear, she was so accustomed to regard her brother's plans as perfect,and to obey him promptly, that she at once began to assist in thenecessary preparations. Having secured everything safely in the hut,and kindled a fire near it, which was large enough to have roasted anox, they set off for the bear-trap
, and reached it in time to scare awaya large wolf which was just going to begin his supper on bruin.
An encampment was then made in the usual way, close to the bear-trap, afire as large as could be conveniently made was kindled, and the brotherand sister wrapped themselves in their blankets and lay comfortably downbeside it to spend the night there.