CHAPTER X
THE YOUNG HUNTER AND THE ELK
There are times when one acts from instinct alone. Frank had no time tothink, when he felt himself going down with some loose earth and stonesinto the wide canyon. He simply threw his rifle back of him, so that hemight save it from falling, and at the same time have the free use ofboth hands.
He fell a dozen feet or so, along with the loose soil and rocks he hadcaused to give way under his weight. Then, by some happy accident, hisoutstretched hands closed upon a bush that was growing from the roughface of the wall, and to this he clung with desperation.
It threatened to come loose with each movement he made, and yet he wasbound to find some niche for his dangling feet, so as to relieve thebush from a part of his weight.
He had heard the loud outcries of his friends, and knew they must behastening to his relief.
If he could only hold on for five minutes all might be well.
Below lay quite an abyss, and a fall was apt to bruise him very much,even if he were fortunate enough not to have any bones broken. It was,therefore, with considerable gratitude that he discovered he could dighis toes into crevices in the rock, and thus hang on.
Jerry afterward declared that Frank presented all the appearance of afly plastered against a wall; but it might have been noticed that he wasthe first one to reach the edge of the platform and breathe encouragingwords to his endangered chum.
Mr. Mabie knew what would be needed before he made the first movement.
"Bring your rope, Reddy!" he shouted, and the agile cowboy had obeyed.
This was quickly lowered until the noose dangled below Frank.
"Use one foot to draw it in, my boy. We want you to get both legs insidethe loop, and then gradually let us draw it up under your arms. It's allright. We're going to have you out of that, so don't worry!" called theranchman.
"You can depend on it, Frank isn't frightened. If that bush threatens togo, get a quick grip of the rope! Do you understand, Frank?" calledJerry.
A quick nod of the head told that the one below realized he was as goodas drawn up already. One foot was cautiously withdrawn from its supportand the loop caught; then the second also passed inside the circle;after which a tightening of the lariat brought it up to where Mr. Mabiewanted to have it.
"Now here you come, my boy!" he called cheerily.
Frank let go his frenzied clutch, and swung into space; but willinghands quickly drew him up until he stood with his chums.
"Did I get him?" was the first question he asked, at which the stockmanlaughed heartily and patted him on the back.
"Spoken like a true sportsman, I declare! How about it, Reddy?" he said.
"There's his game, sir, lying just at the foot of that old slide. It wasas neat a shot as I ever saw," declared the young cowboy, pointing.
"Which is the truth, old fellow!" exclaimed Jerry, seizing Frank's handand wringing it warmly, without a touch of jealousy, even though his ownlaurels as the admitted best shot of the club seemed in jeopardy.
"But what a pity we can't get it! I hate to think of killing game andleaving it for the wolves," said Frank.
"Oh, that's soon remedied. Reddy will promise to land that sheep herefor you in double-quick order, eh?"
Reddy was already fastening one end of his lariat to a projecting stonethat resembled a saddle-horn. This done, he tried it, to make sure thatit would hold. Then he tossed the balance of the rope, loop and all,over the edge.
"Does it reach down?" asked Mr. Mabie.
"Just gets there, and no more," replied Will, craning his neck to see.
Reddy flung himself over in what struck Will as a most reckless fashion;but he discovered in time that these free riders of the ranches doeverything in that nervous manner. It is a country where men quicklylearn that often their lives depend on their ability to act promptly andlike a flash.
"He's down already," announced Will, half a minute later.
And it was not ten minutes before they saw the cowboy coming back again.He had Frank's first mountain sheep upon his back, and though the waywas rough he jumped from stone to stone with surprising agility for onewho spent so much time in the saddle.
In due time the journey was resumed.
"How much further do we go?" asked Will, as he followed behind theguide, Reddy.
"Here's the top of the ridge. Now you can see the other valley, and thenoise you hear is made by a cataract in the river. We camp just belowthat. Fishing is good there, and I guess you'll like it," was the reply.
They soon headed down, and the end of their day's work seemed close athand. It can be easily assumed that none of the boys were sorry. Quiteunused to riding, they began to feel the effects already.
"I'm glad it's a camp after this. I've sure got a cramp in my legs thatit'll take a long time to get out," grunted Bluff.
"Rome wasn't built in a day, son. Each time you ride you'll notice thatcramp less and less, until after a month you will be entirely free fromit. But here we are at our journey's end, and I, for one, don't feelsorry, because for ten minutes I've been scenting that coffee. The boyshave seen us coming, and started to have dinner cooked."
It proved to be just as Mr. Mabie said. A most appetizing camp dinnerwas ready for them when they arrived. Perhaps Jerry and Frank may havethought it did not fully come up to some similar feasts they had helpedprepare in the woods, but of course they never hinted at such a thing;for those cowboys, while the most accommodating of fellows, were alsothin-skinned in some respects.
Will was fairly delighted at the romantic looks of the camp, back ofwhich the waterfall came tumbling down. He could hardly wait to eat hisdinner before he set to work to secure a _fac-simile_ of the picture,with the party gathered around the fire, and the three tents making apleasing contrast to the dark green of the pinon trees.
Most of the party were contented to remain quiet during the balance ofthe day, but Bluff developed an unusually ambitious spirit for action.Truth to tell, he secretly considered that his chums were having morethan their share of good luck in making a record at bagging game, andthought it time he started in.
Mr. Mabie had made him accept the use of a spare hunting-knife. It was ashort, though serviceable weapon, and had doubtless done splendidexecution in days gone by. Bluff used to take it out when he thought noone was looking, run his finger over the keen edge, gaze sadly at thedim blade, and shake his head. He could not get the memory of that othergrand specimen of the cutler's skill out of his mind, and his soul wasfilled with bitterness because of its strange absence.
"Look out for wolves!" called Reddy, but Bluff only waved his hand inderision as he walked away down the valley.
Of course, he knew that the stockmen were more or less troubled withthese hungry marauders in the winter time, and often had to organizegrand hunts in order to keep their number down; but it hardly seemedreasonable to expect trouble from such a source in the summer season.
Elk and moose had not as yet come under the protection of the game laws,so that they were at liberty to shoot what they pleased. As a rule,however, Mr. Mabie did not believe in hunting such animals save in thefall of the year.
Bluff had asked numerous questions before leaving camp, so that he knewsomething about the lay of the land in the vicinity. He had started outwith all due regard to the way the wind was blowing, so as not to alarmany quarry that might be sniffing up the breeze.
Climbing among the rocks, and passing through dense patches of timber,he kept on the alert for signs of game. Now, Bluff did not make anypretence at being a skilful sportsman. In fact, until a year or so backhe had been the bungler of the party when it came to a knowledge ofwoodcraft; but since then he had studied up on various subjects, and wasnow anxious to air his knowledge.
When he caught sight of a large animal with towering antlers, feeding ina little glade, he knew it must, of necessity, be an elk, for a moosewas built along different lines entirely.
It might have amused Jerry to see the w
ay in which Bluff crawled closerand closer to the expected quarry. No doubt he did make some ridiculousefforts, which were not at all according to the usual rules of the game.However, as Bluff would say, the proof of the pudding lies in the eatingof it, and he certainly did manage to creep up quite close to thefeeding elk.
Thinking he was now near enough, and that the animal was beginning toact uneasily, Bluff stretched himself out, balanced his gun on a stone,took a long aim, and then pulled the trigger.
The elk certainly dropped, at which the young hunter gave a bellow ofdelight. That was where he made a foolish blunder, for believing thathis bullet had done for the game, Bluff started recklessly forward, benton bleeding the same, and only regretting the fact that he could notinitiate his precious new blade.
To his astonishment, the wounded elk scrambled to its feet, and insteadof bounding away it shook its antlers in an angry fashion and startedstraight toward the young hunter!