CHAPTER XIV
THE VICTIM OF THE BEAR TRAP
By this time the other boy had discovered their presence. He waved hishand, and begged them not to desert him, as he would soon freeze todeath.
Frank had made up his mind no trap had been set for them, but that theagony of the poor fellow was genuine. Accordingly, he started on arun, with Jerry close at his heels.
Without waiting to ask questions, Frank set to work to release theimprisoned boy. While Teddy had been unable to get around to pressdown heavily enough on the double springs of the bear trap, it was nota difficult job for Frank to do, assisted by Jerry.
At first they almost dreaded to look closely at the leg of thereleased boy as he sat there in a heap, tenderly caressing it. WhenFrank did come to examine it, he was pleased to see that, after all,the damage was not so alarming.
"Luckily those springs have weakened with age; and then again thethick leather leggings you're wearing have helped to save you some,"he told Teddy.
The leg had been lacerated more or less, and must have beenexceedingly painful. Teddy was miles away from camp. He did not have agun, and Frank began to wonder what could have brought him there.Apparently he must have been in the old bear trap for an hour or two.
"How did it happen, Teddy?" he asked, for information.
"I dunno just how I came to tread in that old trap," the otherreplied, stopping his whimpering for a minute. "I was just walkingalong, and thinkin' I'd soon get to Old Joe's, when all at once itgrabbed me. I thought at first I was killed. Then when I tried to getat the springs, and it seemed like my leg was beginnin' to freeze, itscared me right bad. That's why I hollered. I thought Joe might hearme."
"Who's Old Joe?" continued Frank.
"Why, you see, he's a man that's runnin' a fur farm over this way,"Teddy explained. "He raises skunks for their skins. He was taken withme when he dropped in at our camp, and told me he wisht I'd come overand stay the winter out with him."
"And were you on your way to his place when this happened?" askedJerry.
The injured boy nodded his head in the affirmative. Frank was now downon his knees and starting to remove the legging. He meant to take alook at the wound, both to ascertain how serious it was, and perhapsdo what he could to alleviate the suffering of the other.
"Did your uncle send you over to Old Joe's?" he asked Teddy.
"Bill Nackerson isn't really my uncle, you know, only a relation ofsome kind; and I'm right sorry now I ever asked him to take me on ahunting trip. I've led a dog's life of it. After he knocked me downafter supper last night I just couldn't stand it any longer."
"Then you ran away; is that what you mean?" inquired Jerry, deeplyinterested by this time and noting a bruise under Teddy's eye.
"Just what I did," muttered the boy. "After what I heard BillNackerson saying, I got the notion in my head that I wanted to cut outof there. Even a skunk farm couldn't be _quite_ so bad as he madeit for me; anyhow, I was willin' to take the chances. But that trapnearly finished me. What if you hadn't heard me yelling?"
"You'd have had a hard spell of it, that's sure," Frank admitted. Asit was below the freezing point at the time, he fancied poor Teddymight not have lived to see another day.
After he had examined the wound and managed to bind it up, he began tofigure on what could be done. Plainly the deer hunt must be given upfor that day. It seemed to be ill-fated, seeing that so manypostponements were necessary.
Still, there was always a chance that on the way home they would pickup some partridges, which would have to do.
"Do you have any notion how far away this Old Joe's place might be?"Frank asked Teddy, thinking that their best plan would be to get theboy there if it could be managed.
"I got an idea it was close by here," replied Teddy. "He told me afterI struck the little ravine on the trail it wasn't more'n a quarter ofa mile off."
"If you think you can walk a little, with us helping you," Frankcontinued, "we might go on and see if we can find the place."
Jerry was sniffing the air at a lively rate.
"Yes, she's close by, I give you my word for that," he announced, asthough he believed he was on the right scent.
Teddy seemed anxious to do all he could to help. He was desperatelyafraid the other boys might conclude to leave him, and as he was nextto helpless the prospect alarmed him.
So they moved slowly along. Now and then the boy groaned a little.This was at such times as he happened to give his leg a wrench.
"I hope you'll stand by me in case he ain't home," he ventured. "Joe,he told me he might shut up shop here and go to town for a month, so'sto be treated by a doctor for a trouble he's got. I'm takin' bigchances in comin' over without letting him know anything about it."
"Well, we're nearly there now," observed Frank.
"There's a wire fence!" exclaimed the injured boy. "See how tight it'smade, to keep the skunks from gettin' away."
"And I can see some sort of cabin farther on," Frank announced.
As they drew nearer it struck them that everything looked deserted.Teddy was the first to voice his dismay.
"I don't see a whiff of smoke comin' from the chimbly," he remarked."I'm afraid he's cleared out to town. Whatever will I do now? I justcan't stay here; and, as to gettin' back to Bill's place, I'd die onthe way."
They soon saw that the cabin was deserted. No doubt the raiser ofskunks had made such arrangements as were possible, so that his petsmight exist while he was away.
Frank knew there was only one thing that could be done: the woundedboy must be taken to their camp and looked after, for a short time atleast. Later on, if he found he could walk fairly well, he might goback to the other cabin in which the rival hunters were quartered.
"Let's see if we can find an old ax around," Frank said.
"What are you meaning to do--break in the locked door?" Jerryinquired.
Teddy looked anxious, and full of curiosity besides.
"There'd be no use in doing that, because Teddy couldn't stop here allby himself," Frank explained.
"What do we want an ax for, then?" continued Jerry.
"It's this way," he was told: "we'll have to get him back with us,because he can't be left here. And as he can't walk all the way, thething for us to do is to knock some kind of a litter together andcarry him between us."
Jerry was immediately interested.
"Guess we can do that, all right, Frank," he exclaimed; "and there'syour ax over by the chopping block. It's a tough-looking thing, butmight answer in an emergency like this."
"You must never look a gift-horse in the mouth; it isn't right," Franktold him, as he laid hold of the nicked ax and looked around for somepoles of the proper type.
"There's where a tree was cut down some years ago," Jerry told Frank."See what a nest of young growth has started up around the stump!They'd make great hop poles, wouldn't they? And I don't see why weshouldn't get all we want for our stretcher right here."
"We certainly can," replied Frank, beginning to swing the apology foran ax.
He soon began to fell the straight saplings by twos and threes. Therewould be no trouble about obtaining as many as they needed, it soonbecame apparent.
When a stack had been trimmed off, the two boys started to work makinga rude litter. All they had to fasten the poles together withconsisted of their stout bandannas and some cord Jerry chanced to findin his coat pocket.
As both lads were of an ingenious turn of mind, they managed to rig upa litter that looked pretty comfortable. Over the bars they spread athick coat of hemlock, tearing off small branches so that the fragrantfoliage might not be lost.
"And let me tell you," remarked Jerry, when their work was finished,"I wouldn't mind being carried on such an elegant litter, myself. Talkto me about Oriental palanquins and Jap jinrickshas; this has got thewhole bunch beat, if I do say it as oughtn't. Teddy, climb on, andlet's see how she goes."
Teddy was only too willing to do so. He gave each of the boys agra
teful look that spoke louder than the words he used to express histhanks.
"Shucks, don't mention it!" said Jerry, with a shrug of his shoulders."Why, we wouldn't deserve to be called hunters if we did anythingless. When people go to the woods they ought to be willing to hold outa helping hand to anybody that's in trouble, even if it's their worstenemy. If we ran on Bill, fixed the same way, we'd stand by him;wouldn't we, Frank?"
"We'd feel that we had to," was the reply.
It was with a feeling of chagrin that Jerry found himself heading forhome and walking at one end of the litter. He managed to keep his gunhandy, and the first time Frank spoke of seeing partridges close bythe burden was hastily deposited on the ground, and, rifles in hand,the young hunters crept toward the spot.
In this foray they succeeded in dropping two birds, and that comfortedJerry a little. Later on the operation was repeated; and as severalmore partridges, instead of taking themselves off, insisted onperching in another tree, a third brace fell to the aim of themarksmen.
"My mind is easy now!" declared Jerry, when they had deposited thisassortment of game upon the stretcher alongside the wounded boy. "Nostarvation staring us in the face yet awhile. I am chuckling to thinkhow the other fellows will stare when they see what we're bringing inwith us."
"You're mighty good to me," muttered Teddy, "and I'm a lucky feller tohave run on you like I did. I got a good mind to tell something--mebbeI will yet."
Whatever he had on his mind, Frank could guess that it was weighingheavily. He supposed, of course, that it had to do with BillNackerson. Perhaps Teddy had heard something while in the rival campthat concerned some evil work the ugly sportsman had been concernedin.
After taking a number of rests on the way, as the afternoon wore onthey drew near their home camp. Jerry sent out a shout to warn Willand Bluff that they were coming. He wanted to make sure that both wereoutdoors on the watch; so that they might be mystified by seeing thehunters coming back in such a queer fashion.
Just as Jerry had anticipated, there was a loud shout of wonder.
"Why, whatever have you got?" Will exclaimed, rubbing his eyes.
"Is _that_ the way you fellows fetch a deer home?" demandedBluff; and then gaped anew when he discovered a head raised above theside of the litter.