CHAPTER II
SAVED BY A JACK-RABBIT
AT first, the stone seemed satisfied to merely slide downward, so thatDick hoped it would lodge in some crevice and not be noticed by any ofthe passing Indians. This hope was short-lived, however, for, gainingmomentum as the slope grew steeper, the stone began to skip and jump,until, bursting through a little patch of dead grass, it attracted theattention of the nearest brave.
Dick heard him utter a guttural exclamation, and, at the same time sawhim hastily reach for his bow, which was slung over his shoulder. Theothers, too, manifested immediate interest in the bounding stone, forsuch things do not roll down a slope without some cause and there werered enemies of their tribe who often lay in hiding to attack them.
Roger gave a gasp of dismay. That was not the first time he had beenguilty of bringing some sort of trouble upon the heads of himself andhis cousin. Dick laid his hand on the arm of the impetuous one, andhis low-whispered "Be still" doubtless prevented Roger from makingmatters worse by showing himself above the bush that sheltered them.
It would seem as though some good cherub aloft must have interposed tosave the two lads from the peril which confronted them. Even as theylay there and stared, they saw one of the Indians point at somethinga little further along the slope, and then, strange to say, theprocession again resumed its forward movement, as though all suspicionhad been allayed.
Roger was almost bursting with curiosity to know what had intervened.He had not been able to see, because Dick chanced to be on that side ofhim and, much as he wanted to stretch his neck and look, he dared notattempt it after what had happened.
Accordingly they lay perfectly still until the last of the Indians haddisappeared in the distance. Even then Dick would not start to leavetheir hiding place until absolutely sure no others were coming alongthe trail.
Unable to longer restrain the overpowering curiosity that gripped him,Roger presently put the question that was burning on his tongue.
"What was it happened to make them pass by, and not start up here tosee how that stone started to roll down?" he asked.
"Then you didn't see the jack-rabbit, Roger?"
"A rabbit, you say, Dick?"
"Yes. It was the most fortunate thing that could have happened for us,and we ought to be thankful to the little beast that he took it in hishead to skip out when that stone jumped through the patch of dead grasswhere he was hiding."
"Oh! was that what happened?" exclaimed the other boy, chuckling nowbecause of the lucky event. "And, of course, when the Indians saw therabbit running off, they believed it had started the stone to falling.It sometimes seems to me as if we were guarded by some invisible power,we have so many wonderful escapes!"
"It may be that we are, Roger, because we know that not a day passesbut that our mothers, far away down the Missouri, are praying that wemay be spared to come back to them. But, now that the coast is clear,let us head once more for Fort Mandan, as we call our camp."
Of course both these wide-awake lads knew how to find their way throughthe densest woods, or over unknown ground, by using their knowledge ofwoodcraft to tell them the cardinal points of the compass.
When the sky was clear, they could find the north by means of the sun,moon, or some of the stars. If clouds obscured their vision, they knewhow to discover the same fact through the moss on the trees, or eventhe thickness of the bark. Besides the methods mentioned, there wereothers that experience and association with other rovers of the woodshad taught them.
Consequently, although they might be traversing country that neither ofthem had ever set eyes on before, they always knew just which way tohead in order to reach camp.
Dick was constantly taking mental notes as he went along. Theseincluded not only the prospects for game, but the lay of the land, forCaptain Lewis wished to know all that was possible about such thingsbefore once more starting out in the spring to complete his great tripto the Western Sea.
At the same time, Dick was also on the alert for every sign of danger,from whatever source. His keen vision took in all that went on aroundhim. Not a leaf rustled to the ground, as some passing breeze loosenedits hold on the branch above, but he saw it eddying through the air;never a little ground squirrel frisked behind some lichen-coveredrock, or tree root, that Dick did not instantly note.
They presently found themselves traversing what seemed to be a roughbelt of rocky land, where the trees were not very plentiful. It waseven difficult at times to advance, and they had to be careful wherethey placed their feet, since a fall might result in serious bruises.
Just as they passed around a huge bowlder, that had at some time fallenfrom the face of the cliff towering above them, the two boys heard aqueer, sniffing sound. Before either had time to draw back, there cameshuffling into view, not more than fifty feet beyond them, a terrifyingfigure such as they had never up to that moment set eyes upon.
It was a huge bear, far larger than any they had met with in all theirhunting trips along the Missouri. From some of the hunters connectedwith the exploring party they had heard the wildest stories concerninga monster species of brown, or grizzly bear that was said to have itshome amidst the rocky dens of the mountains and foothills lying to thewest. The Indians always spoke of this animal as though it were tobe dreaded more than any creature of the wilds. The brave who couldproduce the long claws of a grizzly bear was immediately honored withthe head feathers of a chief.
Dick knew, therefore, that they were now facing one of these terribleanimals. He could well understand the awe with which they were viewedby the red men, and the half-breed trappers, for the appearance of thismonster was certainly alarming. Perhaps, if left to his own device, themore cautious Dick might have considered it best for them to decline acombat and, if the bear did not attack them, they could withdraw andseek a safer trail across the rocky ridge.
In figuring on this course, however, he failed to count on theimpetuous nature of his companion. The hunter-instinct was welldeveloped in Roger. He looked upon nearly everything that walked onfour feet and carried a coat of fur as his legitimate prize, if only hecould succeed in placing a bullet where it would do the most good.
So it came about that, as Dick started to put out his hand with theintention of drawing his comrade back, he was startled to hear thecrash of a gun close to his ear. Roger had instinctively thrown hisweapon to his shoulder, and, with quick aim, pulled the trigger.
Under ordinary conditions Roger was a very clever marksman. There weretimes, however, when he failed to exercise the proper care, and thenhe was apt to make a poor shot. That may have happened in the presentinstance; or else, it must be true, as the Indians said, that thegrizzly bear could carry off more lead, or survive more arrows, thanany other living creature.
Dick was shocked to see that, instead of falling over as the shot rangout, the great bear started toward them, roaring, and acting as thoughrendered furious by the wound he had received.
There was nothing for it but that Dick should try to complete thetragedy. He aimed as best he could, considering the fact that theanimal was now moving swiftly, if clumsily, in their direction, andpulled the trigger.
His rifle was always kept well primed and the powder did not simplyflash in the pan; but he realized at once that he had not given themonster his death wound, for the bear still advanced, displaying allthe symptoms of rage.
"We must get out of this, Roger!" cried Dick, for, as it would beutterly impossible for either of them to reload in time to meet theoncoming beast, they must either escape, or else engage in a terriblefight with their knives at close quarters.
The remembrance of the long, sharp claws he had seen around the neckof the Sioux chief, Running Elk, caused Dick to decide on the formercourse. As he turned to run, he dragged Roger with him.
He remembered hearing that these terrible denizens of the Westernmountains could not climb a tree like their black cousins. To this factmany a man owed his life, when attacked by a grizzly bear. As he ran,Dick stra
ined his eyes to discover a convenient tree into which he andRoger might climb to safety.
Glancing back over his shoulder when a chance occurred, he saw, to hisdismay, that the wounded animal was coming after them with a rush, andevidently had no idea of giving over the pursuit simply because histwo-legged enemies were retreating.
"What can we do, Dick?" gasped Roger, now beginning to realize thefoolishness of taking that haphazard shot at such a terrible beast,against which he had been warned by others who knew something of itsferocity.
"We must climb a tree, it is our only hope!" replied the other, betweenhis set teeth.
"There's one just ahead of us, Dick!" cried Roger, hopefully.
"We could never get up before the bear caught us, for there are nolimbs low enough to be easily reached," Dick answered. "A littlefurther on I think I can see the one we must gain. Try to run faster;he is gaining on us, I'm afraid!"
Both lads were soon breathing heavily, for they found the unevennature of the rock-strewn ground to be very much against them. But,fortunately, neither chanced to fall, and thus delay their flight and,while the oncoming grizzly was yet some little distance in their wake,they managed to reach the hospitable tree that offered them hope of arefuge.
"Up as fast as you can, Roger!" urged Dick.
Roger would not have stirred an inch, only he saw that his cousin wasalready clambering as fast as he could go. Impulsive, headstrong andeven careless Roger might be at times, but he was no coward, and hewould not climb to safety, leaving his chum to face any peril fromwhich he was freed.
They managed to get fairly well lodged in the bare branches of themountain oak before the pursuing animal arrived. The bear stood up onhis hind legs and tried to reach their dangling moccasin-covered feet,meanwhile snarling savagely, and manifesting the most determined desireto avenge his injuries.
"At any rate," said Roger, "we both hit him, Dick, for you can seehe is bleeding from two wounds. Oh! why did I let my gun fall when Istumbled that time? If I had it here with me now I could soon fix thatfellow!"
"Then you must leave that to me this time, Roger," remarked the other,who had managed to slip the strap of his gun over his shoulder as hedrew near the tree, so as to have both hands free for climbing--and hehad certainly needed them, too.
Dick now began to load his gun, meanwhile watching the actions of thefurious bear. The grizzly was trying to gain lodgment among the lowerlimbs of the tree that had offered the fugitives an asylum; but he didnot seem to know how to go about it, or to utilize those long, sharpclaws that had been given to him by Nature more as a means of offensethan for climbing purposes.
Several times he fell back heavily, only to give vent to his ferocityin sullen roars. Finally Dick, having sent the patched bullet homewith his ramrod, began to prime the pan of his long gun, so as to beready to make use of the weapon.