AHuntonSnowShoes 10091976 PDF

U P A N D D O I N G S E R I ES
A H U NT O N SNO W S H O ES
unt
Snow Shoes
on
'
By E dwar d S FXI E ll i s
Auth or
of
D eer foo t
S er i es,

T he
C abin Ser i es,
Youn
i
P
o
n
e
r S er i es ,
e
g
N ew D eerfoot S eri es,
Lo
e tc . , e tc .
I L L U S T R AT ED
By ED WI N
s
s
T HE
C H I C AG O
O
H
N
J
WI N ST O N
P H I L A DEL PHI A
C O M PAN Y
T O R O NT O
C O N T EN TS
C H AF
C H AR
II
C H AR
III
C HA P
IV
C HA R
C HA R
VI
U P T H E KE N N E BEC
F
L EE IN G
F OR
L IF E
D A N G E R O N E!
ER Y
23
H AND
34
A NI G H T OF D R E AD
T H E P HA N T O M
T H E MO O S E
C AM P
OR
45
-
F IR E
6
5
A M E R I CAN
BL A C K E L K
CH AR
VII
CHAR
VI I I
C HA R
IX
C H AR
C H AR
XI
C HA R
XI I
70
A F A I LU R E
86
T H E L A N D O F D E S O L AT I O N
96
A D R I FT U P O N A N
I C E BE R G
T H E I N D I ANS
A P A SS A G E
IN
AT T H E
AT
10 5
1 18
AR MS
D E AT H
: 40
C O N T E N TS
P AG E
CH AR
XI I I
T H E G R E A T MOO S E O F T H E
U P P E R K E N N E BE C
C H AR
XV I
CH A R
XV
C HA R
C HA R
C H AR
CH AR
CH A R
C HA R
C HA R
C HA R
XX
XX I
XII
XX I I I
XX I !
C H AR
XX! I
C HA R
X! I I I
XXV
XX ! I I
XX ! I I I
1 68
A L O N E I N T H E W I L D E R NE S S
181
V E N GE A NC E
I s
MI N E
94
207
A N A L A R M IN G D A N G E R
2 20
A I M L E SS W A N D E R I N GS
23
A F OO L HA R D Y ATT E M P T
246
A N U NW E L C O M E H O S T
2 59
UN D E R
2 73
W A T E R FA LL
TH E
T H E BU LL S EYE
2 86
A M O N G T H E O uTL Aws
00
A LO NE I N TH E
14
24
T H E P ANTH E R
S4
L I G H T E NI N G T H E S L E D
X! I I
C HA R
C HA R
XV I
XI X
C HA R
A F
CA BI N
I E N D IN NE E D
T H E R E S C U E A N D E NC O U N T E R 3 3 8
C O NC LU S I O N
3 S
I L L U S T RAT I O N S
P AG E
R O N TI S P I E C E :
L EE I N G
F OR
L IF E
HE R A I S E D HI S KNI F E T H R E AT E N I N G L Y
126
T H E W IN D W H I S T L E D
BY
T H E I R EA R S
H E HA D E N T E R E D A D E N O F R O G U E S
70
29 0
A HUNT O N S NO W S HOE S
-
C H AP T ER I
U P THE
K ENNEBE C
AR K !
A low, wailing soun d came faintly
66
through the fo rest of o aks and pines

an d borne on the wintry air re ached the ears
of th e two b ro thers who
on this mo onlight
n ight many yea rs ago
were gliding swiftly
over the gl e aming surfa ce of the Ke nn eb ec on
their r inging skates which had already c arried
them full ten miles from their home
I t w a s Cla rence L andon the elder who h ad
uttered the exclamation that arreste d the laugh
ter and conversa tion of himself and Sy dn ey
O n the instant th ey cea sed striking out an d
the rasping whir of the keen edged st e el gr ew
s ofter and s till s ofter until the two cam e to a
stand side by side
Still th ey spoke n ot but s to od lo o king an d
liste n in g
mi d
It
wa s
wint e r and the ice over which
they were skati ng wa s fully a fo o t in thicknes s ,
and the surface wa s like that of a mirror
The full mo on ro de high in an unclouded s ky
and the sloping ba nks surmounted by the sigh
ing pine s ca st har dl y a line of sha dow upon
the silent river itself
The air wa s nipping and keen but no wind
swept over the icy pathway except such a s wa s
made by the yo ungsters thems elve s a s they
skimmed along like swallows upon the win g
Fo r a ful l minute they stoo d in the attitude
of at tention while they glance d from side to
side and up an d down the stream ; and then
the elder a sked in a whispe r :
D idn t you he ar it Sydney ?
Ye s ; but not a s plai nly a s you Wh at do
o
u
think
it
wa
s
?
y
The cr y of a wolf This ha s been a hard

winter fo r all wild animals and father warned
u s again st them You know they will attack
people when they a re hung r y and I shouldn t
wond e r if we had a race with them to night
Hadn t we better turn about and go home I

a sked th e younger a s they still remained m o
We must be in danger !
ti onl e s s
We a re ten miles from the house and we

-
UP T HE K EN NEBE C
11
have only a little way to go ; and then I think we
can skate fa ster than tho se animals can run
D id that wolf seem to be above or below
us ?
Below S o it will be safer to go on ; and if

the crea tures get to o many for us we can wait
till daylight befo re we turn back They always
s eem more savage at night than during the day
time
All right ! Go ahe a d ! replied Sydn ey a s
they struck ou t again

Maybe the wolf ha s
n ot scented us and wa s only signaling to one of
his fr iends
That wa s the kind of ice t o make a scho ol
boy s eye s sparkle It appeared a s if the water
ha d congealed s o quietly and rmly that every
p ar ticle O f impurity wa s expelled during the
pro ces s and when the sunl ight shone upon the
s olid mas s the clea r water could be seen far be
l ow a s i t owed in silent grande u r
H ow the lads enj oyed this rare spo rt ! The
steel runners sh ot over it without that harsh
grating s ound which indicate s the beginning of
a thaw or the irregula r knobby surface and
they kept fa r enough away from th e banks to
e s cap e tripping on the twigs that sometimes
cap siz e the mo st skillful skater
Their m ovements were smo oth ea sy an d
.
A H U NT O N S N OW SH OE S
12
graceful and when they che cked themselve s

rather suddenly the p a rticles of i ce ew from
their grinding heel s like hoar fro st N ot O ften
did th ev s top themselves thus ; fo r there wa s a
thrilling plea sure in gliding fo rward at this
swift rate of spe ed which mad e them lo ath t o
break it
N ow and then when on e lifted a fo ot rather
suddenly the n el y tempered steel gave ou t a
clear metallic ri ng a s if it had struck s ome
thing h arder than itself
Like expe r t ska ters their s wift onward mo
tion s eemed causeles s th a t is the impul s e

the wo rk and la bo r being imperceptible There
wa s n o furious s wingi ng of the arms ; no crook
ing the body forwa rd a s if they were up on the
p oint of falling upon their knees and creeping ;
n o sho oting away to the right on on e leg and
then off to the left up on the other followed by
an atte mpt to stand erect and slide fo rward
from th e m omentum thus gained
B ut the boys sped onward a s if the momen
tum wa s in their skates and their motion s co r
re sponded pre cis ely a s i f each wa s a p art of
s ome delicat e but perf ectly wo rking machinery
The cre ek over which they were skimmi ng in
this ea sy delightful manner wa s s omething
over a hundred fe et in width and lined on either
,
UP
T H E K ENNEBE C
13
ide wi th fo rests of oak and pine The ba nks

were a doze n feet in height rising al m ost p er
r l y a s if the creek in the long cours e
i
u
l
a
d
c
n
e
p
of years had worn ou t i ts way for its elf
A s we kn ow there wa s n ot a bre a th of wind
s tirring except such as they th emselve s cre ated
by their swift pro gres s ; but th e ai r was biting
in its keenness and Mrs Land on p r oved her
s elf a wis e and thoughtful mother when s h e
made ce rt a in th a t her s ons were n ot only warm
1y clothed but that their ea rs were well wrapp ed
up a nd protected against the insidious cold
whi ch will often freeze the se appendages with
out the victim suspecting it
E ven with the se cove ri ngs the he avy mittens
were now and then raised to th e side of the
head an d the e ars vig orously r ubbed which
w a s a ll very go od ; fo r s o long a s the e a rs or
hands or feet hurt you may be certain that they
are n ot frozen I t is only when they lo se their
feeling that a larm n ee d b e felt ; and a s h arp
quick fr icti on o f the particula r membe r of the
body is the be st way to res tore the benumbed
circul a tio n a nd prevent being nipp ed

The near wail of the white wolf of C a nada
he a rd a t night in the fo rest is enough to startle
the bravest hunter and although the boys felt
co ndence i n th eir sk il l on the steel r unn e rs
s
'
A H U N T O N S N OW SH OE S
14
a n d in a ce rtain way longed fo r a trial of speed

with these fero cious brute s yet both w ere
f r ightened at th e p ro spe ct of such a test s o
clo s e at hand
Sc arcely a minute had pa s s ed when th e alarm
ing cry wa s repe a ted directly ahead of them
and s o ne ar that both instinctively lo oked up
expecting to s e e th e frightful creature while
Sydn ey checked his sp eed a s if afr a id of going
further
I t ell you Clarence

he s aid in an u nder
tone I don t like the lo oks of this I f we go

ahead we ve got to d odge that wolf for he ha s
cut us Off
What if he h as ? It is ea sier to whisk about

on ska te s than fo r a wolf to catch us in his bare
feet They may r un pretty fast but they can t
turn very quickl y and ther e s where we shall
have them Syd
D on t you remembe r what ol d Pierre once
t old u s that when on e of thes e animals gets on

the trail of a pers on he is sure to bring lot s of
o thers ? I f a hundred o r s o of th em come down
on the ice ahead of us it won t b e s o e a sy t o
dodge them a s you s eem to think I wo ul d
rather turn and go ba ck
The elder wa s about to yield to the fears of
the younger when a second cry came to their
,
,
,
16
conden t did he seem to be of succes s that

Sydney declared he saw him lick hi s chops i n
a nticipation
11;
S traight onward the skaters con tinued un til
they we re within a doz en yards when Clarence
sho t t o on e side and his brother to the oth e r ;
a n d by the time the amazed animal wa s able t o
comprehend the sit u ation th ey were fty fee t
ab ove him skimmi ng over the ice like a rrows
sp ed from the bow
With a howl he instantly whirl e d ab out and
galloped after them at full speed ; and th e
boys were not long in discovering that it was at
a rate that was very nearly equal to their own
But they held this pa rticula r animal in littl e
fear be lieving that if he did su cceed in co ming
up to them they co uld ea sily e scape by dod ging
a nd d oubling upon themselves ; but ere three
minut es had pa s sed the very danger they h eld
in such dre ad wa s u pon them
It seemed in truth as if all th e wolve s in
Maine were congregated along the b ank s of the
The
Upper Kennebe c on that wintry night
howl of this singl e brute was taken up by s cores
of others ; an d they came darting out of the
fo rest a ppe a ring i n abou t equal numbers upo n
both banks They did n ot halt upon coming i n
sight of the boys but seeming to understan d
SO
UP
T H E K EN NEB E C
17
that they we re their legitimate g ame the whole

pack came leaping down the brittle crust and
ade straight for them
called out th e elder brother

GO it Sid !
We are running the gauntlet and it l ooks as if
we had a mile of it to do
There wa s s ca rce exagg e ra tion in this for it
wa s amazing to s ee thes e cad averou s cre a ture s
bounding down the ba n k from the wo o d s l i ke
a pack o f b oun ds that were coming in at the
death of the d e er o r fox I t wa s fo rt unate th a t
none of thes e appe ared upon the ice at such a
distance in advance a s t o embarras s the boys ;
for th ey well knew that dod ging on e wolf wa s
a very di fferent a ffair from eluding a s c ore
By th e time the lads had gon e a quarte r of a
mile this converging of th e s catte re d bru te s was
ended and the whole tro o p were on th e ice i n
their rea r and g oing for th em with a er cen es s
that thre atened fri ghtful result s
It was p robable that fully fty wolves were
s tru ng out upon the Kenn ebe c in full chas e of
the fu gitives N atur ally lank and long limbed
they a re always s wift fo ot ed an d e specially s o
when in the de a d of winter the s ca rcity of fo od
h a s m a d e them more feroc ious than ever and
given th e m a courage which at any other time
is fo reign to their nature
,
suddenly then it is that th e re a l difculty has to

be met Ind e ed a quick turn i s ou t of the
question and the surest way to stop is t o fall
down an d pre sent a s much of th e bo dy as pos
sible to the friction of th e ice
It is much e a sier fo r a quadrupe d than fo r a
biped to get forwa rd over th e frozen current ;
and th e whole pack of wolv e s by the time th ey
wer e fairly in p u rsuit h ad reached their highe st
rate of s peed
Let yourself out !

s aid Clarence a s he
glanced over his shoulder at the hung r y p ack
They ar e c oming for us lik e a n expres s
engine
The still air a s they sped f orward cut by
their ears like th e rush O f a hurri cane ; the
wooded banks with the spotles s white and
s ombre gr e en were like the swe ep of a misty
cloud The boys wer e doing their level best

and never had they skated a s they did upon this
night wh en they we re working for their live s
They kept side by side their gu res sw aying
,
UP
T H E K EN NEBE C
19
and their limbs moving in exact co rrespondence

a s they bent every energy to the ta sk The
s teel sent ou t that crisp met a llic ring which is
always he a rd when th e ai r is keenly cold ; and it
seemed to the lads themselve s that they were
g oing at a rate th a t no living animal coul d
e qu aL
Precisely what their speed wa s it is i m pos

sible to s ay ; but however great a startling fact
s o on m a de its elf apparent and that wa s that
a mo ng the pursuing wolve s were at least a
dozen wh o we re going still fa ster
The glance s which the boys ca st over their
s houlders showed them a string of brute s that
were s te adily drawing ne arer and that must
s oo n ov e rtake the m The maj o rity were a s
steadily falling be hind ; but not one of them
drew off from the pursuit, d oubtles s believing
that by the tim e the pro sp ective meal wa s ready
they would b e on hand to sha re in it
The only t hi ng we can do is to do dge
s aid Cla rence

Keep watch on that fellow
wh o ha s singled you out and give him the slip
Let us s eparate
replied Sydney turning
mor e t oward the ea ste rn bank

and they will
h ave to do the same It will be ea sier to e scape
them and we wont be s o lik ely t o get into each
other s way
,
20
The elder br other saw the wisdom of this

suggestion and insta ntly acted upon it so that
a few s econds later they were fully fty feet
apart and still shooting ahea d at the s ame tre
mendo n s speed
Without any r eal caus e that can be under
s to od the maj o r p art of the wolves ! by which
we mean th e dozen or s o that were gaining upon
the fugitives ! foll owed the elder brother a s
he deviated fr om the s traight cours e he had
be en pursuing le a ving but a couple t o h a ra s s
th e younger
Like a true brother Clarenc e wa s gl ad of
this for he felt th at if his two year s did n ot
ive
him
the
greater
speed
it
still
gave
him
g
greater ability in the way of out man oeuvering
these treacherous animal s that were following
him up with such p ersistency
His new t ra ck brought him within twenty or
thirty fee t of th e sho re beyond which line he
deemed it unsafe t o pas s through fear of the
twigs or br a nch es on the ice over which it i s
a lways e a sy fo r the skater to trip o r fall
But he wa s n o mo re than fairly upon his new
route when the f oremost wolf was s o near that
he m a de a l eap at him and his ravenous j aws
snapp ed cl os e t o his n eck
Like a a sh th e l a d shot to the ri ght and h i s
,
UP
TH E
K ENNEBE C
21
pursue r and his comrades went sliding by their

limbs rigid and their cl aw s grating s o h arshl y
on th e ice that they checked themselves withi n
a ro d o r two
But by the time th ey resum ed the di rect
tr a il he wa s a hundred feet ahead and l ooking
a cr oss s a w that Sydney had exe cu ted a simil a r
ruse and with equal advantage
Kee p it up called out the latter in a
cheery voice
and we shall outwit th em a fter
a ll !
The ch a se n ow be ca me thrilli n g a nd for a
long distance th e lad s were able to hold their
with only an occ a sional turning th e ad
own
van ta ge thus o bta ined being such th a t the pur
suers l ost considerable tim e in regaining it
But they drew up again and nally whe n
Clarence del a yed his sudden whirl too long he
found himself unexpectedly brought face to
face with the mo st ferocious wolf of all whom
he could not do dge without run ning aga inst a
s eco n d fo rmidable brut e
Not an instant wa s to lo s e an d a s the o nl y
thing he could do he g ather ed his stren gth for
the eff o rt and with a terri c bo und went clean
over th e head of the bea st and shot fo r ward
with a rr owy swiftn e s s the half dozen yelping
a t his hee ls
,
But at this moment came the despairing cr y

of his brother on the other side of the stream :
Oh
Clarence ! on e of my s kates h as
,
br oken !
24
H U NT O N S N OW SH OE S
-
darted by them like a meteor and wa s at hi s

brother s side a s he s t a rted tow a rd th e ban k
What do you me an to do ? he called
Climb a tree for I c a n t get along on one
sk a te
That wo n t do ; they ll be on you before you

Jump o n my b ack D on t
can reach sho r e
wait a nother bre a th D o n t you s ee them com
ing ?
N ot a seco n d was to be lost Cl are n ce
a nd in a twi nkling hi s bro ther had
s tooped
mounted wi th his a rm s around hi s neck
The clam orous wolves were all aroun d them
a nd n ot daring to attemp t ano ther leap and
s eeing the way in front clo s ed Clarence wheeled
a bout an d start ed up the K enne bec again
This he knew wa s only a temporary e sc ape ;
for he would need t o continue it but a few mi n
u te s to pl ace himself in the very centre of the
howling pa ck
He waited only until he could gain the n ece s
s a r y lee r oom when he made a long swe ep

ing curve that carried him almo st t o the o ther
sho re and again plac ed him to the north of his
relentle s s pursuers
And n ow the y oung skater s eemed to be give n
supern atural en er gy and skill ; for he wa s labor
ing for th e life of his l oved brother a s well a s
,
F L EE I N G FO R L I FE
25
his own ; an d ta king the centre o f the river

wh ere the bri ght moo nl ight enabled him to s ee
the way he shot ahead with a spe ed th a t until
this moment he had never equaled
Can you keep it up Clarence ? asked his

brother am a zed at his wonderful swiftnes s
They c an t catch us a s long a s you travel like
that
You must
I think s o if nothing h a ppens
watch the wolves while I l ook in front

N aturally Sydney doub te d the a bility of his
bro ther to maintain this t remendous e ffort for
any len gth of time
He knew too that if he
failed it wo ul d be a complete failure for a s
long a s he could hold hi s energies he would do
s o and then collap s e
But th e ska te r wa s lo oking ahe ad in more
th a n one sense Hopeful of re aching a p oint
on the river oppo site Pi e rre s cabin he might
well a s k him self h ow the cabin itself was then
to be gained ; for it wa s n ot to be exp ected th at
he would be given time to remove his skates
a nd run a hundred yards in advance of the
wolve s ; an d a s to making the attempt to e e up
the p ath with the implements on that wa s equal
Consequ entl y his pur
l y out of the qu e stion
po se w a s not o nly t o keep aw ay from the brutes
A H U NT O N S N OW S H OE S
26
but s o to gain upon them a s to give him this

all important vantage ground
Sydney lo oked back repeatedly The fore
mo st wolf wa s nearly a hundred yards t o the
rear and if he wa s not lo sing ground he cer
tai n l y wa s not gaining it
I f they only had the s en se of other creature s
to give up when th ere isn t any chance of

catching their prey ! But I have read that they
follow a man o r animal fo r days and nights
even when he is ou t of their sigh t
And s o the lad knew they would not with
draw s o long a s the skaters were on the i ce ;
but in lo oking a t the swiftly receding tree s
a long the b a nk
he caught sight o f a familiar
landmark that caused a new throb of hope
The cabin is clo s e by ! he called ou t t o

cheer his brother who wa s still pre s sing for
ward with the utmo st energy and speed
Keep it up a little longer and we shall be all

-
The skater made no reply ; his lips were tight

l y compre s sed a s if to shut in the stren gt h
that mu st s o on leave him He wa s lo oking
straight forward and straining every nerve to
make his goal He kn ew he wa s speeding a s
never before but for al l that he wa s sure he wa s
never s o tardy in throwing the mile s behind
,
F L EE I N G FO R L I FE
27
him and it s eemed to him that he would never

reach th at bend in th e ri ver which only needed
to b e p a s s ed to bring him the sight of secure
shelter
But it is rea ched at la st ; and a s h e shoots
ar ound the curve his heart throb s fa ster a s he
rec ognizes the ol d familiar hut ne stling among
the pines on the sloping bank
How quiet and still it lo oked on this moon
light night the wrinkled hunte r within little

dreaming of the frightful peril t o which the
youngsters were exp o sed !
B ut ther e wa s no corresp onding elation in
the brea s t of Sydney who wa s continually
lancing
back
and
comp
elled
to
see
the
shud
g
dering truth that n ot one but six or eight
wolve s were rapidly gaining up on them again
He fo rbore telling his brother He knew he
wa s doing his u tmo st and mo re indeed than he
should attempt Great a s wa s the need he
woul d n ot urge him to greater effort He
meant to w art until the pattering feet were clo s e
be hind th em when he would give the word fo r
his brother to make on e of his sudden short
turns that h ad already saved them many times
Th e wolve s were still barking and howling
an d their crie s s ounded loud and clear in the
still wint ry air
,
28
H U NT O N S NOW SH O E S
-
As Sydney c aught sight o f the cabin , it
oc
curred to him that he might do some go od too

by using his voic e Perhap s if it were pitched
on a differ ent key it might ris e above the ap
palling din an d rea ch th e e ar s of the O ld C a na
dian and bring him to their res cue
He did n ot wait but emitted a yell that would
hav e an swered for a respectable war who op
and he kept it up interspersing frantic appeals
to Pi erre t o come t o their help
Al l this time the skater wa s working with
a desp er a te almo st despairing energy that did
n ot p e rmit him t o look to the right or the left ;
but through th e m ui i n gs of his ears he caught
the s ounds of the wolves a s they drew rapidly
nea rer th e weakening fugitive He felt his
strength failing and h e had given up all hope
of outs pe eding his pursuers
He knew that if
a s sist ance did not c om e to them in the next few
minutes they were do omed This t e rric
strain could continue but a short time longer
L ook ! lo ok ! Clarence ! Hurrah ! we a re

s a ved ! Yonder comes Pierre ; h e knows h ow
t o s catter the creatures ! Keep up a minut e
more !
The s ound of the inspiring words instead of
a dding p ower to the overtaxed limb s of the lad
acted like the hammer wh i ch knocks away the
,
FO R
F L E E I NG
L I FE
29
prop Sydney felt his brother sink ing an d

yielding to his own sympathy he sprang down
to ca tch him ere he fell
The wolve s were clo se but they ha d cea sed
howling and snarling an d appeared to be pur
s uing the fu gitive s more cautiously a s if they
sce nted misch ief in th e wi nd Clarence wa s
still m oving forward but in a blind staggering
fa shion that wa s devoid of spe ed and a s his
broth er slid from his slack embra ce he did not
fall behind but wa s j ust in time to se ize his
a rms a s he lunged forward
What s the m a tter Clare n ce ? he called
D on t give up now The danger is past !
Pierre is at hand
I tried to s a ve you
muttered the elder
br other a s he dropped sidew ays upon th e
frozen surface ; but the wolves are coming
they a re here go od by Syd !

The pursu i ng crea tures had halted les s than
a hundred feet distant and were s tanding a s if
i n doubt whether to ee or continue the cha s e
S ydn ey wa s s o scared by the condition of his
brother th a t he forgot for the moment that the
d anger from this s ource had not entirely pa ssed
an d he thought of no thing but of a s sistance for
the ins ensible form be side h i m
Seeing he could n ot be roused he lowered him
.
A HU NT O N S N OW S H O E S
3 0
into an ea sy po sition whippin g o ff his tippet

and placing it beneath his head a s a pillow and
then call e d ou t in a cheery voice a s he d a rted
away :
Lie still Clarence and rest your self and
I ll have Pierre here in a j iffy !

The po o r fellow looked for all the world a s
if the breath had left his body forever a s he
The
l ay limp and senseles s on his icy bed
wolve s that ha d paus e d s o near at hand now
turned and s cat tered before the peril which they
had detected none t o o so on
O ne o r two howls a s they broke and skurried
up the banks caused the lad to lo ok around and
a s he cau ght th e la st glimp s e of them h e
thought :
They have lea rned of the skill of Pierre and
dread the crack of his rie

But where wa s the Canadian ? After run
ning a short dista nce Sydney paused to lo ok
for him but he wa s not t o be seen
I saw him coming down the bank and what

els e could have frigh tened the wolve s when we
were in their very jaws
He suddenly p aused a s he heard the crunch
ing of the snow crust and turning his hea d he
saw not Pierre the Canadian but a huge black
b e ar that seemed t o be tumbling and pi tchin g
,
A H U N T O N S N O W S HOE S
3 2
realized it and with a cry that could have been

heard for mile s he sped in the direction of the
bear which wa s now mi dway between the lads
The brute however paid no a ttention to the
active youngster but lumbe red t oward the one
that seemed to be waiting fo r him It cannot
b e s aid that Sydney had any well den ed plan
of escap e for himself
when he
or Cl a rence
da shed forward in this impetuous manner A
boy of a dozen years isn t ap t t o digest such
plans befo rehand and lea st of all when he nds
hims elf caught in such an appalling di lemma
a s the one we have attempted to describe
A blind hope impell ed him that by sh ou ting
and da shing forward he might scare the be ar
a way or caus e him t o pause until Clarence
could b e aroused or what wa s fully a s probable
induce th e bru te to turn and pursue the one that
wa s pes tering him
How in such an event the youngster wa s to
s ecure his own escape wa s a problem which he
never considered His only purpo s e was t o
prevent those j aws from mangling the fair fa ce
and fo rm O f his darling brother and t o accom
l
i
s
h
w
n
th
a
t
he
re
ady
give
his
life
w
as
o
t
o
p
But a ll in vain ; a dolphin might a s well have
tried t o check the progres s of an ironclad in
mid ocean The de sperate lad shouted and
,
FLEE I N G
F OR
L I FE
33
call e d the name of his br othe r in fr a ntic tones

and by hobbling an d skating on one fo ot m an
ag ed to keep up a spee d equal perhap s to that
of th e brute
Thus is wa s th a t he wa s sti ll a goodl y dis
tance from the bea r when he s aw hi m pause and
lower his bl a ck muzzle to the f a ce Of hi s
c onsci ous comr a de !
C H A P T ER
D A N G ER
ON
II I
E ! ER Y H A N D
AD Clarence Landon stirred a limb at
this moment it would h ave been hi s l a st

It wa s his perfectly motionles s po sition
that caused the bear to doubt whether h e wa s
alive or dead Had he suspected he wa s in the
former condition his rst p roceeding would
have been t o pla ce him in the latte r ; but he
seem e d only to be w a iting for s o m e on e to de
vour him
All the t i m e that bruin was s n ui i n g a bout
him the distrac te d Sydney expected t o hear the
cry that would follow the clo sing of tho se mas
sive j aws in his brother s esh ; and determined
that the dreadful brute should be diverted he
ha s tily unstrapped the skate and appro aching
wi thin a few y a rds hurled it against the head
of the be ar
Goo d fo rtune caused on e end to hit him in
the eye and th e animal threw up his snout wi th
a growl an d a irt of his head that sh owed he
.
3 4
D A N G E R O N E ! ER Y HA ND
3 5
su ffered considerable p ain fo r the moment

N ot d oubting that the en d he s ought h a d b ee n
accomplished Sydney turned and ran a s fa st a s
he could fo r th e wo ods
It wa s th e act of running its elf which un
d oubtedly caused the bear to pursue him ; for all
thro u gh the animal cre a tion the sight of a ee
ing fu gi tive te mpts on e to the chas e
The animal s ta red at the retreating l ad for a
moment and then p erhap s concluded that one
youn gster was not sufcient to l l the craving
hollow within him and that a s the one was
alr e ady s ecured he was no mo re than wise to go
for the o ther
The paus e of bruin g ave Sydney a s tart ; but
he knew that in a ra ce over the snow he wa s
n o match for the be ar
and the mo st that he
co ul d hope to do wa s to gain time to climb some
small tree an d place hims elf b eyond his reach
In cla m beri ng up th e bank it wa s so stee p
tha t he slipped and fell and wa s on th e point
of gi ving up I n de spai r when a second es say
p r oved mo re succe s sful and he made a dash
among the o aks and pines They were all
around him and of all sizes and he wa s in too
much of a hu r ry to be p a rticula r
Selecti ng on e that had a smo oth tru nk dev ord
of limb s for some di stance above the ground he
.
'
A HU N T O N S N OW SH O E S
36
shinned
up this like a performing monkey

nev e r halting until he wa s in the v ery top
A
t
o
o
he
was
not
a
moment
s
oon
An d
crunching of snow crust directly be neath the
saplin g proved that the b ear wa s there be
f ore the lad had ce a sed climbing
Th e surface of the snow is always more brittle
in the fo rest than on th e O p en plain and as the
bear lumbered along it broke benea th his
weight He see med sc arcely to mind it how
ever ; and we h ave shown how well he pro
s
r
e
s
e
d
g
All v ery we ll s o far An ur ea m aj or can

climb a big tree but he is nowh e re wh en he a t
ta cks a small one and s o long a s Sydney could
hold on and kee p his po sition in the top he
might laugh at all the bea rs in N orth Am eric a ;
but it wa s a bitte rly c old nigh t an d there wa s no
way of kindling a re or keeping warm at such
an eleva tion An d be sides this there isn t a
living boy in goo d health who can sit in on e
p osition and keep awake all night ; an d yet all
consider it on e of the easiest thi n gs in the world
t o do
S uch a thing as going to sleep n ever entered
the head of Sydney Landon and in hi s excite
ment he wa s n ot likely to feel any inconvenience
from cold for some time to come The black
.
D A N G E R O N E ! ER Y HA N D
37
mount a inous ma s s beneath the tree w a s e nough

to keep his mind o ccupie d for the present es
i
a
l
l
s
a
he
b
ecame
angry
sullen
a
t
the
ec
a
n
d
p
y
manner in which his pr ey h ad slipped from his
gras p
Inst e a d of withdrawing an d giving up the
cha s e th e bea r c ontinued moving aroun d the
tree turning his no s e upward and s nui n g the
air a s if there wa s ple a sur e i n ca tch i ng the
Odo r of hi s waiting supper
N ow if the senseles s Clarence still s tretch ed
o n the ice would only arous e th e pro s pe ct
w ould become mo re encoura gi ng for both la ds ;
for he doubtles s could divert their commo n
enemy un til the y ounge r brothe r slippe d aw ay
to Pierr e s cabin or what wa s still be tte r secure
th e help of the trusty ol d Can a dian hims elf
I n th e me antim e wh a t ha d become of thi s
mighty hunt e r ? Yonder wa s his ca bin le s s
th an a fourth of a mile dis ta nt and a man s o
a cc ustomed to the cha s e ought to have be en
arous ed by such a racket a s had s tirred th e
echo e s for miles
Sydney wa s san guine that s ome of his shouts
had p enetrated be yond the bo rder and di s turb ed
the slumbers of the peacefully sle eping citiz ens
in ! uebec ; but they cert ainly h a d failed to r ous e
Pierre
,
A HU NT O N S N OW SH OE S
3 8
In
the h u rry of his ight he ha d no t been

i
i
ven
time
to
cho
o
s
e
his
refuge
and
thus
t
g
happened that he wa s on on e side of the creek
and the cabin on the other This m ade the view
more distant but Sydney himself would have
prefe rred to have it different B u t ther e wa s
n o help fo r it and a s the bes t thing he could do
in the circumstances he renewed his who op
ing fo r the Canadian who se un erring rie had
brought low s o many denizens of the forest
It wa s well known that he kept several dogs
and not a bark o r howl had be en heard fro m
them all o f whic h indicated that the N i mro d

himself wa s absent
Sydney wa s loath t o believe this b ecaus e
thei r j ourney to his house wa s in acco rdance
with an agreement made when they were home
on their su mm er vacation and shing in the s e
ve r y waters Pierre had been down t o their
hous e the day befo re and wa s not th e on e to
forget his p art of a contract
But when the boy had shouted hims elf ho ars e
he concluded that there wa s a slip somewhere
and little pro spect of receiving help from the
one upon wh om they had co un ted with s o much
hop e
It i s hard to conceive Of a situation mo re tr y
ing than wa s that of the youngster crouchi ng
,
H UNT O N
40
S N OW
SH OE S
slight degree of this to bring him back t o health

and st rength An d ther e he lay scarcely a hun
dred yards away and h e unable to go to him by
re a s on of the impas s abl e b a rrier that inter
po sed
Sydn ey wi shed that th e be a r w oul d leave an d
s till dreaded to have him go ; fo r if he went
and left him fre e to desc end what more likely
than that h e woul d m ake for Clarence as he lay
upon the ice ?
Oh
that Pie rre th e C anadian woul d
come ! wa s the prayer which went up from the

heart of the to rtured la d again and s till again
It lo oked a s if the bear had an alm ost hum an
con ceptio n of the situation and that he wa s de
te r m i n e d to rem ain under th e tree un til the
frui t dropped int o his paws ; and such in al l
p robability would have be en th e re s ul t ha d mat
ters remained a s they wer e fo r a few hours
longer ; but Sydney wa s not th e on e to sit s till
and se e his b ro ther p erish be fo re his eye s with
He resolved
ou t risking hi s life to p revent it
to go to hi m if he had to r un another ra ce wi th
the bear
He wa s in th e a ct of leaning his hea d out and
away from the trunk that he might gain a bet
ter view of where his enemy wa s when the
.
D A N G ER O N E ! ER Y HA N D
41
limb from another tree b r ushed his face and on

the instant a happy thought entered his he ad
He h ad rea d that s ome of the tropical fore sts
are so dens e that the only way of making one s
way through them is by pa s sing from branch
to branch
Why not do s o I n the pres ent instance when
the limb s of several trees were in terlocked with
tho se that suppo rt ed him ?
He had sca rcely a sked himself the question
when he answered it by making the e ffo r t
I t wa s neces sa ry it wo uld seem th a t this loco
motion should be managed wi thout attr acting
the notice of the bear for it would be the easie st
thing in the wo rld fo r him to keep p ace with the
lad a s he moved from limb to limb
Not forgetting this Sydney reached out and
gra spe d the neare st branch which s eemed
capable of bea ring his weight and after a few
manoeuve rs found himself in a tree that wa s
sever al feet from the trunk up which he had
climbe d
Hi s next movement wa s to take a peep down
wa rd t o learn h ow his enemy a ccepted the sit
,
u a ti on
His heart thrilled with a new hope a s he

caught sight of a ma s s of shadow which he to ok
t o be him although the glo om beneath th e limbs
,
A H U NT O N
42
N OW SH OE S
-
wa s s o great that it wa s hard t o distin guish

any obj ects clearly
At any rate he wa s s o sa n guine of the res ul t
of this stra tagem that he instantly resumed his
e ffort s and in the course of a few minute s he
wa s ful ly twenty feet from his st arting point
far enough indeed fo r him to a sk hi mself
whether it were not s afe to descend to the
ground
When a boy is freezing and half dea d with
anxiety he i s not apt to be very deliberate in
his movements and Sydney to ok har dl y a sec
on d glance when he slid down the tree and sto o d
on the snow crust which wa s barely strong
enough to hold his weight
N othing wa s to be se en of his ol d fo e al
though for that matter h e might have been
within a few yards and still remained invisibl e
and the lad stole fo rwa rd over the snow to
wa rd the frozen stream where his unconscious
i f not dead brother still lay
But the dang e r wa s n ot pa s sed and Sydney
had scarcely placed his feet on the ice whe n
he hea rd the bear af ter him
D reading a rep e tition of his former ex pe
r i en ce
he purpo sely turned ab ove the p oint
where Clarence lay and aimed direct for the
cabin of ol d Pierre th e Canadian
.
D A N G ER
O N E ! ER Y HA ND
43
He wa s half way acro s s the creek when he

lo oked b a ck and saw his fo e pitching down the
bank and heading s o straight toward him t h a t
there could be no mista ke a s t o his intention
All this wa s well enough and could th e l a d
have felt les s unea sine s s about his brother h e
would have been in hi gh spirits fo r he had s e

cured such a start of the brute that he had no
doubt of being able t o reach the house ahead of
,
he ran he kept up his shouting with a

view of reaching the ears of the hunter and his
brother while he glanced frequently a side in the
hop e that the la tter wo ul d bestir hims elf
The rst lo ok at such an awkward cumbrous
a nimal a s the black bear would le a d one to be
lieve that he is incapable of any speed but
it is surprising how rapidly he can get over
th e groun d when fairly un der way
This p o r ti on of the U pper Kennebec a s we
h av e explained wa s in reality a creek bar ely
a hundred feet in width s o that any on e could
cro s s it in a very sho rt time even without the
aid of sk ate s The cabin of the Canadian how
ever wa s a little further up e l se Sydney would
have been there almo st by the time the bear had
started ; but only half the distance wa s pa s sed
when the s ound of the animal s claws on the
As
44
ice showed th a t he wa s gaining at an alarm ing

r a te
The chilled limbs of the lad were suddenly
hea ted by the thri ll of fear that went through
hi m at th e thought that af te r all he had com
m i tted a fatal blunder in le aving his perch in
the tree The terro r of being overta ken by hi s
pursuer wa s intensied by the po s sibility th at
even if he sh ould su cceed in reaching the cabin
there was no guarante e of i mm wi ate admit
t a nce and a minut e s delay there meant d eath
B ut there was little tim e for s pecula tion and
doubt ; the is su e wa s n ea r and a s his blo od w a s
wa rmed by his unusual exercis e he made such
speed that he held hi s own and in a few min
utes scrambled up the s nowy ba nk and da shed
for the low bro a d do o r who s e thre shold he had
cro s sed s o many time s
It wa s reached in a s econd s time and he
threw up his hand to rais e the latch The
bright mo onlight and the s en se of touch told th e
fearf ul tru th th e l a tch s tr i ng h ad been dr awn
.
i n,
an d
he
wer e th e
c ou l d n o
e n tr an ce
m or e
to
open
th e door th an i f i t
m as s i v e
s a e!
C H A P T ER I !
A
N I GH T
OF
D RE A D
HE N po o r Sydney Landon found the
do o r of th e hunter s cabin closed

against him he gave up in despair
He h ad struggled bravely during the p ast hour
but there s eemed n o e s caping his fate and he
tottered off to on e side and covering hi s face
with his chilled hands await ed the deadly em
brace of th e huge b e ar
But heaven had he a rd hi s prayer although
he knew it n ot When h e touch ed the doo r
something s eemed to fall within the cabin ;
ther e w a s a terric rumpus like the pl unging
about of some la r ge a nimal imprisoned in th e
house Then the do o r suddenly swung inward
and out da shed an enormous dog with a growl
o f a nger
N o t a seco n d did he pa use but guided by an
unerri ng in stinct headed for th e be ar which
was no more than a couple of leaps dis ta nt and
45
46
the next instant the two were locked together in

a ght unt o the death
This wa s th e wat ch dog of ol d Pierre which
he wa s sometime s accustomed t o leave in charge
The fellow
of th e cabin during his ab sence
wa s to o well taught to venture out side on ao
count of the baying of wolves o r the shouting of
pers on s who were strangers to him ; but when
he heard s ome one at the do o r and detected th e
growl of a bear almo st ag a inst the logs he
could stand it no longer He ha stily lifted the
latch with his paw permi tting the do or t o swing
backward and then he plunged ou t and went
fo r the bea r with the fu r y of a bull attempting
to knock the lightning exp res s o ff the track
An d with the s ame resul t
Ferocious power
ful and cour a geous a s wa s the canine h e wa s no
ma tch for an unu sually l arge bea r and although
he might prolong the unequal contest the is sue
ther e of wa s a s certa in a s if the una rmed lad
had clo sed in with the purpo se of destroying
bruin ; and while n o on e could help admiring the
pluck of the dog yet very little could be said of
his dis c retion
This new diversion inspired th e he a rt of Syd
ney with ho pe and he wa s wis e enough to i m
pr ove his new advantage to the utmos t With
out waiti ng a minute he hurr ied back to the
.
48
H U N T O N S NOW SH OE S
-
Pierr e s dog and they are having it out up
yonder by his cabin
But I remember hearing you call to Pierre

j ust a s my head began t o swim and everything
grew dark abou t me What became of him ?

Sy dney explained the situation a s b ri ey a s
he coul d telling by what a strange concurrence
of circumstances he had kept ou t of the grip of
the bea r from who s e clutches th ey were by no
means a s yet s aved
It won t take him fte en minutes t o nish
said Clarence fully himself

ol d Pierre s dog
again
and then he ll b egin to inquire fo r us
If you ha d skates we would strike fo r home a s
fa r off as it is ; but th at won t do as we should
run into the wolves ag ain
I can t st and this much longer

added Syd
n ey his shivering form and rattling t eeth sh ow
i n g how greatly he wa s su ffe ring from cold
If we could only manage to get inside of

Pierre s cabin we should nd warmth and com
fort there a nd n othing to fe ar from bears or
wolves
I wi sh we c ould
s aid the elder with a
longing glance in the direction of the l og hous e ;
but if we a re out of sight of that bea r we

ha d better keep out of sight Let s go down t o
the mouth of the creek and then move up
O F D RE A D
N I GH T
49
stream for a short distance un til he ha s had

time to get away We will then sta rt back
again and make a r econnois sance a s the sol
diers say and if he isn t very clo se to the house
we will slip inside and wait for Pierre

This pru dent res olution wa s acted upon with
Clar ence skated slowly down the
ou t delay
creek until he reached the j unction when he
tu r ned northward and continued his cours e in
the s ame ca reful manner fo r s everal hundred
ya rds far enough to take him ou t of sight and
s ound of any thing within o r ab out th e Cana
di an s cabin
Put on the s e skates and exercis e yours elf
till you get wa r m s aid Clarence a s he began
unstrapping them
I am not h alf a s chilly a s
you a re fo r all I have been taking a nap on the
ice Go up stream a quarter of a mile and
back ; put on all ste am and you will b e in better
trim when you a re here again By that time
too it wi ll p ay to make an excursion roun d by
the cabin and s e e whether there is an opening
for two young men like u s

But suppo s e the wolves or bear should pay
you a visit while I am gone

a sked Sydney
what would you do ?

Climb a t ree a s you did Come be off with
,
,
.
u
o
y
50
A H U NT O N S N OW SH O E S
-
The younger brother did not refuse longer

to obey him and he struck o ff with the same
graceful movement that had marked his prog
res s when the two started from home a
few hours befo re while Clarence moved slowly
ab out on the ice in preference to remaining still
and listened and watched
He wa s puzzled tha t in th e still night air he
hea rd nothing of friend o r enemy The wo od s
wer e a s silent a s if the howl of a wolf had never
disturbed them n or the cra ck of the hunter s
ri e awakened th eir e cho es He did not won
der at this s o much a s at the stillnes s in th e
direction of the trapper s cabin It was but a
short distance and it seemed impo s sible that a
dog and be ar should be engaged in combat with
ou t the s ound of th e conict being heard
It is over
Clarence whis pered to himself
after he had s to o d awhile and listened

and
what is more the dog is dead There ha s never
been on e of h i s kind that could conquer such a
bear a s Syd s ays that fellow wa s N ow if we
could only be cert ain that the conqueror wa s sat
i s e d and gone it would be a nic e t h ing fo r u s
t o crawl int o the house and bunk for the rest
of the night I have a great mind to steal
down there and take a lo ok fo r myself

Without fully considering th e danger the lad
,
A N I GH T O F D RE A D
51
acted up on his self suggested cours e He wa s

chilly and an uncomfortable feeling remained
in his head caus ed doubtles s by the terric
strain his system had undergone There wa s a
tremulous u nce rtain mov ement of the legs als o
which made him unea sy and caus ed him to take
the exe rcis e as much fo r the purp o s e of walking
it off a s for anything els e
H e ha d no desire to meet th e en ormous bear
fre sh from crunching th e dog and ready to de
vour a half dozen la ds like himself and he s tole
ca refully along sho re frequently pausing and
listening and lo oking Not the slightest alarm
ing s ound could be heard an d he wa s qui te
hopeful of n di ng the cabin entirely free from
all danger
B efore turni ng up th e creek h e cro s sed to
the other side where the view wa s more ex
tended and wa s st ealing along under the
shad ow of the tree s which sto o d u pon the ba nk
not dreaming of any danger to hi s feet when
with out the slightes t warning he stepped into
a n air hol e or rather a long continu us open
o
s pace such a s are frequently found even in the
a rctic regions
A s he sank beneath th e chilling water a
ga sping cr y e scaped him fo rc ed out by the
thrillingly cold emb race ; but kn owing on the i n
-
52
HU N T O N S N OW SH OE S
-
stant the nature of his mishap he threw ou t his

hands and st r uggled hard to gr a sp the edge of
the ice be fore he was swept under
Thes e open space s a s is well kn own gener
a lly occur where the current is rapid and the
grea test danger of him who is unfo rtunat e
enough t o step into one is that he will be drawn
beneath th e surroun ding ice in which cas e it
is s carcely po ssible to e scape
Al though Cla rence wa s a go o d sw i mm er yet
his he avy wint er clothing prevented his u sing
his limb s to any adv antage and he found him
s elf unable t o stem the current Had the u n
congealed sp ace been considerably larger there
i s no doubt th a t he wo ul d have been drowned ;
but the surface of the water wa s a s high a s
that of the ice it self and after keeping himself
aoat until he wa s clo s e t o it he ha d only t o
throw his arms over the s olid ledge t o preve n t
himself from p erishing
But he wa s still in the water a nd when he
made the e ffo rt t o climb ou t wa s alarmed t o
nd it could n ot be done There wa s nothing
up on which h e could lay hold to draw himself
up and when he underto ok t o rai se his fo ot
from the fre e zing current his garment s were s o
heavy and he w a s s o weak from over exertion
that he failed
,
A N I GH T O F D RE A D
53
Mu s t I st ay here until I freeze t o death ?
he a sked himself a s he still hung on

Am I
s o we ak that I have no more u s e of my limbs
than this ?
N o hum an frame can resist the par al yzrn g
effects of c old fo r any length of t i me and the
lad wa s a s sured that if he s aved hims elf it
woul d have to be within a very few minutes
It seemed th a t Sydney mu s t be wi thin hailing
distance and the lad n ow did what hi s b rother
ha d done s ome time befo re and used his lungs
t o the best of his abili ty ; but a s there wa s n o
response he ren ewed his e ffo rts to help him
self
It wa s the other leg which he tugged at
n ow and after an exc r uciating effort he suc
ce ede d in r a ising the foot up on the edge of the
thick ice Then by the help of his hand h e
forced it a little furth e r still further and

then with a desperate wrench r a ised himself
o u t of the p olar current
The po o r fellow wa s in a pitiable plight His
ga rment s saturate d with water the tempera
ture b elow zero and no human help within
call His o nl y ho pe lay in reaching the cabin
up the creek There wa s warmth which would
prevent his fre ezing and nowhere els e could
it be found in time to save him
,
A H U NT O N S N OW SH O ES
54
He must make an
reach that shelter

even though he knew the entrance wa s barred
by the fero cious bea r that had already perse
outed t h em almo st unto death
It would n ot do even to await th e return of
Sydney who wa s already overdue fo r standing
still meant perishing ; and with a la st despair
ing e ffo rt fo r life he made fo r the mouth of
the creek up which he turned taking the short
e st po s sible r oute to Pie rre s home and heed
ing not whether he ran directly I nto the em
brace of the be a r or not
He had t o brush the icicle s from hi s eyes a s
he pushed on ; he felt his co at and trows ers s ti f
fen and crackle a s he walked He s eeme d burn
ing and freezing at the s ame time
He attempted to r u n but th e mo st he could
do wa s to shufe and hi s strength failed s o
fa st that by the time he had turn ed into the
creek tha t gait could n ot be maintained
Slower and still slower went his lag gi ng fo ot
s tep s and when he reached the bank O ppo site
the cabin and started up the short path it
required a supreme e ffort t o keep his sense s
Still he struggled with all the power at com
mand and wa s encouraged by hi s failure to
s ee anything of the bea r The way a t la st wa s
open and he ha d but t o enter it
e ffor t
to
C H AP T ER !
T HE
PHA NTO M C A M P F I RE
-
N the me an time , Sydney Lan don found him
s elf involved in a se ri e s of a dventure s

which if not a s danger ou s a s tho se
through which he had j us t pa s sed were cer
tai nl y more inexplicable
All fears for the safety of his brother were
remov ed and feeling an uncomfortable chilli
n es s he struck ou t wi th grea t vigor not abat
ing his sp eed until he had gone fully half a mile
By this time he wa s warm ed up and ready t o
turn back ; but at the moment of doing s o a
strange cry reached hi s ear cau sing him i n
s tan tl y to stop
and lo ok and listen
Th e sound wa s faint but none the le s s dis
tinct and came from s ome point up stream
There wa s nothing that ima gination could
conceive to which the cry bore clo se re sem
blance but it suggested to the wondering boy
the call of a woman or child in di stres s ap
r
a
e
n tl y at a great distance in the woo ds
p
,
56
TH E
57
There
se em to be strange goings on to
night
mutt ered Sydney
Some persons
would believe the forest wa s h a un ted and
Sh !
Precisely the s ame w ailing ca ll came o a ting
to his ea rs on the still winter night in which
it seem e d to linger swaying back and forth
fainter and fainte r like the dyi ng echo e s of
a bell It wa s imp o ssible to tell whether it
wa s a hum a n voice o r the cry of s ome unkn own
animal
There a re wild a nim a ls i n the Am erican
wildernes s who se cry ha s b een often mistaken
for th a t of a pers on in distre s s ; and the pan
ther mo re th an on ce ha s secured hi s prey
through this very means
the youngster a dded

I t s up th e river
when he hea rd the s trange s oun d the second
time and were it not that Clarence is waiting
fo r m e I would lea rn what it means

The Kennebec at this p ortion wa s c ompa ra
ti v el y straight s o that the view by daylight ex
tended s everal mi les N aturally the lad wa s
peering u p th e s tream and speculating with
hi mself a s to what it could all mean when he
gave a start of alarm
What wa s it he saw ? Wa s it some phanta sm
of th e mo onlight som e drifting uncouth

.
58
gure of vapo r th a t o ated be fo re him or wa s

there a ctual lif e in that indistinct form that
came to view on the ice of the Kennebec ?
In
H e wa s never mo re perplexed in his life
the rst place he wa s unable to tell whether
it wa s within a hundred yards or a half mile
away If it were really a p erson then he must
be skating over the ice and the boy wa s unable
t o de tect the slighte st s ound ; and there wa s a
certain sup ernatural air about the whole pr o
ce e di n g that both fa scinated an d sca red the
lad
Th e appa rition if such it might be termed
la s ted les s than a minut e when the air wa s
cleared again and the st raining v r s ron could
detect nothing that bo re the slightest resem
blance to what ha d s o arrested and sta rtled
him a short time be fore /
It was natur al th at th e young skat er should
a ss ociate that st range cry with the gure and
he wa s still t rying to conj ure up some explana
tion of th e matt er when a bright s ta r like
point of light appeared alon g the shadowed
sho re s everal hundred ya rds ab ove him
It wa s s carcely more than a point such a s
would be mad e by a lantern car ri ed in the hands
of a man or by the glimmer of a camp r e whe n
'
T H E PHA NT O M C A M P
F I RE
59
rst caught sight of through the dense under

growth of th e wo o ds
This decided th e debate that ha d been going
on in the mind of Sydney
It is s o near that I can s oon reach it and

I may then learn something of the mystery
and will have quite an adventure to tell Clar
ence when I go back I don t think there can
b e any danger
The d ays of wild Indians had long since gone
by in Maine s o that the boy gave that pha s e
no thought There i s n o lonely part of the
c ountry safe against the encro achment s of law
les s men and Sydney knew it wa s n ot i m pos s i
bl e that th ere might be some nea r him
S till it
wa s hardly prob able ; and then he felt con s i d
e r abl e cond e nce in hi s own skill on skates in
ca s e it should become nece s sary t o make a hur
ried ight
S oftly and slowly he moved over the ice
a voiding all nois e and keeping well upon th e
O ppo site bank until he pa s sed a considerable
distance wh en h e made the a st ounding dis
cov e r y that he wa s a s far away a s when he
started !
Graci ou s alive ! what can it mean ? he

ga sped b eginning to believe he wa s really trav
eling in gho s t land

That camp r e seems to
.
A H U NT O N S NOW SH OE S
60
l a n te r n that runs awa y

be a regula r j
from every on e who trie s to catch it I wonder
if ther e are a lot of h unt ers there wh o pick up
the embers and vamo s e whenever they see a
stranger coming ?
The light gleamed a s brightly a s ever and
scru tinize it a s clo sely a s he could he detected
n othing that indicated it wa s carried in th e
hand of any man Walking running or skat
ing it would s eem impo s sible fo r a pers on to
carry a light in perfect equipois e
Sydney ha d come to a dead halt and wa s
gazing intentl y in the direction of the phantom
camp r e eye s and ears strained to their u t
m o st
I don t believe there are two hundred yards

between u s I ought to pa s s over th at in a few
s econds It is sta tionary now and I think I
can get nea r enough t o nd out s omething be
fo re they have time t o get away

Off he went like an a rrow aimed straight at
the sta r like p oint of re The distance wa s
pa s sed with great quicknes s ; but when at the
other extremity the camp r e still gleamed a s
fa r off a s ever He could not believe he had
really approached a foot nea rer
N o thing had been s een or heard to throw any
light upon this extra o rdinary proceeding a nd
ac k o
-
THE
61
Syd n ey concluded that it wa s usel e ss to push

his explo rations furth er E ven if he had the
disp o siti on it wa s high time that he rej oined
his brother wh om he suppo sed to be shiver in g
on the ice ne a r where he had left him
An d s o turning his back u pon the p erplexing
mystery he s ta rte d on his return re solved that
if ever a second o pp ortunity offered he w oul d
nd out what it all me an t
I wonder if there a re such thi n gs a s spooks
and gho sts ? he muttered a s he glided easily
over the ice

It seem s to me I heard father
say s omething at our Christmas di nner about
a part of the Uppe r Kenneb ec being haunted
I know he doesn t believe in such thi ngs an d
I didn t pay much a ttention to what he said
on that account ; but eve r y once in awhile some
thing come s to the e a rs of a chap tha t s ets him
to thinking harder th an ever
Wh o can be
sure there a re no such crea tures a s spirits ?

If Sy dney Landon wa s still in doubt a bout
the supern atural he had n one about the ma
ter i al when appearing in the sh ap e of a big
black be a r Ab s or be d in the difcult p roblem
which he had submitted to hi mself he came
within a hair s breadth of ru nn in g squarely
against the head of the same bruin from which
he ha d escaped with such difculty
.
62
H U N T O N S N OW SH OE S
-
The brute had been swinging over the ice
in old fa shioned style when the youngster hap

p ened to lo ok up and s aw him barely a d ozen
yards away standing motio nl es s a s if waiting
fo r him to glide into his j aws
A quick sweeping curve carried the young
skater a round and beyond the gigantic creature
which instantly turned to re sume the pursuit
It did not take h i m l ong to swing his huge
body aroun d and he wa s getting under full
headway when his racing days were ended by
the cra shing of a bul let through his br ain
B efore Sydney had t i me to learn what it all
meant he heard a well kn own shout and a fa
milia r gure came down the bank on snow
shoe s speeding swiftly toward him
O h my leetle friend I am s o glad to see

n
I
h
ve
been
a
long
hunt
to
day
and
u
!
o
o
a
y
I did not get back z o zo on a s I wa s expecting
and you come while I wa s away And that
be ar ze g r a n de monster he kill my dog N a
o
e
and
he
runs
I
come
home
and
n
ds
l
on
p
his trail and I take s one v ow that I will sho ot
him if he run s all the way down t o Portland
He go es along over z e snow till it break
through t o o much an d zen he travel on z e ice
and zen I sho ot h i m O ugh
An d the indignant Can a dian spurned the
,
,
.
64
H U NT
ON
S N OW SH O E S
-
over H e had fallen into an air hole and wa s

n early frozen ; but I to ok him in stripp ed o ff
his clo th e s rub be d his skin to a blister poured
s ome boiling te a down his thro at and left him
feeling like a gh ti n g cock and a n xious to st a rt
on ou r mo o s e hunt to mo rrow
How delighted I am ! excla i med the lad
overj oyed by such tidings of his brother

We
have had a pretty narrow escap e Pierre
O h I supp o se
replied th e hunter in an
indi fferent voice

will
get
used
to
such
u
o
y
things Clar enc e told me all about it and it
will do fo r you to tell the b oys when you go
back t o scho ol You see th e wh ole trouble
came from trying your trick of landin g upon
after making a lo n g j ump I won t
on e foot
rea d you a lecture on such fo olishne s s fo r there
is no danger of your doing it aga in
But Pie rre Clarence didn t t ell you a ll

s aid Sydney a s they moved along side by side
I have seen a gho st !
What i s zat ? excitedly a sked the Cana

dian
And then the youth briey related what he
ha d s ee n and heard a short time be fore
The ol d hunter much to the su rp ri s e of th e
lad seemed greatly impres sed by the ac count
an d when it wa s n ished sho ok his head saying
-
THE
PHA NT O M
CA M P
FIRE
65
am s o rry it ha s bee n s een I thought he
ha d gone There will be trouble surely trou
ble !
What do you mean ? asked Sydney more

mystied than ever by the wo rds and manner of
his friend
S ay nothing mo re about it D o not tell

your brother Fo rget wh a t you have seen and
heard and all may b e well

I n obedi ence to this command th e lad held
his peace and a few minute s la te r the ca bi n
wa s reached where Clarence wa s found a s well
a nd in a s go od spirit s a s ever
O ld Pierre wa s a s o rt of hermit livin g in
his log cabin near the head waters of the Ken
nebe e with no companion since the death of
his watc h dog except an eno rmou s black hound
Mo st of his time wa s s pent in hunting and s h
ing and as m ay well b e imagined h e never
su ffered for th e want of fo o d and clothing
for living i n the wo o ds s o m any years he
seemed t o have le arned all about their i nh abi
tant s It would have been a strange thing to
have seen Pierre returning emp ty handed from

a shing or hunting excursion
When he p referred to spend a few days in
.
A H UNT O N
66
S N OW S H O E S
-
the house he wa s never idle Th e little ro om
in which he made his h om e wa s a perfect cu
r i os i ty shop
in its way He wa s ingeniou s
and industrious and his place wa s crowded
with all manner of odd and useful im plements
Suspended on the antlers at one end of th e
apartment were fully a half dozen guns mo st
of them of handsom e make ; but there wa s on e
queer lo oking musket with a cumbrous lo ck and
rusty bayonet that Pierre said wa s ca rried by
his grandfath e r through the F rench and Indian
wa r ; and th en j ust below wa s a collecti on of
pistols all at a gainst the wall and p ointing
towa rd the centre of a circle thus making a
so rt of R ound R obin
u
might
say
D
i
o
y
r ectl y overhead the entire ceiling wa s hi dden by
snow shoe s that were ingeniously hun g u pon
pegs and they reminded on e of the skele ton
shells
a s tho s e na rrow sharp pointed row
boats a re t ermed that often nestl e in the upper
pa rt of the bo a t hous e s
U pon another side of the ro om were piled
on the oo r great slab s of the moun t ain a sh
and piece s of will ow These furnished the ma
te r i al from which th e active old man made
ba sket s of the mo st curiou s shape s and pat
terns ; be sides which he ha d the kn ack of ex
tracting thin tough white ribbons from th e ash ,
.
TH E
PHA NT O M C A M P F I R E
67
which he plaited into ne a t and serviceable bot

toms for chairs
F or mile s a round the maj ority of these arti
cle s of furniture showed th e cunning workm an
ship of Pierre s o it will be seen that his life

wa s far from bei ng an idle on e
A s Sydney fo owed the lively ol d fellow into
his cabin the air wa s found warm and comfort
able from th e r e that was burning on the
hea rth
I n the centre of the ro om wa s hung a l a rge
l amp which with th e burning logs made the
interio r a s luminou s a s it could have been made
by any m ode rn supply of chandelier and ga s
Ther e wa s a faint but appetizing smell of
broiling meat als o that made the mouths of
the gu e st s fairly water
I kn ew you would b e here to take supper
with me
said their ho st bustling about the
a p a rtment ; an d although we ar e a little late
I made ready for you
I ho pe you prep a red for a couple of hungry
b oys ! laughed Clarenc e fo r our skating up

the creek ha s made me feel like on e of th ose
wolves that we heard howling to night How
is it with you Syd
Wait until we a r e at the ta ble and I will
show you on e who is n ot a whit b ehind you !

.
68
Pierre did not keep his folks waiting A

huge haunch of venis on crisp brown and j ui cy
wa s placed up on the little table while snowy
bre ad and golden bu tter ! not quite s o golden a s
during the sum mer time ! were also furni shed
in abundance ; and a s the lads took their seats
they both d eclared that not even their Christ
ma s dinner anked a s i t wa s by so many deli
cacies and tit bits ta sted more delicio us
The Canadian insisted that n ot a par ticle of
meat mu st be left ; he had provided this e spe
ci all y fo r their supper and his feelings woul d
be hurt a n d he would be certain that they wer e
dis satised with the fa re if they shoul d leave
any By such persua sion he kept them at the
tabl e until they were s o full that neither could
po s sibly swallow ano ther mouthful
After supper came the nut s and cider and
all manner of speculation about the morrow s
hun t
Pierr e told them that the start wa s to b e
made at a ve r y early hour ; and a s they had
a full week a t command all were hopeful of a
glo riou s time
And I shall give you the hunt th at you
have often a sked me for

continued the ol d
man in his cheery j ovial manner

I shall
.
T H E PHA NTO M C A M P
F I RE
69
put e a ch of you on a pair of snow sho es and
teach you how to navigate them
I don t s e e what trouble there need be in
doing that replied Clarence

We h ave only
to remember that we h ave a p air of ve ry big
sho e s on and us e a little more muscle
Wait and you will se e said the Canadian
with a chuckle
By the time you reach my
age you will lea rn that th e re isn t anything th a t
come s na tural to man except to sin You have
h
o
t
to
learn
o
w
t
o
d
o
everything
j
ust
a
s
o
g
y u
have t o learn to talk
But what kind of game are you going to
give us ? a sked Sydney
Can t promis e po sitively

replied Pierr e
with a wink and an odd b obbing of hi s he ad
You kn ow that mo o s e ain t s o plenty in Maine
a s they used to be but maybe mind I don t
promis e you shall have a sight of one of tho se
big fellows before you get b a ck

-
C H AP T ER ! I
THE
MO O SE
OR
A ME R I C A N B LA C K
EL K
HE night wa s fa r a dvanced , and after a
h alf hour s cha t over the adventure s of
the night during which n o reference

wa s made t o th e supernatural experience of
the younger brother the la ds turned in t o

sl eep
The ol d Can adi an understo od s o well how t o
manage the youngsters that both slept soundly
un ti l daylight when they awoke a s fre sh chee r
ful and vigorous a s when they s et out from
home the evening before
Come my boys
said the lively ol d man
a goo d hunter neve r oversleep s himself and

it s time we were off Your br eakfa st is wait
ing
O nly a few minutes were needed to s atisfy
their appetite s when each with a pair of snow
sho e s i n hand pa s s ed out of the cabin cro s sed
the froze n creek an d halted in the woods be
yond t o f a sten them on their feet
70
72
N ow go ah ea d !
added Pierre a s h e
straightened up
Step right off as though
you knew all about it

B o th boys sta rted together and a s might be
exp ected they ha d taken hardly a ste p when
they pitched headlong on their f ace s and the
frantic e fforts made t o regain their feet only
enta ngled them th e mor e un til Pierre went to
their a s sistance during which he s eemed to be
li eve he had the right t o convulse hi mself with
laughter at their expense
Th e tr ouble wa s that they had attempted to
use them a s o rdina ry w alking sho e s pushing
them straight forward and the p oints breaking
through the c r ust it wa s impo s sible to save
themselve s from falling
Their guide explained t o them that the only
way t o p rogr es s with these appendages was
by shoving them ou t and forward with a pc
cul i ar side long motion
Pierre wa s a s much at home on them a s
th e b oys were on skate s and afte r a little pa
tient showing they were able to make good
pro gres s so tha t the three moved through the
wo od at an o rdinary walk the ol d man keeping
himself slightly in a dvance and a cting a s the
guide and directo r in all things while on this
hunting excursion
,
THE
MOOSE
73
T owser the dog trotted clo s e at their heels

someti me s da shing o ff for a sho rt di s tan ce or
making a little tour of his own among the pines
a n d spruce
but never keeping himself out of
sight fo r any len gth of time
N aturally a very intelligent canine h e wa s s o
perfectly trained by his ma ster that he seemed
always to know his wishes without a word being
spoken They were almo st in separable com
panions either a t home o r abroad and it wa s
well known that no wealth could buy h i m fro m
his own er
He wa s of a j et black colo r of immens e size
and s trength and wa s an enemy which the
bravest man might well hesit ate to attack
I have made a sort of pledge to you

said
Pierre a s they walked thro u gh the woo d that

v
u
shou
l
d
have
a
mo
o
se
hunt
and
e t I have
o
y
been so rry th a t I ever made such a promise
Why do you regret it ?
B ecaus e I don t knew whether I can keep

it or n ot You must know that the mo o s e is
very scarce in Maine and isn t o ften s een ex
cept a go od way north of here ; but I have be en
looking ar ound during the la st few days know
ing what you expected and I have seen si gn s
that gi ve me hope s of getting on the t rack of
one
,
'
T HE
MO O SE
It
be
av or a
r epn
bi g
H ow i s i t wh en th e r e i
The n h e i s
let th em
s e t tl e
s af e
fa r ,
for
'
no
th e r
an d th ey
r usf 2
'
br e a d h c zfs
can
l
v
76
What do you mean by a mo o se plowing ?
When they sink down into the snow they

don t lift th eir ho ofs but shove them along
j ust a s we do on thes e snow sho e s except that
we go on top of th e snow and they under it
D o you under st and ?
N o one can help understanding that
laughed Clarence
and it struck me what a
valuable animal one of them might be if used
to go ahead of a locomotive when it wa s
stopped by a snow drift
You want t rained dogs to hunt the mo o s e
continued Pierre
fo r if they don t know some
th ing about him they will get i n front and try
t o s eize him by the throat or h i s m onon
that s hi s han gi ng lip and he cut s them t o
pieces wi th tho s e sharp ho ofs of his a s quick
and clean a s you could do it with a hay cutting
machine But a dog like T owser there will
keep sn apping a t h i s heel s and when he turn s
t o ght will whisk ou t of hi s reach ; and you
s ee all that u s es time an d give s th e hunter a
chance to come up and t ake a hand in the busi
nes s
?
D o they ever attack persons
Pierre gave a laugh before he replied :
I r ather think th ey do ; and more than one

hunter ha s been s et upon and killed by them
,
THE
MOOSE
77
when he never dreamed of danger till it wa s

too late
I could not tell you how often I have
heard them cra shing through the undergr ow th
like an el ephant run ma d an d I have hardl y
had time t o get ready fo r them when they were
upon me
An d how did you save yourself ?
I always keep cool and watch my chance

If you stand your groun d the mo os e is apt to
cavort enough to give you time to send a b ul let
j ust back of the shoulder and that is cert ain
to wind up his ca reer ; but if he comes head
you must aim just below tha t gland that
on
hangs fr om his thro at and is covered all over
with b ri stle s If you put your bullet there it
means death
It seems to me
said Clarence
that I
have heard him called the Am erican bla ck elk
That is because his colo r changes in ol d

age from the dusky brown to a black I have
seen an ol d p atriarch the colo r of Tows er
They grow to a large size do they no t ?
I shot on e about twenty y e a r s a go on the

northern shore of Mo o sehead Lake that
weigh ed fo u rt e en hundred pounds and he mea s
u r ed nea rly eight feet from no s e to tail and
ve feet from shoulder to h oof ; but I have
.
A H U N T O N S N OW S H OE S
78
never seen any other mo os e th at came wi thi n
a hundred p ounds of him
Wh at about their ho rn s ?
O nl y th e male s have them an d they shed

them every year It takes ve years b efore
they re a ch their full growth and then you
know they are n ot simple b ranches like the
limb of a dead tree but a la rge part of them
is b ro ad and at Thes e are called pal m s and
are s ometim es a fo o t wide The horn s of the
moos e I wa s j ust speaking about made a spread
of s ix feet
and weighed between eighty and
ninety poun ds They have long ears but n o
tail that i s worth speaking of And

added
the hunter sta rting up a s if som ething un usual
had attra c ted hi s notic e

th at will do for the
present I think we sh all s oon have somethi ng
in the way of bu sines s

The remark of Pierre w a s c a used by the
action of his hound which wa s s om e twenty
yards away st a nding motionless with his head
in the air a s if he were s taring x edly at some
thing which held h i m dumb wi th amazement
The la ds we re about to inquire the meaning
of this action
or rathe r want of acti on when
their guide rais ed his n ger a s a w a r ni n g for
them not to spe ak
.
A H U NT O N
80
S N OW
SH O E S
T ows er ha s scented tracks when he wa sn t any

where near and he came back to me t o say that
he didn t know what animal made them and
to a sk me whether he should hunt it up and you
saw me s end him o ff t o do it

This wa s a strong a s sertion and rather stag
r
e
e
the
cre
d
u
lity
of
his
listeners
but
they
d
;
g
accep ted it unde r the belief that the trail di s
covered by T ows er mus t have been near him
and quit e fresh
I don t know what anim al made it mo re
than the pup doe s

a dded the Canadian in
reply t o a question
but I have a suspicion
that it is a mo o s e
I suppo se T owser will give noti c e a s s oon
a s he strike s the tr a ck ?
If he did said the gu ide a s his little he ad
like eyes a shed I would put a bullet through

his head the mi nute he came within reach if
I had to let the biggest mo o s e in Maine get
aw ay to do it
And then he explained what he meant by the
declaration The mo o s e i s one of th e mo s t dif
cul t of all anima l s t o hunt on account of hi s
wonderful sharpne s s of scent and hearing ; and
the slightest indiscretion on the part of the
hunt er wh o may have spent hours in creeping
int o p osition often s ends th e huge animal off
THE
MO OSE
81
on a twenty mile trot at a swinging gait which

quickly le ave s the eete s t pursuer fa r I n the
rea r
I once lo st a ne la rge bull from kno cking

away a piece of ice that had caught in my
ear
he added
It wa s j ust a quick j erk of
the hand after I ha d caught the piece in my
fore n ge r s when he wa s o ff like a shot He
carried away my bullet bu t it didn t hurt hi m
any
But surely he di dn t h ea r that ? said Syd

ney
He e i ther heard or s aw the blow fo r the

bull s feed high and I s ometime s think they
can se e a y a hundred yards away If we
take the trail there mustn t be a word said by
any of us not even in a whi sper Al l you will
have to do will b e to follow me or make sure
that your shoe s don t give ou t any noise If
he ha s the cow and calves wi th him he i s a s
keen a s a blo od hound ; when he is stripping off
the bark he will stop every few minutes and
with his mouth full and his head high up in
the air lo ok and listen
You discourage us laughed Clarence

I
don t see h ow we shall eve r gain a sho t at on e
of the c reature s if it is such a delicate matter
a s that
,
A H U NT O N S N OW SH O E S
82
If you will rememb e r all I tell you you

may succe ed The mo o s e always ya r ds on the
s outh side of a mount ain range and if we know
where his yard is we have go t to wo rk ou r way
up to it with the wind in ou r fa ce s ; for I don t
believe there ha s ever a hunter lived wh o wa s
able t o get within range of the moo s e whe n the
wind wa s blowing from him toward the ani
mal for h e will detect his coming when half a
mile away and then the mo o se is off like a
scared lo comotive
Pierre se e med to think he had spent a ll the
time neces sary in giving info r mation of th e
habit s of the mo o se and tha t if h e told the b oys
anything mo re they were likely to forg e t it
all S o he moved forward again varying his
c ours e s o a s t o follow that of th e dog who s e
paws left only the faintest traces on the icy
cru st of snow
N othing wa s seen or heard of T owser for
half an hour when he suddenly made his ap
r
e
a
an ce among them
coming from a thick
p
clump of under growth a s silently a s a spectre
Pierre a ddre s sed several words t o him in
the F rench t ongu e during which the canine
sto o d a s motionles s a s a st a tue and s o far a s
the boys could perceive gave n o si gn of com
prehending a syllable
,
THE
MOOSE
83
But if they s aw no thing of the sagacity of

the canine his ma ster did and his little eyes
sp arkled a s he s aid :
F ollow me clo se my laddies and I ll show

game
that
you
have
not
seen
befo
re
and
o
u
y
like en ough will never s ee again
That mean s mo o se whispered Sydney a s
th ey shoved ahe a d on their snow sho es

I
hope he won t start off on his twenty mile
tr am p before we get a shot at hi m

Their guide led them a short distance when
they climbed a long ridge of gentle elev a tion
and halted
D own yo n der
said he pointing to a por
tion o f the wo o d s is a grove of maples where

I have made many a gallon of syrup and pound
of suga r T owser has f ound the tr a cks of a
mo o se which leads that way and I am pretty
certain on e of the biggest of hi s kind is i n
there n ow scraping the bark and feeding him
self I t is to o early in the sea son for him to
have the cow or calve s with him s o I think
ther e i s the b etter chance of getting a shot at
him
Standing moti onless a few moment s longer
Pierre m oist ened his nger and raised it ab ove
his he a d
There is n t a bre a th of air stirring s o we
,
A HU NT O N S N OW SH OE S
84
can appr oach from any side Now boys I will

leave you and go on ahead s o a s to make cer
tain where the animal is and then we will
come back and arrange fo r the hunt I won t
have t o go fa r and you mus t not fo r get to
keep p erfectly still

Their guide s eemed to it away like a shadow
and with no more nois e As s o on a s he wa s
gone Clarence said in an undert one :
S ee here Syd if h e come s upon that mo o se

he will have to sho ot h i m to prevent his getting
away and we shall lo se our shot after all He
didn t tell us to wait here until he came back ;
s o I propo se tha t we make a circuit a round to
the left to s ee whether we can t come upon the
game ahea d of him It will be a go o d j oke if
we bag him while Pierre is trying to sh ow us
how t o do it
The younger brother wa s delighted with the
idea and without stopping to consider what
might be the result s of such ra shne s s they set
.
ou t
Ha d they been compelled t o travel a long

distance to reach their game they mi ght have
taken a po rtion of the time to think over the
step ; but unfortunately they had not gone far
when they found them selve s in dangerous prox
,
TH E
MOOSE
85
i m i ty
to on e of the largest and mo st p owerful

mo o s e ever s een in N orthern Maine
The rst indication they had of his presence
wa s the sound m a de in strippin g the b a rk from
the trees while f eeding
.
C H AP T ER ! I I
A
F A I LU RE
66
H!
And a s Sydn ey Landon m a de the soft
rustling s ound he accompanied it by
the raising of hi s foren ger an d a sharp lo ok
at his brother
B oth st ood like statue s The air wa s cle a r
and a s we know not a breath of wind wa s stir
ring
It wa s a peculia r s ound which it is ha rd t o
de scribe a s ort of ra sping or s craping that

resembled nothing el se which we can call t o
mind At the s am e time there wa s a rattling
of icicles from the bushe s upon the snow crust
shaken off by the animal a s he left the bark
n ow and then to brows e upon the tender twigs
that grew about him
I think
whi spered Sydney
that we can
creep up near enough to nd ou t j ust where
he is and then re befor e he sees u s or we see
him
86
88
la d brought his gun t o his shoulder and waited

the moment when he should show himself
He caught sight of a huge dark b ody driving
through the snow like a locomotive ; but the
next moment he desc ried the large head thrown
back with the curving antlers and palm

making a sprea d of fully six feet a s he t ore
ahead with a force that seemed su fcient t o
crush down any tree that might ob struct his
path
His cours e wa s such that it brought him
within a dozen feet of where the lad wa s stand
ing and keeping his body still concealed behind
the trunk of the oak h e to ok a quick aim
There wa s a sharp snap in his eye s s ounding
shrill and spitefull y quick in the clatter and
racket made by the eeing moo se
It wa s the explo sion of the percu s sion cap ;
and knowing that his gun ha d mis sed re Syd
ney snatched out another cap from his ve st
pocket and clapped it upon the tube a s quickly
a s he could and brought his gun to his shoulder
again
It wa s all done in a twinkling a s it were but
for all that by th e time he wa s ready to re
the gam e wa s ou t of sight ; but he could tell
where it wa s by the cra shing of the under
growth or breaking of the snow a nd in the
,
A F A I LU RE
89
hop e that his bullet still might reach him he

a i med t ow a rd the p oint where he j udged him t o
be and pulled the trigger
This time the weapon wa s discha rged and
a t the same instant came a shout from hi s
b ro ther :
Lo ok out ! don t re again !

And the n bang went his gun and directly on
the echo of that wa s hea rd the trum pe t like
voice of the C anadian :
D on t re again for your lives !

And a s if t o make the analogy complete his
went
o
ff
als
o
w
hi
le
the
rattling
tea
ing
u
n
r
g
cla tter growing rapidly fainter in the dist ance
proved that the bull mo o se wa s making a s go o d
progres s as if the shots had not been dis cha rged
at hi m
A minute la ter the hunters all met in the
wo ods both the boys lo oking rather gui lty or
a shamed n ot s o much of what they h ad d one a s
of what they had failed to do
You r e a ne couple ! exclaimed th e Cana
dian
You may thank heaven that bo th of
are
alive
you
don
t
deserve
any
credit
u
f
r
o
o
y
yours elve s
o
u
Why Pier re
said Sydney
didn t
y
tell us to s tay whe re you left us
Bec aus e I thou ght you had sens e enough to

,
A H UNT 0N
90
S N O W SH O E S
-
do it with out being told a nd you di d kn ow

from the way I sp oke that I meant you n ot to
s tir till I came ba ck Your gun mis sed re
didn t it ?
It did when I rst pulled th e t ri gger
Ye s and that mis s is what s aved yo u r life

If i t had gone off you w ould have been a s dead
a s a do or nail this instan t

The lads lo oked as if they did n ot know what
he meant
When you tried to re the rst time the

hull was s o near that you would have hit him
if you had aimed with your eye s shut As t o
killing him tha t is ou t of the question As
s o on a s your rie wa s disch a rged he w oul d
have tu rned squa re about and come for you
and then what woul d you have done ?
Climbed a tree
B efore you could have go tten a fo ot off

the ground tho s e broa d knife like hoofs of hi s
would have come down upon you like the gui l l o
ti n e they us e i n Fr ance
B u t if he is s o s avage why didn t he make
fo r me anyway ?
F or n o other rea s on than that he didn t s ee

you Standing be hind that t ree and out of hi s
direct pa th the nois e of the explo sion of the
cap wa s drown ed by the cr a unching of his
,
A F AI L U R E
91
ho ofs and he he a rd o nl y the noise m a de by
Clarence
But when I did re I to ok a pretty go od
ai m and may have struck hi m

s aid Sydney
loath t o admi t the total failure he had made
I can answer for that replied his br other
for the b ul let grazed my face

with a laugh
pa ssing s o clo s e th at it made me wink and the
ball clipp ed off a twig j ust beside me
An d how clo s e were you to the mo o se ?
Not ne a r enough to get a glimp se of him

I
red a t the noise ra ther than at the game
And shot s o wild that you came very near
s triking m e said Pi e rre with a serious coun
ten an ce
S o you can s ee that all three of u s
have come very n igh ou r deaths ; and for no
other reason than that you thought you knew
m ore ab out m oos e h un ti n g than did ol d Pierre
who h ad brought down a hundred before you
were bo rn
Thi s wa s s ev er e language but th e boys felt
it was j us t and they told their guide tha t i f he
w ould fo rgive this t respa s s they wo uld n ot of
fend again
Finally he wa s restored to go od humo r and
s a id :
I wa s resolved when I found ou t what you

h a d done to ta ke you ba ck home with out hunt
,
A H U N T O N S N O W SH O E S
92
ing ano ther hour ; but the bullet I s ent after

the mo o s e I kn ow i s still in his body and he is
not likely to run m ore than a dozen miles be
fore h e will halt again and then if things are
managed right th ere is a ch ance of getting
,
Th e boys were s o eager to follow on that the

go od n atured ol d hunter could no t refuse them
He said it would compel them to camp ou t for
on e night at lea st ; but thi s only made them the
mo re clamo rous a s th ey were sure th e hunt
could not be complete un les s they spent a night
in the wo ods
It was now no on and all three were r a ven
ou s l y hungry ; but alth ough their g uide had
brought a b ountiful lunch with hi m he said
nothing ab out eating it and they s tarted for
wa rd on the trail of the mo o se which wa s ea sily
enough followed without the a s sist a nce that
the hound wa s ready to give
Th e pu rsuit wa s kept up until nightfall but
at that ti me n ot on e of the party had again
caught sight of the a nimal which despite the
dif culty of traveling had certa inly r un a go od
1y number of miles
When the shadows of night settled over th e
wood an d the lads wer e s o exh auste d from their
long tramp on sn ow shoe s that they could
-
A F A I LU RE
93
hardly shove th em over the crus t Pierr e i n

fo rmed them that they would h ave t o go into
camp without gaining another shot at their
game
But we will get it in the morning

he
added with th e ol d sparkle in his b right eyes
Here an d there I have s een drop s of bl ood on

the snow s o that I know he is woun ded and is
making for a spring about a couple of mi les off ;
bu t you know h e is p retty well sca red and it
i sn t going to b e a ny child s play to bring him
down Come the place t o camp isn t fa r off

And he led the way into a s ort of hollow
whe re there wa s a dens e gr owth of s pruce and
pine and wher e the shadows were s o deep that
it seemed midnight h a d fairly come
Selecting a spot whe re the wind co ul d not
rea ch them in ca s e there should b e any dis
tu r ban ce during th e night
the snow wa s
scooped out by the aid of their snow sho es
until the ground wa s reached a nd a space s ev
e ral yards squ are wa s cleared away
I n the centre o f thi s a ro aring re w a s kin
dl ed a nd the n the bra n ches o f spruce an d pin e
were lai d a round an d tramped down until a
ha rd bed or m a ttress was made stretched upon
which n o on e could fee l the le a st cold from the
snow benea th
,
,
.
94
H U N T O N S N OW SH O E S
-
The Canadian th en unr olled hi s huge bla nk et

and S pread it out s o that it was ample enough
to enfold all three He explained th a t when
the t i me came to sleep they would bun dle up
togeth e r s o a s t o gain th e advantage of the
mutual warmth of their bodies and with their
camp r e blazing cheerily in front there wa s
little doubt of their obtaining a refre shing
night s rest
Pierre brought forth his lunch and there is
no ne ed of stating how speedily it disappeared
A s wa s th e cust om of the hunter up on the
completion of hi s evening meal his pipe wa s
produc ed and a s he lay back and co olly blew
the wh i s above his head he wa s in the mo od
t o talk
It wa s too early for sleep and the night and
surroundings were such a s to make th e recita l
of s ome s trange and thrilling advent u re the
mo st enj oyable means of pa s sing the time
Pierre
said Sydney from the opp osite
side of the camp r e you have s pent a go od

many years I n hunting and t rapping and must
have gone through a gre a t many strange expe
r i en ce s
Yes ; there i sn t any use of denyin g th a t

I have spent s everal years in O regon wh e re
the Blac kfe e t are plenty a n d ugly and I h a ve
C H A P T ER ! III
THE
LA ND
DE S O LA T I O N
OF
of
the ol d
trapp e r lit up with a glow that came
more from within than from the r e ec
tion of the bla zi ng ca mp r e in front a s he
said :
It wa s j ust twenty v e years ago that I

began my third year in the service of the Hud
s on B ay Company which I su ppo s e you know
wa s organized two hundred y e ars ago under
the direction of Prince R upert They have h ad
the monopoly of gathering furs in the B riti sh
po sse ssions ever since and they have t o day
hundreds of their hunters and trappers roa m
ing over the country from the Columbi a t o
the Frozen Sea of the north along the S a s kat
chewan and Mackenzie ; besides which they keep
all the natives of thes e re gi ons a t work fo r
them
They were pretty ea sy t o me and alw ays

let me h unt where I plea sed ; and this third win
HE bronzed and wrinkled face
96
THE
LA ND O F D E S O LA T I O N
97
t er I to ok a new route leading me up the we st

ern sh ore of Huds on B ay s o far north of F ort
Churchill that I knew th ere wa s no likelihoo d of
my being interfered with by other hunter s
What made you go in such a desolate r e
gion ? a sked Sydney
I had been there befo re and knew the right

kind of game wa s there I wa s after the black
fox the scarce st and mo st valua ble animal in
British America
I put on my sn ow shoes shouldered my

traps and t ramped northwar d fo r a fortnight
only halting long enough t o get fo o d and sleep
At l a st I struck home and I can tell you I wa s
in the land of de solation Lo oking o ff to the
ea st I could see nothing but the ice el ds an d

green expans e of Huds on Bay and wherever
els e I turned my eye s it wa s cold snow with
h er e a n d there a few glimpse s of the dw a rfed
pine
H ow did you manage to keep a re going
when there wa s s o little w ood ? a sked Cl a rence

deeply intere s ted in the na rration
I wa s there the better part of two months

and durin g all that t i me I never saw or felt the
icker of a ame and nev e r ta s ted a mouthful
of co ok e d fo od
R aw sh seal and bea r s meat
I walked int o them or ra ther they walked i n
,
98
me in a way y ou d s ca rcely believe unle s s

s
aw
it
But
that
isn
t
here
nor
there
It
o
u
y
isn t often I go hungry n o matte r where I pitch
my t ent I mad e my hom e along th e edge of
Hudson B ay where I tumbled toge ther a hut
from blo cks of ice and kept myself as comfort
abl e a s man could wish
I told you I was after the black fox I set

three t rap s several miles apart and made the
rounds eve ry mo rning The rst round I made
on my sn ow sho es I found a black fox in each
of th e t r ap s
I remember added Pierre with
a laugh
that at the rst trap I let ou t a yel l
which could h ave been hea rd at Yo rk F act ory ;
a t the second I cra cked my throa t and at the
third d anced a j ig in my snow shoes
The next mo rn ing I c aught three more ; but

that must have cleaned out the territo ry I
kept the trap s set for nea rly a month longer
but neve r caught a nibble and from tha t day
to this h ave been unabl e to lay h ands on on e
of the prizes It wa s ea sy enough t o get the
o ther kinds ; but when I lo oked upon tho se six
black glo s sy hides I knew they were w orth a
co ol thousand dolla rs and I can tell you I wa s
elevat ed and willing to wait a long time in
the h op e of adding to them The tra pping
probably would have been kept up for s i x
to
100
current s Where th e surface current ows in

on e direction there is one below owing in the
other S even eighths of an iceberg i s always
under water and s o it i s very ea sy for it t o
reach through into the lower current which
ca rri es it with it and gives it s omething of the
a ppear ance of a steamer brea sting the winds
and waves
Well
continued the narrator
I went to
sleep that night ! which wa s n ot one of tho s e
long one s they sometime s have in that part of
the world ! in my ice house wrapped up in
my furs and wa s a s warm a s if between two
feather be ds A s I didn t spo rt any clock in my
mansion I couldn t be certain of the time but
should j udge the night wa s about half gone
when I wa s awakened by the tipping and rock
ing of the ice I didn t need any on e to tell
m e what that meant and wa s ou t on the ro of
quicker than lightning
There was a s b ri ght a mo on overhead a s

there i s t o night and when I crept out the
wave s were all around me and I could j ust
make ou t the long line of shore piled wi th i ce
and drifted snow fading ou t in the darkn es s
My cabin and a ma s s o f ice about the size of
a Hudson R iver steam er had broken lo o s e and
we re sweeping ou t to sea
.
LA N D O F DE S O LA TI O N
TH E
101
The wind wa s blowing harder than ever

and the waves kept the pile swaying and rock
ing in a style that showed there wa s trouble
ahead for you see I had n o way of getting
ba ck to the mainland
Why didn t you swim ? asked Sydney all

abs orbed in th e narra tion
There it is again ! replied the tr apper in
a pitying voice
I might have got to shore
by doing s o but ve minutes l a ter would have
turned into an icicle without any way of thaw
ing out before spring and it would hardly pay
to wait until then
B eside s that I hadn t an y fo o d n ot a
single mouthful that i s of the right kind of

stuff However that didn t trouble me any a s
I have chewed up fox skin s before and when

I m put t o it can make a dinner off of fr i cas
seed mocca sins Ship s are mighty s ca rce in
that part of th e world and I might drift for
weeks without be ing picked up or seen by a
living pers on which you ll all ow i sn t th e mo st
pleasant pro spe c t in the world But I wa s
t roubled more by the fea r that the wind and
waves would tea r my raft to pieces all of which
o
u
will
understand
wa
s
enough
keep
my
t
o
y
mind busy an d yet there were danger s lyin g
A H UNT O N S N O W S H O E S
102
in w a it a nd which I w a s c a lled upo n to fa ce of

which I never dreamed
I perched mys elf upon the ro of of my house

with my precious fox skins gathered around me
and wa s calculating my la titude and longitude
in the be st way I knew h ow I was ful ly a
mile from land with the wind blowing a tor
n ado from the s outh which wa s j ust the right
direction to ca rry me northwa rd int o B ai n
B ay and mo st likely would cra ck my hea d
against the N o rth Pole it self
A few minute s a fter s ettl ing in po sition it

began snowing an d the thin particles cut my
face like n eedles The wind car ri ed the cold
sand almo st horiz onta lly again st me s o tha t I
crept behind a ledge of ice drew my half dozen
p recious fox skins over me and waited for the
storm to nish
This snow shut ou t all mo onlight and sight

of shore s o that I saw n o more than if adrift in
the middle of the Pacic I could hea r th e da sh
of the waters against the ice and from the way
it see sawed and ground to gether I expected
every minute i t would slip apa rt and let m e
drop
N o matter what happened I wa s d ete rm ined

They were a ll
to hold o n to the fox skins
sti tched t ogether s o a s to make on e big blanket
,
104
H UNT O N
S N OW
SH OE S
vanished from view altogether ; but for s ever al

minute s that s ame hollow roa r l i ke the moan
ing of the distant s ea could b e hea rd but the
mountain of ice wa s gone and I wa s left alone
with my own frail raft of frozen water
Shortly after the snow st orm slackened and

the sky began cl earing again The wind wa s
still blowing and the only hope I had of reach
ing land lay in the p o s sibility that it might
change and waft me in that direction
I wa s debating a s well a s I c ould how the

thing wa s likely t o en d when a grinding
wrenching nois e di rectly under me c aused me
t o l eap to my feet
My ice raft ha d beg un bre aking up !

,
C H A P T ER I X
A DR I FT UP O N
AN
I C EBER G
NE long , dull , splitting creak , and th e ma s s

of ice upon which I wa s o ating broke
a s nearly a s po s sible into halves , and I
h ad
to make a big l e ap to s ave mys elf fr om go

ing into the wat er ; but luckily I did it with
out falling or lo sing my furs and away I went
drifting again directly up Hudson B ay toward
the Arctic O cean
When the gray light of mo rning broke upon

the s cene I dis covered with no li ttle surpris e
th a t I wa s within half a mile of sho re an d
oa ting nea r e r and nearer This wa s c aused
n ot by the ch ange of wind but by the fa ct th at
s ome distance ahea d a point of land ran out into
the b ay s o a s to throw it self acr o s s my p ath
a s you might say
This cape wa s s o covered and piled up wi th

great cake s of ice that for a time I wa s in doubt
wheth e r it wa s another iceberg or not ; but it s
unbr oken connection with the sho re and the
,
105
A H U NT ON S N OW SH OE S
106
fa ct that it wa s
anchored
proved the co n
tr a r y
Well if my ra ft sho ul d onl y bump ag ainst

this my troubles would be over as I wouldn t
mind the ta sk of working my way back again ;
and m aybe you can i m a gi ne how I fel t as I
sto o d on the ice wa tching and wondering
wheth e r I should r each the land or n ot for it
l ooked a s likely to mis s a s to s trike
It wa s very trying but to sho rten this p a rt

of my sto ry while I stoo d there with longing
eyes and yearning h e art I s aw the wi nd and
current car r y me wit hi n fty fe et of the he a d
land and then I o ated on by it int o the widen
ing expans e of Huds on B ay spreading ou t be
fore me the very picture of des olation
I think if I wa s s o near as that I would

h ave j umped overbo ard and r un the risk of
freezing at an y rate
s aid Sydney
I h ave no doubt you would have done that

very thing ; but you see I didn t and by the mi d
dle of the day I was s o fa r out in the icy se a
that I could no t tell th e land from the elds of
ice that appeared here and there over the waste
of waters
The wind wa s still blowing ste a dily but n ot

so strong a s during the night ; but the swaying
and rocking of my ice pile kept me in constant
,
A HU N T O N S N OW SH OE S
108
there are no such mountain s of ice in Hudson

B ay a s tho s e that come s ailing ou t of Ba fn
B ay and down around N ewfoundland ; for they
don t get the chance to fo r m But I s uppo s e
a goo d de al of the ice o ats down from the
north and then is carried b a ck again by the
wind when th e current is no t strong en ough to
do it
D o you ever nd warm weather along the
shore s of Huds on B ay ? Clarence ventured t o

a sk a s th e narrator paused to rell his pip e
I told you awhile ago that I hav e be en

down on the R io Grand e and you ll allow that
they have warm weather the r e I wa s on the
Ilano E stacado i n the midst of that scorching
weath er and yet didn t suffer half s o much a s
I did in the region s I am telling you about dur
ing the summer time It do e sn t la st long but
when it does come there a r e days hot enough t o
melt a s alamander and the mo squit oes a re
numbered by billions and trillions and they
go for a fellow like young healthy tigers
But you are getting me off my story I

wa s hungry and without any means of gaining
a mouthful of fo od ; but a s I obs erved I h a d
a few extra fur s beside s the six bla ck ones
which I could chew upon when the worst should
c ome
A D R I FT UP O N AN I C EB ER G
109
half hour later on e of the largest piece s

of the ice berg the upp er p a rt being of th e size
wa s within a
of a respec table meeting hous e
quart er of a mile and there wa s no longer any
doubt of ou r meeti ng s o I made ready for the
sma sh when it should come It wa s in rea lity
b ehind me s o that it wa s running a race and
g aining fa st for the rea s on that it s till h ad
the momentum given it by the violent wind of
the p rec eding night while my supp ort lo st the
e ffect of the wind withi n a short time after it
died ou t
This made it certain I should be overtaken

and overwhelmed unle s s I could manage to
clamber up th e side of the larger on e when
the collision should come s o I nerved myself
fo r the att empt which cou ld n ot long be de
ferred
While I wa s watching this new ice berg and

doing my be st t o s ettle the que stion whether
when I wa s overtaken there Wa s to come a go o d
chance of succ e s s I he ard a grin di ng crackling
nois e beneath my feet an d kn ew on the instant
that my raft was br e aking up a gain
Catching up my roll of furs and g un I

scramble d over to th e big piece that I had xed
upon a s my l a st res ort and manag ed t o get
there j ust a s it sloughed off from the re st
A
110
which continued breaking with now and then

a huge chunk toppling over until th e re wa sn t
a piece left la rge enough to oat on e of you
youngsters after you ha d eaten a go o d dinner
By this time t o o my own po sition wa s b e

coming anything but plea s an t ; for the ice upon
which I wa s crouching wa s s o much lower than
the pile that had been supporting me and
brought me so nea r the surface of the water
that every now and then th e fre ezing sp ray
da shed in my face and over my body
My hop e wa s now the ice berg which kept

s teadily gaining and about the middle of the
afterno on overto ok me You s e e I had been
waiting and expecting it fo r several hours and
was rea dy I rst s wung my precious roll of
black fox skins and landed them upon a ledge
a dozen feet a bove my head That wa s a gre a t
deal ea sier done than throwing mys elf I
waited until I felt th e two ma s ses of ice meet
and mine wa s be gi nning to crack and split and
go under when I made a leap rie in hand
caught my a rm s around a p oint of ice and
drew myself up out of d anger
This wa s a big improvement ; but you under
stand that it didn t light up the future at all
Coun ting by common sense it only po stponed
the cata stroph e for a few days ; an d I can tell
,
112
ing before morning s o I had quite a rise in

spi ri ts
I h av e tramp e d over a go o d deal of the
world since then

added the Canadian a s he
paused a moment t o replenish his pip e

and
I ve seen strange sights that would make any
one s blo o d tingle ; but I don t remember that
I ever felt such a thrill go through me a s I did
wh en that ve s s el hove in view A man ha s got
to b e in my p o sition before he can understand
it Knowing well enough that half the distance
wa s to o great fo r the men in the ship t o see o r
hea r me I sto od on the highe st pa rt of the
iceberg waved my hat an d shouted t o the ve s
sel that s eemed scarcely to stir on the wintry
expanse of water
Suppo se it wa s on e of th e Company s ves

s el s outw a rd bound ? My hea rt sunk wi thin
me at the thought ; but a minute s r eection con
v i n ce d me that such could not be the ca se fo r
this wa s not the s ea s on when furs and peltries
were s ent acro ss by water ; besides which had
such b e en the ca se I would have s een it earlier
in the day
It s eemed a s if I couldn t take my eye s o ff

that blui sh white sail that re sted like a cloud
against the gr ay hori zon and I might have sat
there all night staring n orthwardly in the dark
,
A D R I FT UP O N AN I C EBER G
113
nes s had I n ot been arous ed by sudde nl y l earn

ing that there wa s s ome on e else on the ice berg
be side s me
The rst notication came in the shape of

a growl and turning my head I s aw an i m
mense pol a r h ea r about a hundred feet distant
He wa s sta ndin g below and lo oking up at me a s
if trying to nd out what species I belonged
to
I had seen tho s e creature s b efore ; bu t for

all that the sight of thi s on e wa s sta rtling He
lo oked a s whi te a s snow and wa s unu s ually
large and tho s e creatures a re a blamed sight
uglier and more troubles ome than that bla ck
one which made a little rumpus with you la st
night
I would have been in a bad x if I had been

without my ri e but I held to th at a s clo sely
a s t o th e fox skin s ; and while the pola r b ear
wa s still lo oking up at me with that low gr um
bling growl I ha s tily overhauled my gun and
fo und it in prime con di tion
The only thing to b e remembered in deal

ing with the se creature s is that you mustn t
throw any shot s away A plato on of soldi e rs
might bury ev e ry musket ball in his bo dy and
do not hi ng excep t to make him m a dder than
,
A H UNT O N S N OW SHOES
114
ever while a leaden pill sent to the right spot

would settle things on the instant
It wa s h a rd to te ll what shape matt ers were
going to take between u s wh ether there wa s

to be ght from the b e gi nning or whether the
bear would try to avoid m e
I think the p ola r
specie s is the brave st of all and are to be
fea r ed mo re than the grizzly bear of O regon
and Califo rnia s o I made up my mind to watch
this customer who would b e gla d to te ar up
my fox skins and then s erve m e in the same
man ner I held my rie ready for all of ten
minutes expecti ng he would c om e up the slope
after m e ; but he sto od j ust a s mo tionle s s a s I
until it go t s o dark I could ha rdly make out his
gure
There wa s to be no comfort on the icebe rg

while he was there an d I determined to attack
him a s so on a s things could be put in shape
It wa sn t advi sable t o start down and meet him
for besides the ice being s o slipp e ry it wa s
s o rough a nd j agged that I would be very likely
to mis s hitting th e bull s eye in which ca se the

old fellow would b e upon me be fo re I could r e
lo ad
S o a s s o on a s it wa s dark I began b acking

down the o ther side of th e p romonto ry with the
in tention of stealing round on his ank That
,
116
gave him a shove with my fo ot only to n d that

every spark of life had left him
There is a great deal of wa rmth in a b ody

of that size and the chance fo r a bed wa s to o
go od to b e thrown away So I unrolled my
blanket wrapp ed it around me and then ne stled
a s clo se in be side the creature a s p o s sible I
could feel the advantage of doing s o ; and al
though the cold wind whistled and howled ab out
the iceberg I wa s a s c omfo rtable a s if stretched
ou t in my own cabin
I would have slept s oundly if it hadn t been

that my mind wa s s o l led with the ship which
I had seen a s the sun wa s going down
I kept
dreaming of it and fancied every now and then
it wa s pa s sing by in the darkne s s Mo re than
once I got up and crawlin g to the edge of the
iceb erg peered out in the glo om in the expecta
tion of s eeing it s omewhere near at hand Then
I hallo oed and shouted s o that they might know
s ome poor fellow wa s aoat near a t hand ; but
I s aw nothing of it n o r wa s any answe r r e
turn ed t o my ca ll
That wa s the longe st night I ever spent al

th ough i t happ ened to be o f only o rdinary
length and I slept several hours It s eemed a s
if the m orning would never come and though I
knew better half believed more than once that
,
A D R I F T UP O N A N I C EBE RG
117
I ha d slept through ano ther day and was be

ginning my third night up on the ice
But the gray light of morning arr ived at

la st and a s the darknes s lifted to my great
j oy I descr ied the ship n ot more than half a
mile distant I scrambled back to my look out
and shouted and si gnaled a s if frantic a s I
nearly wa s The crew were n ot long in di s cov
ering me and a small boat left the v es sel s sid e
and r owed t oward me
Th e ves s el belonged to the Huds o n B ay

Company a s I h ad supp o sed and wa s on her
way from London to Yo rk F acto ry with sup
plies
I sold my six fox skin s for twenty p ounds

api ece and s h ortly after l e ft their s ervice an d
came d own to this part of the country where I
have spent most of the time since

,
CHAP T E R X
T HE I ND I A N S
HE N Pierre had n ished his story o f
his a dventure s in Hudson B ay he

heaped a large pile of wo od upon the
re and they all bundled up together with his
la rge blanket wrapped around them sinking
int o a deep refreshing sl ee p from which none
awoke until the sun wa s shining
E ven then th e wa r mth of the blanket wa s s o
plea sant to the we ary lads th at th ey would have
be en gla d to spend a coupl e mo re h ours with
in its folds ; but their guide meant busine s s

and springing t o his feet compell ed them to do
the same
The re had l ong sinc e died ou t and they
made no e or t to rekindl e it Such vigorou s
exerci se in the sha rp brac i ng air gives a rav
en ou s a ppe tite t o any on e and they were glad
to hear the trapper declare his purp o s e of s e
curing a bre akfa st before re suming their hunt
of the mo o s e which he wa s ce r ta in could be
found in a couple of hours
,
118
120
the snow th a t ha d lain undisturbed for months
There is s omeb ody hunting be side s us re

marked Sydney p ointing to the northward
where a thin blue spiral of smoke wa s rising
from among the tre e s
re
I hope they a re n ot after ou r moo se
plied Clarence ; fo r I have set my heart upon
getting him
But the boys were t o o desirous of s ecuring
their breakfa st to spend much time in specula
tion and glancing only once again in the di r ec
tion of th e strange camp they moved down the
ridge on the lo ok out for anything edibl e
Hello ! suddenly called ou t the elder who
wa s a short distance in advance ; what doe s
that mean ?
S ome on e h a s taken the trouble to furnish
u s a bre akfast
replied Sydney
What could
be m ore fortunate ?
S o it seemed indeed The carca ss of a deer
fully dre ss ed and ready fo r the re wa s sus
pended by thongs among s ome hickory saplings
s o high above the ground that th e re wa s no po s
s i bi l i ty of it s being disturbed by wolve s o r wild
animals It wa s dry and frozen and h ad prob
ably been hanging there fo r weeks
Left by s ome hunter wa s their conclusion

.
T H E I ND I A N S
121
after they had walked around it several tim es

and studied the o dd looking body
I wonder whether th e re would be anything

wrong in our cutting o ff a piece and co oking
it ?
said Sydney lo oking wistfully at the
tempting prize
I sho ul d think no t a s hunters are very ho s
i
l
t
a
b
e t o one ano ther
p
I tell you what I ll do

said the younger
brother
I will put ou r names on a piece of
pap er and tell where we live and then when
the hunter come s to claim his foo d and nds
we h ave tak en a pa r t of it he ca n call o n father
and he will pay him for it What do you think
of it ?
Cla rence though t s o well of th e plan that h e
a cted up on it with out delay
R emoving his
snow sho es he climbed on e of the saplings and
after conside rabl e trouble succeeded in cutting
off a large piece from the shoulder of the car
ca s s which he ung down to hi s brother
N ow we will start a re and by the t i me

Pi e rre get s ba ck from his hunt he will n d his
breakfa st awaiting him

The b oys noticed a s they proceeded to gath er
their fuel th a t th e snow was cove red with
tracks probably made by wolve s an d other wild
animals in th eir attempt s to obtain the me at
,
A H U NT O N S NO W SH O E S
122
hung at such a tantalizing distance above their

reach
H owever that concerned them not and in a
few minute s they had a re crackling while the
venison skewered up on long green sticks wa s
rapidly broiled in the hot blaze
They took their breakfa st very rare

and
were certain it wa s one of the mo st enj oyable
meals of which they ever had be en permitted to
partake
They had fairly nished and were dis cus sing
wheth er it wa s not a go o d plan to take s ome
mo re and Sydney had j ust fa s tened his ca rd
and addre s s into a splinter of one of the s ap
lings which held the remainder of the carca s s
when both sta rted and turned their heads at the
s ound of approac hi ng feet
That is too loud for Pierre ! Hell o ! s tran
gers and Indians at that !

Clarence had barely time t o utter the se
words when th re e men came striding ou t of the
wo od up on sn ow sho e s Th ey were Indi ans
ragged and uncouth attired in a half s avage
and half civilized co stume and a couple had
hea v y dirty blanket s and all ca rried ri es
O ne of them wa s quite corpulent and all three
belonged to that wa n dering vagabond cla s s
found upon our frontier and which are only
.
A H U N T O N S N OW S H OE S
124
blow with his clo sed hand which knocked him

several fee t his gun ying nearly a s fa r in a
different direction
Yankee th i ef !
he exclaimed in broken
E nglish his swarthy face a am e wi th pa s sion
s t e al Inj un deer me kill !

B elievi ng that such wa s the purp o se of the
red ski ns and burning with fury at the outrage
up on his brother Sydney rais ed his rie with
the intention of shooting the scoundrel ; but the
s ame Indian bounded toward him like a tiger
and wrenched his gun from his hand with such
violence that the la d be lieved hi s wri st wa s dis
lo cated
In stinctively he recoiled at sight of the
wretch coming and j ust in time t o escap e his
furious blow the win d of whi ch he felt in his
face
At this moment the partially stunned lad half
ro s e t o his fe e t and s eeing their live s were in
danger began stealing toward his weapon l y
ing on the snow crust s ome paces away ; but the
eagle eyed Indian dete cted the movement and
bounding fo rward snatched up the gun before
he c ould lay his hand on it
And s o they f ound thems elve s una rmed and
in the power of a trio of a s abandoned and law
i
le s s s avage s a s t i s p o s sible to imagine men
,
T H E I ND I A N S
125
who would hesitate n ot a moment at the crime

of murder when they had a plau sible pretext
fo r committing it
An hour before the lads would not have be
l i ev e d it p o s sible that i n the s overeign State
of Maine a party of American Indians wo ul d
have da red to lay violent hands on them and
yet the he a d of on e was s till ringing from the
blow he h ad receiv e d and the oth e r had e scaped
only by the narrowest chance from a simila r
cha stisement
Their lo oks and app e aranc e indicated their
sinister purp o s e and Sydney moving to the side
of his brother s aid :
I believe Clarence th ey mean t o kill us

a nd for n o o th e r rea son than that we to ok a
pa rt of the deer Hadn t you bette r explain
and tell them we will pay them ?
That s what I wa s doing when that big

sc oundrel nearly broke my head I d rather
shoot him than a dozen mo o s e Th ey are a
p arty of wr etches an d are glad of the chance t o
kill us
N evertheles s a s Sydney wa s n ot s n e r i n g
from any physical pain he hoped that all might
still be made right
T aking several piece s of silver from his pock
et h e moved towa rd the f or emos t I ndi an care
,
.
A H U N T O N S N OW S H O E S
126
ful however to h alt beyond reach of his a rm

and extending the sp ecie asked :
Is th a t eno ugh to pay for the me a t we
ate ?
The red skin mumbled somethi n g i n his own
tongue and eagerly accepte d the money drop
ping i t into his capa cious tr owsers po cket
where the j ingle of the pieces seem ed to l l
hi s s oul with h appines s
This lo oked a s if the matter wa s settled and
the la d waited with s ome impa tienc e for their
ri es to be handed back to th em
Wh en at la s t
he m a de bold to a sk for the weapons h e w a s
n ot only refused with great rudenes s but the
e shy Indi an who appeared to be a s ort of chief
or le a d e r raised his knife in a threateni ng man
ner and pointing to the n orth o rdered them to
move away
F rightened and angry that they should be
treated thus within a comparatively sho rt dis
ta nce of their own home the lads h ad no choice
but to obey and side by side they moved off on
their sn ow shoes the three Indians following
them clo sely and lo oking a s if nothing would
plea s e them better than t o sho o t down their
prisoners
Wh at do you suppo se i s the meaning of all

,
T HE
I ND I A NS
127
this ? a sked Cl arence after they h a d walked a

short distance
I think they inte nd to take u s further int o

the wo ods and slay us They are all murder
ers a s you called them awhile ago an d th a t
dirty fat Indian h a s the wickede st lo oking fac e
I ev e r s aw !
I w ond er wh ere Pierre is ?
He is our only hope said Sydney

They
h ave our guns and ca n do what the y plea se with
us but th ey won t b e able to manage hi m so
w ell He ll rais e a rum pus when h e overta ke s
the m
I do n t believe they know he h ad us in

ch a rge els e they wo uld h ave been m ore care
ful h ow they treated us It mus t have b een the
smoke of their camp r e that we s aw

Such proved to be th e c a s e for in a quarter o f
an hour they came to a spot where the snow
had been cleared away and a l a rge re th a t
had be en burn ing all night wa s still smoulder
ing and s ending out a gr a teful warmth
The a pp earan ce of the camp showed that
the s e Indi an s h ad spent s ome time there
There were spruce branches lying up on the
snow where th e blankets had been spre a d a n d
bones a nd other refus e lay near at hand
Clarence no ti ce d a little brown j ug

bot
,
A HU N T O N S N OW SH OE S
128
upw a rd with the corn cob stopp er out

provin g th at it contained nothing and he r e
called the smell of villainous whiskey that ha d
almo st sickened h i m when nea r the Indians the
ca u s e of which wa s too app arent to need con
The
resu
t
the
drinking
in
the
ca
s
e
e
u
r
f
l
c
t
e
o
j
of all three seemed to h ave been that they were
made mo re sullen ugly and treach erous and
they wo ul d have slain their pris oners with no
more c omp un ction th an they would have driven
their hunting knive s int o th e heart of s ome f e ro
ci ou s bear
The r ea son why they refrained from doing s o
ha d already been conj ectured by on e of th e l a ds
Th e three were not the wild Indians who p en
e tr ate deeper in the wildernes s a s the tide o f
civilizati on roll s t oward them They were what
hunting and
m ight be c alled half an d half
shing until they could procure a little means
when they came down into s ome of the towns
and settlement s and spent it all in a spree

returning to their homes blo ated and quarrel
s ome ghting on the way and maltreating their
squaws and children who lived s omewhere in
wretched cabins in the depth of the wo o d s
In
!
t h o s e days Main e wa s no t a pro hi bition Sta te !
The Indi ans knew that they were not b eyond
th e rea ch of the a r m of the law and there wa s
tom
C H A P T ER X I
A
PASSAG E
AT
A RM S
HERE is no doubt th at the young mo o se
tra ckers would have fa red ill and pos

s i bl y lo st their live s had not Pierre the
guide made his app earance at this moment
He emerged from the wo od with that long
l oping gait which he us ed when in full pursuit
of the ying game and which not on e per son in
a hundr ed could equal coming up on his snow
sh oes with a velo city th at threatened to over
turn tho s e who were i n his way
The Canadian wa s in a towering pa s sion fo r
the ca rca s s of the deer and th e trail which he
had followed from th e saplings had t old him
th e sto ry long befo re h e reached the camp and
he wa s a s angry as he could well be
Hi s actions showed that the p arty were n o
strangers to him He glared upon all but
singled ou t the corpulent Indian a s the special
obj ect o f his wrath St r iding up to h im he de
,
m an ded :
13 0
A PASSAG E A T A RM S
13 1
What do you mean by this Indian Bill ?

If you want to steal anybody steal m e inste ad
You are a coward and I
of a coupl e of boys
will punish you !

As he sp ok e h e sho ok his st in the other s
fa ce and s eemed scarcely able to kee p his h ands
off of him
But Indian Bill a s he wa s term ed wa s in

an ugly temper an d did no t t ake this vigor ous
repro of very kindly Hi s swarthy face grew
darker still with pa ssion and bl u s t e ring up to
the wi ry ol d man he s aid :
When a hunte r steals the deer of another
hunter the l aw is th a t h e must be sho t !
But it ha sn t been done for they are boys

and kn ow nothing of the l aws of the ch a s e ; and
ev en if they did you ar e a l ot of dru nk en lo af
ers and a re no mo re re gular hunte rs than they
are I d on t believ e any of you shot and strung
up the de er for you are all too l a zy an d go o d
for nothing for that and if you dare take up my
words do s o !
Indi an Bill accepted the ch all enge and thr ow
ing down hi s r i e an d whipping out hi s knife
made s traight at the C anadian ; but he wa s n ot
long I n nding he wa s d e aling wi th no boy such
a s he had s t ri cke n to the ea rth a sho rt time be
fore
,
A HUNT O N
13 2
S N OW
S H OE S
He aimed a vicious blow at the d auntl e s s
ol d
man wh o dodge d it with the a gility of a cat

and gave him a lightning like thrust i n return
that s ound ed a s if it h ad cracked hi s sku ll and
sent him staggering backward to th e gr ound a s
sens ele s s a s a log
G oo d ! excla i med Cl a ren ce

I can t help
enj oying th a t fo r it res emble s s o much the
blow he gave me a littl e whil e ago o nl y I gu es s
it wa s a little ha rder Can t we help you
Pi e rre ?
Ye s by keeping ou t of the way wa s the

reply a s the agi le Canadian wheeled ab out an d
faced the other two
Why don t you come to th e help of Bill ?

he demanded a s he placed him s elf in proper
attitude and aw a it ed th eir appr oa ch

Oh
I see what the m atter is !

The truth wa s the othe rs were to o much
under the inuence of liquor to be able to a s sist
their fallen leader They had dra nk n o more
from the little br own j ug than he but they

were not s o ca se hardened and co ul d n ot stand
it s o well
They sto od blinking and stupid only diml y
comprehending th at there wa s troubl e in which
from the force of circumstance s they could
tak e no p ar t
,
13 4
but wh o are tho s e Indians that got so angry
over ou r mistake ?
Th ey belong t o the old Pen ob sco t trib e that
used to liv e around the headwa ters of th e P e
nobsc ot ; but they are all a set of worthles s
drun ken vagabonds and Indi an Bill a s he is
ca lled is a bullying loafer whom I have cha s
ti s ed before
I am double his age but I shall
always b e his master a s long a s we live Their
homes a re about twenty mile s up the rive r and
they have be en to town on a spre e but come
the day is going and we are doing nothin g

And he sta rt ed on at a gait which requi red
gr eat e ffort upon the p art of the lads t o equal
This continued fo r abo ut a mil e when a s
their guide beli eved they were s o clo s e to the
mo os e that the greatest caution wa s n ece s sary
The wo o d wa s quite open and they stealthily
ma de th eir way without speaking fo r some dis
tance when they halted beside a fallen tree
N ow
s ai d Pierre in a whisper to Sydney
I want you to lie down b ehind that and wait

O v e r yonder and a little in advance I will sta
tion Clarence I will leave Towser here s o a s
to help you if you get int o trouble He under
stands what is exp ected of him s o you needn t
giv e him an y orders If both of you will act
y our part a s well a s he all will come right

,
A PASSAG E A T A RM S
13 5
But what are we to do ? a sked Cl arence
Wait I will ma ke a circuit around the

spring s o a s to get right O p posite you and if
I n d the mo o s e I will gi ve him a s h ot that will
sta rt him thi s way When you s ee him com
ing ke ep cool and wait until he is very clo s e
Whichever of you is th e n e a re st is t o re the
rst sho t and you must do your best to put it
right behind his fo releg The minute he i s
s truck the other must re at the sam e p oint on
the other side I don t think b oth will I I I I S S
but if you do there will b e the mi schief to pay
The mo o s e will cha rge up on on e of you ; and the
instant he start s climb the nea rest tre e a s
quick a s lightning fo r it is the onl y thing that
will s ave you I f there should b e a ght Tow
ser will do his best but a bull moo s e will kill a
dozen like h i m if they get b e fo re him and th e
dog can t do much i n th e re a r I will s tation
you s o that there won t b e much d anger of your
hitting each o ther but you mus t think of th at
also C ome my b oy
As Pierre started away with Clarence he
halt ed again
O n e mo re wo rd
NO matter h ow long you
have to wait you mustn t speak a word t o e ach
other an d aft e r the an imal start s don t make
any si gn al If you do either the j ig is up
.
A HU NT O N S N OW S H OE S
13 6
You notice th e re isn t a breath
air s tirring
whi ch is a lucky thing for all of us

It required but a few minu tes to complete the
arran gements ; and then th e ol d hunter whisked
away in the wo od and the b oys w e re left to the
weary t a sk of wai ting
Two hours thu s pa s se d with every nerve
strung was a sore trial Sydn ey kept his po si
tion behind the log at up on hi s face with
T owser s tretc hed out nea r hi m his eyes clo s ed
a s if h e were a sleep ; but a s the brothers were
in sight of ea ch o ther the y ventured upon a
few humorous signal s a s a sligh t means o f
relief
I am afraid Pie rre ha s made a bl under this
time
concluded Sydney wh en it seemed to
him they had already been wai ting ha lf the
day
The mo o s e ha s either kept on towa rd
the lake that i s named for him or he ha s gone
beyond the spring th a t Pierre sp oke of
Hell o !
Ju st then he c aught the repo rt of a ri e It
wa s faint but disti nct and he h ad no doubt it
came from th e gun of the ol d hunter A s ne ar
a s the lads could j udge it wa s all of two miles
dist an t ; but it rou sed their agging attenti on
and each lo oked to his gun to make sure the
wea pon wa s re ady
of
13 8
-
ing ponderous st ri de that se emed t o heed no

O b stacle s in his path ; and by and by to their
surp ri s e and deligh t the b oys foun d he wa s
heading directly towa rd them a i ming a s it ap
a
r
h
to
p
a
s
s
b
tween
p
ints
wher
hey
e
e
d
e
e
e
t
o
t
p
were statione d
Pierre ha d certainly carried out his part of
the programm e with p erfection and could the
boys do their pa rt a s well ?
Sydney wa s all excitement ; but he calmed his
ner v e s a s b e st he could res olved t o follow out
hi s ins t r uction s to the letter
The tea ri ng and craunching became greater
and all at once the lad caught sight of the noble
game
It wa s th e s am e gigantic bull moo s e with his
head thrown ba ck stalking through the wo od
like a ste am engine
It wa s hard fo r the b oys to hold their re ;
but they did s o until Sydney believed the crit
ical moment wa s at hand when he let d r ive
The mo o s e was struck but n ot killed ; and he
wheeled and made fo r th e tree from behind
which the shot had come
He ha d ta ken but a step or two when Cla r
ence from his station blazed away and th e en
raged bru te turned and charged upon him
The lad didn t wait but throwing away his
,
A PASSAG E A T AR M S
13 9
rie sprang to a small tre e up which he clam

bered and pl aced himself out of d an ger in a
twinkling
Again the furious mo o s e turned an d charged
upon the younger lad who had ris e n to his
feet but had n ot taken to a tree
He sto od for a s econd or two as if trans
x e d and then a s he too threw down hi s use
l e s s gun and start ed for a refuge he knew it
wa s to o l ate
The moo s e w a s a lready within twe n ty feet of
him !
,
X II
CHAPT ER
I N A T T H E DE A T H
HE time ha d come for T owser to take a
part in the ght ; fo r un les s s omething

should interv ene Sydn ey Landon wa s
doomed within the next few moment s
The lad did what he co ul d which wa s to turn
and run with all th e spee d p o s sible shoving his
sn ow shoe s over the crus t a t a f a ster gait tha n
ever befo re
Without turning to the right o r left the i n
fu r i a ted m oo s e made st raight fo r the boy ; but
befo re he could r e a ch him the hound with a
erce gr owl ma de a lea p directly at his thro a t
This wa s a fe a rful risk fo r the dog a s it
pla ced him it may b e s aid under the broad
sharp ho ofs which a re th e mo st p ow e rful mean s
of o ffens e and defens e at command of th e c e r
v a s specie s ; but n o an i m al can u se tho s e wea p
on s with more frightful effect
As the hound l eap ed the mo o s e threw back
his head s o a s to elude th e blow and rearing up
,
14 0
14 2
hope that in attempting t o follow him the bull

would b ecom e entangled among the lim b s
But the next instant th e terric cra shing and
grinding told him that the mo o se wa s directly
on h i m and about t o st ri ke
U nder a br anch the tru nk of which wa s about
six inches in diameter the lad m a de a plunge
and then lo oked upwa rd to s ee what his foe
wa s doing
It was a frightful sight pre sented by the enor
mous mo o s e with his bro ad ho ofs rais ed high in
the air and his front smeared with blo od th at
had own from his own wounds
The next insta nt he cam e down one ho of
grazing on e side of the small t r unk and the
s econd gashing the b a rk on th e other s ide
while the cowering fugitive saw himself lying
dir ectly betw een the two fo re legs fa stened a s
it we re by the hairy columns from which there
wa s no chance of extricating himself
But his refuge had only s aved him for the
time The mo o s e drew back one fo re leg s o as
t o place them both upon the s ame side and th en
l owered his head with the purp o se of dislodgi ng
him from beneath his shelter
s
But j u t then old Pierre wh o had appr e
hen ded thi s danger from the rst and who
,
IN
AT
TH E
DE A T H
14 3
after ri ng had followed on after the eeing

mo o s e arrived on the scene
He ha d thrown away his blanket outer co at
gun and hat and with his long hunting knife
in hand he came down with a ru sh upon the
fr ont of the moo s e j ust a s it lowered i ts head to
force out the la d fr om his p o sition
S eizing h old of the antlers with one hand the
hun ter made a quick circling sweep with the
other drawing the ke en edged knife cl e an
acro s s the thro at of the brute
which in his
death p ain rea red again with appalling power
t o crush his new enemy
B ut the old hunter wa s ma ste r O f the situ
ation and dropping his knife

which had com
h e caught hold of th e immen s e

pl e ted its wo rk
antlers with b oth hands and hung on so that
when th e hea d went aloft h e went with i t his
body and legs sprawling in the ai r like stream
ers uttering from th e ho rn s of a bull
It wa s n ot the rst time old Pi e rre had don e
the s ame thi ng and le tting go at th e right i n
stant his own momentum ca rried him s everal
feet away upon the snow cr u st and out of re ach
of the m oo s e
Th e l a tter came down but it was mo re like a
fall than a leap and his head an d antlers struck
th e b ranch heavily ; ther e wer e a few spa smo dic
,
144
H U N T O N S NO W SH O E S
-
s truggles an d then with a moan that sounded

like that of a su ffering hum an being the gre a t
b ul l mo o s e wa s dead !
The thre e hunters gathered around the huge
bo dy the lads panting and excited but th e

guide as qui et and unconcer n ed a s if sitting by
his own re sid e H e had picked up his knife
and with a dexterous cut s evered th e long hang
ing upper lip kn own among hun ters as the
m ouon
There ! h e s aid a s h e held it up ; I will

show you a me al such a s you have never ta sted
befo re There a r e s everal delica cie s about the
mo os e that put him ahea d of all oth e r animal s
There is the m a rrow t aken smoking warm
from th e shank to b e e aten like butte r ; the
t ongue j uicy and t ender ; and the pa rt th a t we
eat raw
What part is tha t ?

a sked the l ads i n
am azement
It is the la st entrail tha t is crusted over

with suet and th at in its raw s ta t e is on e of
the gr e atest delic a cie s of the hunt It i s about
noon and we will ta ke ou r dinner right here
I think T owser h a s ea rned a go od meal and we
will feed him rs t I know what part s ui ts hi s
p ala te
The guide out out a large piece n e ar the
,
14 6
the previ ous evening except that Pierre s eemed

t o take pains to gather more fuel than be fore
F or don t you s ee
he s aid in explanation
like a s not a p ack of wolve s will b e no sing

round h ere t o night Wh en the snow is on the
gro und they a re mighty sh arp on a trail an d
ther e s nothing s o go od a s a ro aring re t o
k eep them aw ay
This wa s n o new announcement and the lads
a s siste d him until there wa s an abundance of
fuel g athered that wa s mo re than they would
b e likely to need before mo rning When eve r y
th ing wa s i n satisfa ctory shape Clarence and
Sydney s eated them s elves upon th e large warm
blanket that wa s spre ad on th e brush but the
t rapper r emaine d sta nding and m ov ed about i n
a way th a t indica ted there wa s s ome trouble on
his mind
Finally he beckoned to Sydney to come to
on e side
b e yond hea ri ng of his brother a nd
then with an a s sumption of indi ffer ence he
a sked :
Tell me wheth er you hea rd or s aw anything

strange when I wa s away this a fterno on ? You
underst an d what I mean

Th e lad kn ew he wa s referring t o the phan
tom camp r e and the stra n ge s ound that had
led him up the Kennebe c and he sho ok his head
,
I N AT T H E D E A T H
He
14 7
ha sn t noticed anything ? and you

haven t sp oken about wh a t you s aw or h ea rd
the other night ?
Not a syllable
go od R emember my warning
! ery
Things d on t lo ok exa ctly to suit me an d if you
youngsters weren t s o tired I d st art hom e with
u
o
this very hour
y
We will go if you wish
No
returned th e Canadi an leading the
way b a ck to camp ; we won t make a st art
until morning
And then he added in a
louder voice evidently intended for the ear of
the other :
We ll ta ke a go o d night s r e st in
the wo ods and leave bright an d ea rly I am
going Off on a little matt e r o f my own

His y oung friends lo oked at him in surpri se
and a sked how lo n g he would be gone
v
Se eral hours at lea st p os sibly all night
but I hope not I sh all have to t ake T owser
with me But you re i n no par ticul a r danger ;
if the wolves should pay you a vi s it a nd b e
trouble s ome you can kindle anoth er re
There s plenty of wo od and you n eedn t be
afrai d of their hurting you so long as you keep
up the blaz e
I suppo se there is n o d anger of our falling
a sle e p suggested S ydney
A H U N T O N S NOW SH O E S
14 8
If you can sle e p with a pac k of such cr ea

tures yelling snapping an d wrangling about
you they ll take you for a couple of s tone s an d
leave you alone But it s time I wa s o ff ; and
yo u mustn t be ala rmed if I am not back again
before sun ris e

And without another wo rd the old m an slung
his ri e over his shoulder shoved his hug e snow
shoes fo rw a rd and followed by his dog van
i s h e d in the gloom
N aturally the brothers indulged in specula
tion a s to the cause of their friend taking him
s elf away i n this m anner ; but a s it wa s all con
j ectu r e it is no t worth the sp ace t o recor d
their wo rds
Sydney wa s quite ce r ta in that in s ome way
or other
this errand had to do with the ap
r
i
a
t
i
n
o
which he himself ha d s een and which
p
wa s the caus e of s o much trouble to the super
s ti ti ou s old hunter ; but the youth s lip s were
s ealed and he wa s compelled to theorize in thi s
direction wi thout the help of his b rother
As Pierre h ad intima ted that they were likely
to rece ive a visit from their O ld enemies the
wolves they gave their principal thoughts to
them
It wa s decided that each should sle ep a nd
watch half the ni ght al ternately ; but when t h ey
,
A H U N T O N S NO W SH O E S
15 0
th a t st artled b oth The cat like fo otstep s of

the burglar h ave double th e terror that he ha s
him s elf when s ee n f ac e to face
Cla rence spr ang t o his feet and l ooked off in
the gl oom half expecti ng to s e e s ome dreaded
fo rm emerge from th e darknes s and approa ch
The spot whereon they had ca mped wa s a
slight valley lik e dep re s sion n ot s o dee p a s that
of th e preceding night but well p r otec ted from
O b s e r vation
A few la rg e pine s s to od ne a r
them and the r e its elf ha d been kindl e d
against th e tru nk of on e some eight or t en
inches in diameter
On the u plands th e wind blew strong an d a
p ortion of it bowed th e top s o f th e tree s stand
ing nea r m aking a mou r nful sighing s ound
that would h ave o ppre s s ed a p erson with lone
l i n es s but which in the present in s tan ce drew
the broth ers clo ser together and made them
pile on the fuel at a rate which thre ate n ed to
exhaust the supply bef ore the mo rrow
Can you detect anything ? a sked Sydney

wh en his comr ade had sto od in the attitude of
att enti on for s everal minut es
N o wa s his an swe r in a low hushed voice
It must be th at the mo on doe sn t ri s e until late

t o nigh t or el s e the sky is overca st wi th clou ds
I wonder whether you weren t mistaken Syd ?

-
A T T HE D E A T H
IN
15 1
It is po s sible but I don t think I wa s Sit

down O ur g uns are lo aded and we have
plenty of amm uniti on What b e tter fun could
we have than picking Off twenty o r mo re
wolve s ?
Clarence resumed his p o sition a s ne a r the
ca mp r e a s he coul d get without s co rching
hi mself rem a rki ng as he di d s o :
I wouldn t be s o nervous t o night if I were

certa in there wa s n othing else but wolve s n e ar
us ; but I have a curi ous feeling that s ome oth e r
kind of danger threat en s I can t tell wh a t it
is but I wish it were mo rning or Pierre were
he re
A chilling thrill ran th rough Sydney as he
heard thes e words ; for he rec alled what the ol d
guid e ha d to ld him that whenever this strange

cre a ture wa s s e en or heard it wa s always a
wa rn ing of some seri ous dang e r c oming O f
course this was s uper s ti tuti on and he ha d be en
taught to laugh at such idle imaginings but
there wa s s omething in the time and circum
s tance s which made it imp os sible for him to
shake o ff his d ep re s sion
He felt unea sy too over the ab s ence of th eir
tru s ty friend and n ow that th ey had been in
at th e de ath and the mo o se hunt in on e s ens e
might be considered ended there wa s n o place
A H U NT O N S N O W S H O E S
15 2
which j ust th en had such an attraction t o him

a s his own home ala s ! too fa r away t o b e
rea ched withou t a long tediou s tr a mp over
snow and ice
You must try to shake Off such fe elings

he s aid doing his utmo st to hide his own ala rm
I don t s e e wh a t h a rm can befall u s except

it come in th e shape of s ome wild animal ; and
what i s the us e of ou r guns
Sh ! I heard it then a s sure a s I m alive !
interru pt ed Cla rence in a whisper

Lis t en !
B oth did s o fo r a minu te or two and sure
enough they h eard a peculia r sound app a rently
quite n ea r but that which caused it wa s be
yond their s training vision
It wa s not the s o ft
tip tip mad e by a
light fo o ted ani mal tro tting ove r the snow
crust but s omething h eavier and of longer du
ration I t wa s s o faint tha t it wa s imp o s sibl e
to tell whether it wa s within fty or ve hun
dred fe et ; but it wa s su f cient to rous e th e
brothers to the utmo st vi gi lance and each
cocked hi s ri e s o a s to b e ready to re at
an instant s wa rning
I n th i s su spen s e they continued fo r s everal
minute s ; when Cla rence pee ri ng in the di r ec
tion of the carca s s of th e mo ose and over the
,
C H A P T ER X I II
THE
G RE A T M O O S E
UPP ER K ENNEBE C
OF T HE
HE N Cla rence Landon lowered his gun ,
and appealed to hi s brother t o lo ok at

that which had s o ala rmed h i m the
boy was prompt in obe ying
B oth saw an O bj ect indistinctly and thus
could n ot b e ce rtain of it s identity What had
sta rtled the elder wa s that while he had taken
it fo r a wild a n imal and wa s on the point of
ring he suddenly perceived that it wa s walk
ing upon two feet
It s e emed to be pa s sing slowly around the
carca s s of the mo o s e a s if examining it and
a t th e m oment when it wa s near est the camp
re an d the bro thers h a d caught only a fur
tive glimp se it vanished in the glo om
I never s aw a wild animal walk on two
legs before
said Clarence still gr asping his
n
u
like
one
wh
o
wa
s
fea
rful
O
f
an
attack
g
re
It couldn t have be e n a wild animal
,
15 4
T H E G RE A T
MO O S E
15 5
pli ed Sydney
D idn t you no tice th a t he wore
snow sho e s
No ; I n ever thought of l ooking at hi s feet

If he had on snow sho es then he must be h u
man like ourselves Look there he is agai n !

The crea ture wa s now in ful l view st and
ing about twenty feet distant and gazing di
r e ctl y at th em
a s if s tudying their nature
He must have been six feet and s everal inches
in height a giant in every way and was
clothed in the long hairy skin of th e bl a ck bear
from hi s shoulder s to his feet th e latt er a s
already shown b eing enca se d in snow sh oes
The head wa s b a re of articial c overing al
though a ma s s of luxuriant hair straggled
downwa rd over the shoulders to the w ais t
The face its elf wa s covered with a long s trag
gling grizzled bea rd and there s eeme d to be
a pho sphore scent gleam in the large bl ack eye s
that suggested th ose of the p anther B esid e s
he h eld a ri e in on e hand and the handle s
of a pistol and a large knife pro tru d e d from
the belt that wa s gathered about his waist
Standing thus moti o nl es s with a staring i n
quiring expres sion it wa s impo s sible that th e
boys should no t be agitated by hi s appearance
N either could they r e for that would have
been unj ustiable when they were n ot attacked
A H U NT O N S N O W S H O E S
15 6
They could cl aim n o right to take huma n life

except to pr e serv e their own which for the
pres ent wa s not thr e aten ed
And s o while he lo oked at them they sta red
at him ; and the t ableau lasted for a minute
or
two when the cre ature turned on its
heel s an d went O ff with incredible activity
His shoe s could be heard shu f ing over the
snow and after the s ounds had died out in the
distance a strange wild wailing cry wa s borne
back to them upon the wintry ai r
Sydney s ta rt ed for it wa s th e s ame cry that
ha d reached hi s ears when skating up on the
U pper Kennebec and which had s o alarmed
Pierre th e old Canadian
There wa s s om e superstitious fe a r of the
creature which a s yet the lad did not under
stand but the inuence of which wa s such as
to place him in any thing but a comforta ble
frame of mind
Again th e s ound wa s heard faint an d fa r
away an d then all wa s s till
Well ! exclaime d Cl arence with a sigh a s
he lowered his gu n that be at s everything yet !

I never knew they raised such animal s a s that
in the wo ods Supp o s e he should take a no
tion to slip up and sho ot us what is to hinder ?
I tell you Syd I feel very much a s if I were
,
15 8
H U NT O N S NO W S H O E S
-
living pers on n o matter how hard he trie s ! and

we h ave no doubt that many of the re aders of
this have made the attempt ! can rememb er the
precis e moment when he dropped off to sleep
However it i s not probable th a t Sydn ey kept
awake an hour after hi s brother when his hea d
dropped fo rward and he became a s oblivious
a s he
His unc onsciou snes s continued for s ome
thing like a couple of hours when h e opened
his eyes without knowing th e rea s on why He
n otice d that th eir re wa s quite low
and he
ro s e t o his fe et and threw a l ot o f fuel on it
As the blaze amed up he look ed at his sle ep
ing broth er and muttered :
The night must b e nearly gone and a s I

have slept almo st a s long a s Clarence I will
try to keep awake for the r est of the time I
will s ee t h at ou r guns are lo ade d s o that if any
thing do es h appen
He paused a stonished a s he made the dis
both his ri e and that of his
c ov er y that
bro ther were mi s sing
Clarence h ad lain down with his arm around
his piec e and when Sydney sat down his own
wa s between h i s knee s N either wa s n ow to
b e seen
What can it mean ?

he whispe red
I
,
T H E G RE A T
MOOSE
15 9
wonder whether Pierre ha s slipped into camp
and played this littl e trick on us ?

Jus t then he ca u ght th a t same s oft rustling
s ound upon the snow and turn ing his head
saw to his amaz ement and al a rm the wi ld man
sta nding at hi s elbow with three rie s gra sped
under his arm showing plainly enough where
the two piece s b el onging to the l ads ha d gon e
While th e boy s to od quaking the s tr ange
creature burst int o a r an cou s laugh which
sho ok his tall body from he a d to fo ot and
caused Sydney s hai r fairly to rise on en d
D o you kn ow who I am ?
he asked in a
sepulchral voice
It wa s n atural that the yo ung s ter sh ould do
his utmo st to conciliate thi s terrifying crea
ture in who s e power he knew he and hi s
brother were helples s
He th erefore made
answer in a s natural tones a s he could a s sume :
I suppos e you a re some great hunter wh o

wanders over the country by ni ght and day
Again the vi s ito r broke int o that curiou s
laugh which went through Sydney like an elec
tric shock and turning his piercing ey e s upon
h i m said :
I am the Gre at Mo o s e of the U pp er Ken

n ebe e ! You h ave bee n tr a cking and h ave kill ed
A H UNT O N S N O W S H O ES
160
a po or harmle s s mo o se ; but did you n d m y
tracks on the snow ?
N ot that I know of Pierre may have s e en

them ; but if he did h e t old u s nothing abo ut
it and I am sure we were n ot hunting fo r you
Pierre is a great hunter said the O ld man
a s if talking to h i mself
It isn t O ften ou r
path s cro s s each other but it looks a s if they
had done s o n ow Is that b oy lying aslee p
there y our brother ?

Sydney replied tha t he wa s and that th ere
wa s a difference o f two years in their ages
himself being the younger
What is your name ?

This que sti on wa s p roperly answere d and
the Great Mo o se a sked rather quickly :
Ar e you the children of Fitz Jame s Lan
don ?
The boy replied i n the a f rmative such be
i n g th e truth
He and I us e d to know each other a go o d

many years ag o D id he ever tell you any
thing of the Great Mo o s e of the Upper Ken
nebee ?
I never heard him m ention your name to
any on e
You are sure of that ? Ha ! ha ! h a ! h a ! he

ha s go od re a son n ot to do s o He would like
,
162
moo s e and I am exp ecti ng he will return in
a few minutes
He will n ot come ; you n e ed not expect him
fo r you w i ll b e disappointed !
A chill pa s s ed over the l ad fo r he believed
thes e wo rds clearly intimated that the crazy
man ha d sho t the Canadi a n a s he p ro bably
m eant to do with him and his brother
The former fea r however was removed the
next moment
Pierre is a great hunt er and he ha s brou ght

down many mo os e ; but there is on e that he
always run s from H e is afraid of the Great
Mo o s e and when he hears him cry in the wo od s
he ees His hou nd will t ell him that I am
by his camp r e and he will st ay away You
need n ot lo ok for him

This announcement in on e se n se wa s a gr eat
relief ; for p oo r Sydney would have been un
speak ably ho rried to have l e arned that an O ld
hun ter like Pierre h ad fallen by the h and of
s ome crazy a s sa s sin
He co uld n ot doubt that the Moo s e spok e the
truth The trapper brave a s he wa s like men
of hi s cl as s h ad a strong vein of sup e rs tition
in his make Great a s wa s his love for the
lads it would b e bo rne under by his terro r of
being brought face to face with a being whom
,
TH E
G RE A T M O O S E
163
he lo oked upon a s n o thing l e s s th a n s uper n at

ural
Pierre is a go o d ma n
continued Sydney
in a voice that had be c ome mo re even and con
den t
and all wh o know hi m love him Why
should he fea r you ?
E v e r ybody fea rs the Mo o se !

broke out
their capto r with his wild laugh

for is n ot
the mo o s e a t errible animal ? When he gets
angry at a p er son he j ump s u pon him an d cuts
Pierre
hi m to piece s with his sharp ho ofs
is l i ke all other people and why sh ould he not
fear him ?
When the Grea t M oo s e bec omes an gry all

should fear him bu t he is n ot angry wi th us ,
fo r we would n ot harm him if we could
Becau se I slipped up and to ok your ries
away when you were both asleep !
But we s aw you befo re tha t and could h ave

red at you when you had no fear of da n ger
But why should we wish to hu r t you ?
You couldn t if you w an ted to I f bo th

of you had red your guns and aimed at my
he a d the bullets would n ot have been felt I
have bee n shot at hundreds of times Lo ok
h e re !
As he sp oke he threw o pen the he avy bear
s kin i n front an d showed a n umber of ori ces
,
.
164
made in the shea thing a s it might be turned

They were small round hole s precisely such
a s wou ld have been made by r i e balls and
such the strange creature dec l a red them to b e
All made by hunters who have be c ome

sca r ed at me I always let them sho ot rst
and then I ta ke a turn ; and when m y bullets
hit them things a r e a littl e different j ust a
little ! Ha ! ha !
The si tuation of the lad wa s trying in the
highes t degre e It is anything but plea sant
to stand te te a tete with a lunatic b eyond a s
and with the cer
s i s tan ce from any s ource
t ainty that he is brooding mis chief and has
double your own strength
D uring all the tim e th at this s omewhat p oint
les s convers ation wa s being carried on the lad
wa s wondering how the bu sine s s wa s t o end
He certainly had go od ca u s e to apprehend trou
ble and this mis gi ving wa s not diminished by
the subs equent action s and words of the r e
ma rkable cre a ture who held them in his power
It is time your br other awoke

s aid he
stepping towa rd him

I am tired of waiting
and must go b efore the coming of day

Sydney would have be en only too glad if he
had g one l ong ago ; but afraid that he might
use violence tow a rd his brother he called out
.
166
he a sked halting before th em in a tan talizing
mann er
Shall I turn them over to you ?
Cla renc e replied that they would b e glad to
receive them if such wa s the wish of the M oo se
but at the same time they were not anxious
Suppo s e I give them t o you will you try
to sho ot me wh en I a i n t lo oking ?
B oth t ruthfully pro tested that no thing w ould
induce them to attempt such a thing
B eside s if we were wicked enough to do
n
it
said Sydney
now
it
could
do
o
u
k
o
t
y
you any harm That would not make any dif
ference with u s at any rate
When any one res at me I always re

back an d s o i t will b e the best not t o give you
a chance of lo sing your own live s
And with that he delibe rate ly pointed one
ri e aft er the other into th e air emptying each
barrel in succe s sion This done he pa s sed the
weapons back to their respective owners
Now I shall keep my eye on you bo th
s aid he sternly and if I s ee eith er trying t o

reload hi s gun I ll bury my kn ife in him I ll
leave your amm unition with you and you un
de r s ta n d what I ve s aid don t you ?

They signi ed that h i s meaning wa s very i n
tell i gi bl e and that they had no purpo se of v i o
,
TH E
G RE A T M O O S E
167
la ting his commands given with such cle a rn es s

and fo rce
Come then follow me over the snow We

have a long way to go befo re mo rn ing and
we must travel fa st We ought to have sta rt ed
an hour ago
With which the thr ee moved a w a y from the
camp r e in the wo od
,
CHAP T E R
X I!
L I GH TEN I N G T HE SL ED
T
S E E M E D all a dream a s the two lads

followed the wild hunter from the hollow
in the wo ods until they reached the u p
lands where the wintry wind whistled and
howled and the scene in the dim mo onlight wa s
dismal and lonely be yond expres sion
I wonder how far we have to walk ? mut

te r e d Cla rence keeping clo s e to his brother
I think it would have been a deal mo re pl e a s

ant i f we had a hundred o r two wolves yelping
around u s all night than to hav e be en nabbed
by this thing !
B e careful not t o O ffend him by anyth ing

u
o
say
for
I
have
hope
that
he
may
not
in
y
tend u s an y harm
What then do es he mean by toting u s O ff

?
in this fashion
Where do you imagine he
means to take us ?
I haven t an idea
It must b e he ha s a
home somewhere and perhaps want s to show
us that
,
168
170
dreamed po s sible The shuffling movement

over the snow increa sed ; the wind whistled by
their ears and cut them s o keenly that they
drew their blanket s clo s e up about their chin s
t o prevent being fro s t nipped
And what a st range appearance the crazy
Mo o s e m a de ! His long
powerful l egs
branched out and danced over the snow in a
way p eculiarly their own ; his long heavy bear
skin streamed and uttered in th e wind a s
did the luxuriant hair of his head
The
latter together with th e shoulders wa s thrown
fa r in advance after the manner of a swift
runner and he never once lo oked behind him
After disch a r gi ng the two guns O f the lads
t o prevent their u se against him he had del i b
e r a tel y pla ced his own in their hands without a
word of w a rning Surely e v eryth ing he did
wa s consistent with his character a s a lunatic
Littl e danger ei th e r of the lads attempting
It is no triing thing for a p er
to harm h i m
s on to take the life of another
and great a s
they believed their peril they had no dispo
s i ti on to inj ure their cap tor
F o r fully an hour did th e Mo o se continue
ying over the snow without abating a j ot of
his speed or lo oking back to s ee tha t hi s lug
gage wa s safe Mo st of this time he s eemed
.
'
17 2
When the ice wa s reached the leader r e

moved his snow shoe s an d from beneath the
r oot s of a large tree which ov e rhung the water
he drew fo rth a pair of large skate s which he
adj ust ed to his feet ; and then befor e they were
awa re of what he wa s doing he had a lighted
torch fas tened to the lappel of his bear skin
coat the ame proj ecting fully a foot above
his head Again the rope wa s slung over hi s
shoulder and away he went
If they had gone rapidly before it wa s
sca rcely a comparis on with the veloci ty now at
O f all the skaters which the la d h a d
ta i n e d
seen the Mo o se wa s cert a inly the champion
There wa s a wonderful s te adines s in hi s gait
which prevented th e sleigh from wabbling from
on e side to the other
and the brothers who
it will be remembered were no inferior skaters
themselve s forgot their peculia r danger for
awhile in their a dmiration of the skill of this
creature wh o skimm ed over the froz en water
a s if impelled by s ome gigantic catapult
It wa s a s trange picture indeed this wild
man clothed in bear skin with the torch
streaming from above his head a s he sped to
ward the no rth drawing the sleigh after him
while the two boys crouched clo s e together and
,
L I GH TEN I N G T H E SL ED
173
could only wo n der and st ar e and wonder an d

sta re again
When a few minute s had p a ssed Sydney r e
called the phantom camp r e of a few nights

before and readily unders tood why it wa s he
had found it impo s sibl e to approach it He
doubted whether a lo como tive it self could over
take them a t the ra te they were g oing and as
to being pursued by wolve s it would have been
the mere st pa s time
But when the novelty of th e singul a r situa
tion to a ce r tain extent had worn off the mi nds
of both were busy concerning themselves
It wa s n ot to be suppo sed that the Mo o s e
would take all this pain s and draw them such
a dis tance u nl es s he had s om e xed obj ect in
view and that xed purpo s e n o doubt was
their de struction
D on t you notice
a sked Clarence in a
cautious voice that he never lo oks around to
s ee wheth er we are on the sleigh or not ?

Sydney replied that he ha d obser ed this pe
cul i a r i ty a n d had b een not a little sur prised
th e re a t
Let s quietly roll off a nd maybe h e won t
mis s us
I don t b elieve he can fail to do s o and
then we shall b e i n a bad scrape

,
A H U NT O N S NO W S H O E S
174
We can make him believe it wa s a ccidental

Let him think we got into a ght and rolled
out
He kn ows w e re brothers and will expect
it
It will be b etter for u s to go off on e at a

time He won t b e s o likely to notice it then
and if on e succeeds the other can follow
A go od idea
r eplied Clarenc e
Just
op out Syd and I ll follow you within the
next half mil e
You re heavier than I am and had better

try it rs t If he d oe sn t pay any attention to
you I ll be m ore likely t o get Off after ward

There s eemed to b e s ome rea son in this al
though it wa s really his devotion to his brother
that prompt ed Sydney to make the suggestion
B ut time wa s precious and daylight could not
be f a r o ff
It required little time to prepare fo r the at
tempt fo r Clarence shifting over on the edge
of the structure while he retained a reclining
p o sture on his side
Still the Mo o se kept up his tremendous speed
without the lea st a ppearance of fatigue a s he
seemed fairly to cut the air in front of them
Th e sh ore s of the creek were dark and diml y
discernible in the gloom up on either hand an d
.
A H U NT O N S NO W S H O E S
17 6
still the dragon cours i ng along with his chariot

never once lo oking over his shoulder or showed
by any act that h e wa s aware of wha t had
ta ken place
Clarence ha s e scaped
thought Sydney
with his ga z e still x ed upon that un natural
form
He ha s his gun wi th him with a goo d
chance of reaching home or nding Pi e rr e
That ca n n ot fail t o help me whether I succeed
in getting away o r not

But it wa s n ow time that he ma de ready t o
imitate the act of the oth er They were already
a go odly distance apart and if h e fail e d the
failure wa s not likely to endanger th e safe ty
of him who wa s such a distance to the rear
Laying hold of his gun th e youngster threw
on e leg over the side of the sleigh
and wa s
about t o follow suit with the other when he

observed a ce s sation in the rate of spe e d that
the Mo o se had maintained s o long
His heart seemed to ce a s e to beat a s he
moved back in place
Slower and more slowly went the propelling
p ower like an en gi ne when nearing a station
and Sydney wa s wondering what the cause of it
could be and dr e ading all the time that he had
permi tted th e golden opportunity to go by
.
L I GH T E N I N G
TH E SLED
17 7
when the Mo os e sudde nl y resumed his ight

with the same dizzying speed a s befo re
Fearful that if he waited any longer the
chance would be entirely thrown away the lad
from the sleigh and wa s upon the

oppe d
ice the next instant
His m omentum wa s s o great that he slid s ev
eral y ards befor e he wa s able to check himself
and rise t o his fe et
When he di d s o he wa s dazed and bewildered
and fo r a few minute s uncertain what directi on
to take Th e frozen creek over which they had
sped appeared t o have c ontra cted and th e tall
dark t ree s at the side s were dens e and gloomy
a s midnight The mo on ; that had lit them s o
long wa s ob s cured by clouds and his situation
in every sens e excep t one wa s of the mo st di s
mal na ture
He had managed to e scap e the custo dy of a
wild man of the woods who unde r the name of
th e Mo o se doubtles s intended to lead them to
their de struction ; but this p artial freedom r e
mained t o be perfected
He wa s certainly a long way from home and
with little p rec eption of the proper cours e nec
es sa ry t o r e ach there
H i s l oved broth er wa s in equ al p eril with
hims elf ; and what Pierre would do could hard
.
12
17 8
S N O W SH O ES
H UN T ON
be
gue
ss
ed
for brave a s wa s the hunter he
ly
wa s tinged a s we know with a superstition that
made him a cowa rd wher e he h a d O ften been a
her o It wa s uncertain therefore to what ex
t ent he could b e counted upon i n th e se ri ous
dilemma in which both l a ds were pla ced
But j ust now Sydney s rs t obj ect wa s to n d
Cla rence wh o wa s som ewhere do wn the cree k
on the lo okout for him
First he sto o d an d
lis tened expecting to hear sounds both up and
down s tream ; fo r while he hoped h e wa s at no
gre a t dista nce from his brother who ought to
b e stealthily making his way toward him it
did s eem utt erly impo s sible that the lunatic
could r emain unaware of the ight of both He
might b e s o abso rbed in s ome mental fre ak a s
no t to notice it on the instant but the youth
could n ot believe h i s ignorance could continue
for any length of time
o
N ow h wever all wa s still save that s oft
mournful sighing which heard at night among
the pines is the mo st lonely s ound in nature
N ot even the call of a wild animal reached hi s
ears He se emed to b e standing alone in the
midst of a va st s olitude des erted by all save
himself with none to a s sist and none to make
him afraid
Ah if I only had my skate s ! he murmured

,
A H U N T O N S NO W SH O E S
180
Ther e wa s great risk in moving forw ard in

t hi s manner keeping near the mid dl e of the
str eam where he wa s more likely to be seen and
where with all th e care p o s sible he could not
fail t o make s ome noise hims elf
There wa s ever that h aunting fear tha t the
Mo o s e wa s shadowing him that he wa s s ome

where near at hand re a dy to p ounce up on him
in his own go o d time and toying with him a s the
cat toys with the mous e When he lo oked back
he wa s cert ain he s aw the shadowy outline s in
the wintry glo om a s the wild man hovered about
him rst on on e side and then on the other
There he is to o ! sudde nl y exclaimed the

lad a s h e discerned an approaching gure be
yond all p o s sibility O f mi stake

I wonder
whether it can be Cla rence ?

He gave utter a nce to a l ow whistle O fte n us ed
a s a signal b etween them when at their sp o rts
with the belief that if it wa s indeed his broth
er he would not fail t o reply
But there wa s n o answer and the shadowy
form cont i nued to draw ne a r
,
C H AP T ER X !
AL O N E
I N THE
W I L DERNE SS
YD NE Y LA ND O N wa s debating with him
s elf whether t o s ta nd s till r u n or to re

at the gure s o stealthily approaching
through the glo om when to hi s inexpre ssible
relief his si gn al wa s returned in a guarded
voice
Is that you Cla rence ? he called out in an

eager undertone
I rather gues s it is
wa s the equally j oy
ful reply
It seems to me I have been hunt
ing over half creation fo r you Wh at made
u
wait
s
o
long
o
?
y
It wa s only a few mi nute s R em emb er how
rapidly th e Mo o s e r an
He went like a steam en gi ne ; and he must

be a fo ol to let u s slip away after taking us s o
far But Syd w e ve got to do s ome traveling
to get ou t of this scr ap e
A s nea r a s I can
calculat e we must b e about a hundred miles
from hom e
,
181
A H U N T O N S NO W S H O E S
182
The younger brother thought this e stimate

altogether wide of the mark a s undoubtedly it
wa s ; but ther e wa s no denying the fa ct that
they were much further than wa s s afe and at a
di stance which both were desirous of les sening
a s much a s po s sible
They lo st no time in talking but turned ba ck
th e very mom ent they recognized each oth er
and were busily retra cing in part the step s taken
in the morning
There wa s th e natural fear that they would
b e pursued and they t o ok the prec aution to
keep n ear one bank where the glo om wa s grea t
er than i n the middle and where if nece s sary
they could dodge into the wo ods and remain in
hiding until daylight
B oth ha d b een thoughtful enough to ta ke
their snow shoe s with them and a s they had
th e ir guns and the elder carried his blanket
th ey were pretty well burdened but at the same
time w e r e p repared to pursue their j ourney t o
any extent in the wintry wildernes s They had
no doubt s of th eir ability t o reach home in time
if they were left alon e
Their anxiety at present wa s to form a
j unction with Pierre ; for without his a s sist

ance this tramp might be prolonged to a n i n
denite extent
,
A H UN T O N S NO W
184
SH
OE S
the tim e when he would be likely to indulge
Sh ! interrupted his brother laying his

hand on his arm
But the ot h er ha d also hea rd i t that strange

wailing s ound which had struck the ears of
Sydney a few night s before when skating over
the wa te rs of the U pp er Kennebec and he wa s
no quicker in comprehending it s sourc e th an
wa s the on e to whom it wa s beginning t o become
a familiar cry
Tha t s a go od way off s aid Clar en ce in a
scared undertone
It must be s everal mile s
distant when it come s s o faintly a s that
But he can travel far in a short time and

I shan t feel safe until we a r e home
We had
s ome fun while we were after the genuine
moo se ; but now wh en a crazy Mo o s e i s after
us
well there isn t quite s o much fun in it It
may b e that that cry i s a sign al that h e ha s
started on the back tra ck and is coming ; s o let
u s tr avel and keep on the lo ok out

The lads felt a certain e xhilara tion over the
succes s that had attended the atte mpt to escape
from the Mo o s e and they now strode along at a
fa ster gait than u sual conscious that daylight
must b e at h and When they spoke it wa s in a
l ow voice and they listened a s they walked
their hope s constantly rising a s time p a ssed
,
W ILDERN E SS
AL O N E I N T H E
185
and no thing wa s seen or heard of their captor

R e calling a s well a s th ey wer e able the route
followed s inc e their encampment th ey were
sanguine th a t the stream over which they were
j ourneying wa s a tributary of the Penobsco t
and ultimately rea ched the Atlantic Acc ord
i n gl y th ey made the best time po s sible n ot
p ausing fo r more than a minute or two until
th ey s aw by the increa sing light that day wa s
bre aking
St r ive a s much a s they might they knew it
wa s imp o s sible to conceal their trail from the
Mo o s e Accustomed a s he wa s to r an gin g the
fo re st in all directions a t all s ea sons he would
follow them a s readily a s if they were upon
sk ate s and were the rst to pa s s over the gla s sy
surfa ce
Thus i t wa s that daylight br ought with it
additional trepidation and incre as ed their
anxiety t o rej oin Pi e rre the king of the wo ods
But they were now proceeding at random a s i t
may be said doubtful whether every step wa s
making les s or greater the distance between him
and them
I think we would bette r lie by till night
again or els e get off this creek

suggested
Clarence after they had walked for s ome time
This is too p lain a road for the Mo o se to fol

.
'
A H UN T O N SNO W SH O ES
186
low and I can t help feeling every minu te a s

though he i s ready to pounce down upon us
Yonder is a n other stream that put s into this ;
let s take a turn up that and hunt out s ome
place where he won t be s o likely to n d us

Sydney th ought much a s did his brother on
the question and they went to the left
movi ng carefully up th e creek which had j ust
come to view In doing s o they to ok every pr e
caution to con ceal the ma rks of their feet
Th ey sep a rate d one going on on e side and one
on the other and keeping a s clo se to the shore
a s they c ould Not until they had gon e s everal
hundr e d yards did Sydney halt with the ques
tion :
D on t you hear s ome p eculiar sound Cla r
ence a dull heavy r oar like the sweeping of

a gale through the forest a go o d many mi les
away ?
The noi se alluded t o wa s too distinct to be
mi staken and it ha d been growing up on them
for s everal mi nu te s t o o steadily and evenly
indeed to b e a scribed to the c aus e mentioned
It is not wind
said the younger when
they had listened fo r s everal minutes ; it i s the

sound of falling water ; we are near s ome cata
ra e t o r ca sc a de
It wa s a relief to have s ome immediate ob
A H UN T O N S NO W
188
SH
OE S
while directly at the ba s e the water wa s churned

into fo amy billows ,that turned and doubled in
upon one ano ther i n the mo st lively manner
imaginable
The same bitter weather ha d frozen the water
below s o rigidly that the la ds could move up
t o within a few inche s of where the a gitation
wa s s o grea t
O n ea ch side b oth above and below the trees
overhung the stream and were dense and vigor
ou s ; s o that when viewed in the s oft mo onlight
of a summer s night the place must have been
enchanting
But the brothers could not feel p oetical or
fanciful They were hungr y and wanted to
get home
There s eemed to b e no rea s on why they
should pa s s above the falls and they concluded
t o hunt out a camping site upon s ome p oint
n ear at hand
They were in the act of turning away and
had indeed appro ached so clo s e to the shore
that they were partly enveloped and concealed
by the overhan ging pine s when Clarence
g r asped the arm of his brother and pointing
t oward the falls g a sped :
.
L ook!
Could they believe the evidence of their eyes ?
A L ON E IN
W ILD ERNE S S
THE
189
Hardly a hundred y a rds away and upon the

very ice which suppo rted them an Indian in
his own native dres s could b e s een slowly walk
ing from on e side of the stream to the other !
His m ann e r showed th a t h e had no thought
of the lads being s o ne a r for he lo oked neither
to the right no r left but moved with a deliberate
gait his r ifle slung over his shoulder a s if he had
started out on a hunt though whither he h ad

come and where he wa s going c ould n ot be
conj ectured
Th e b oys remained quiet and stationa ry until
several minute s afte r he had disappeared and
then th ey lo oked int o eac h other s fa ces
I wonde r whethe r we haven t got into
O regon
sa i d Clarence
I never knew that
Maine had s o m any Indians until we s tarted on
this mo o s e hunt
He must be on e of tho s e half civilized P e
n obs cots that Pierre told us about yesterday
But he lo oks fo r all the wo rld like a noble

red man of the plains starting out to hunt for
s calp s Di d you notice h ow he held his head
down a s if in deep thought ? I have no doubt
he wa s guring out how many top kno ts it wa s
neces sary for him t o tak e to day that he might
make up s ome number h e h a s xed upon Su p
,
A H UN T O N S NO W SH OES
19 0
then there will

po se he runs acro s s ou r trail
be more trouble Syd !
I don t kn ow what it all mean s

replied
the younger lad a s they began moving down the
shore ag a in
It seem s to me we have got out
of our latitude alto gether and there is no tell
ing what we shall run against Let us hunt up
s ome place where we can lie by fo r awhile a t
least
This s eemed ea sy enough on account of
the den sity of the wo o d on both side s of the
cre ek Th ey made a landing with great care
aiming to con ceal so far a s p o s sible the evi
dence of having d one s o and a sho rt distance
from the str e am reached a spot which suited
them
It wa s ne a r a small open spring in a slight
ravin e shut in by dens e r tree s on every hand
s o tha t a man might pa s s within twenty feet
without suspec ting their existence
B eside s this they were screened from the
wind whi ch was still keen and searching ;
and but for th eir anxiety to get home they
would have be en conte nt to make this their
head quarters while they spent s everal days
in hunting through the surrounding wilderne s s
They brok e o ff a number of branches and
threw them upon the snow the crust of which
A H UN T
19 2
ON
SN OW
S H OES
planned a hunt fo r s omething to eat It wa s

a gre e d that they should take different di r ec
tions and not wander beyond hearing of the
falls Thes e could be us ed a s a rendezvous and
thu s all danger of going a stray avoided E ach
intended to continu e the search until s omething
was secured
If one he a rd the report of the
other s gun followed by a hallo o he wa s t o a o
cept it a s evidence that s ome kind of game had
been bagged and t o make his way to him at
once Should an emergency a rise in which it
wa s uns a fe t o shout o r call t o each other they
agreed t o fall back upon their old whistling
si gnal which had already been used so many
time s
With this understanding the lads s ep arate d
hopeful and condent of speedily meeting again
be fore many hour s should p a s s Clarence
hoped there were sh below the falls which
could be s ecured ; and he bent his step s in that
direction He spent an hour in trying to devise
s ome method of persuading them from the
water but wa s obliged t o give it up without any
succe s s ; and inging his rie over his shoulder
he s truck off into the wildernes s with the pur
po s e of purs u ing the hunt in th e same manner
a s his brother
He had h ardly begun to do so when he heard
.
ALO N E IN
T HE
W ILD E R NESS
19 3
the s ound of a rie some distance to the north

and he p aused and listened
But no h a llo o came back and the silence r e
mained undisturbed excep t by the dull never
cea sing roar of the f alls
That couldn t h ave be en Syd tha t red he

s aid to himself a s he r e sumed his tramp over
the snow
he mis sed I don t
or i f it wa s
t hi nk game is plenty and I m afraid we shall
have hard work to get something t o eat I don t
think it a ba d idea to ch ew some of this birch
that is s o plenty all through the se wo ods

He had ma sticated only a few mouthfuls
when he wa s called upon to take p a rt in an alto
gether di fferent a ffair
l3
CH A PT E R XVI
VE NG E A N C E
IS
M I NE
LAR E N C E wa s still nibbling at the fra

grant birch when he threw down the
branch and caught up his gun which wa s
leaning against a tree near at hand A craunch
ing o f the snow crust and rattling of the bushes
t old him that some animal wa s appro aching
With the hope that it might be another mo o se
he spran g behind the trunk cocked hi s rie and
awaited th e moment when the creature what
ever it might be sho u ld disclo se himself
N earer and neare r ca m e the nois e and the
lad he l d his rie ready to re the inst a nt a fair
shot presented its elf He had but a m inute o r
two to wait when a large n el y formed buck
cam e to view his hea d and antlers well u p and
back while he maintained a steady rapid rate
of speed
although his ho ofs cut through the
snow crust at every step
The line of direction which th e animal wa s
pur suing wa s almo s t straight fo r the tree be
,
19 4
A H UN T O N SNO W SH OES
19 6
throwing down his gun he op ened the bla de

and sto od a moment to decide where h e should
begin
There s enough meat to kee p u s go
ing fo r a week Hell o ! H ow i s that ? I don t
ca rry a double b a rreled gun

This exclamation wa s caused by the discovery
that the buck which he wa s about to carve h a d
be en pierced by two bullet s It wa s plain that
his own ha d i n icte d th e f a tal wound a s the
mark was ex a ctly in th e sp ot he had aimed at
and the animal fell a minu te after re ceiving it
The o ther sho t was six inche s ab ove the
wound to o high t o rea ch the heart
That must be s ome of Syd s wo rk He

doesn t know how to aim a s well a s I and
thought he didn t hit the game

Again he sto oped to sever the lusciou s slice
a n d again wa s in terrupted
This time it wa s by th e appro ach of s ome on e
over the snow Certain that it wa s his broth e r
he turned his head and saw inste a d th e Indi an
who had cro s sed the ice in full view a few hour s
befo re
Hello ! I didn t expect you ! said the a s

ton i s h e d lad straighte ning up
Why you s teal my d e er ? demanded the

red skin speaking E nglish with scarc ely a fault
in the accent
as
,
.
VE NGEAN CE IS M INE
19 7
R ecalling
the experience of himself and

brother a day or two p revious in a somewhat
s i mila r situation Clarence had no wish to be
caught in such a s crap e again
I saw th e deer running and red There is

the ma rk of my bullet and j ust now I saw that
s ome one els e ha d shot him I haven t taken
a hair from his hide and if he belongs to you
o
u
are
welcome
to
him
but
my
bro
ther
and
;
y
mys elf a re hungry and I ho pe you can s p are
enough t o make us on e go od meal

Th e red skin wa s several paces di s t ant and
still refrained from appro aching ; but he sto o d
lo oking intently a t the lad and disregarded the
ca rca s s tha t had brought about this meeting
Cla rence was de sirous abov e all things of
avoiding any qu arrel and a s he uttered the
words mentioned he stepped back a s if to i n
vite the Indian to come forw ard and claim hi s
property
B ut the latt e r appeared to be mo re interested
in th e y oungster than anything else and after
s taring at him a few minute s longer sudd enly
a sked :
Where did you come from ?

The la d replied giving his residence and stat
ing that he wa s on his return
,
A H UN T O N SNO W
19 8
T ha t
SH
O ES
is a l ong way Why did you come s o
far from your home ?

Thereup on th e boy told a s suc cinctly a s pos
sibl e how he and his bro ther ha d b e en on a
mo o se hunt with the great hunter Pierre from
wh om th ey ha d ac cidentally become separated
and were now seeking t o nd their way back
again
H e could not be cert ain but he strongly su s
from
the
lo
ks
a
n
ma
nn
er
f
the
red
e
c
t
e
d
o
d
o
p
skin th at he did n ot believe a wo rd spoken He
had carefully avoided all m ention of the luna tic
who called himself the Great Mo o s e of the Up
p er Kennebec and he wa s therefo re a stonished
t o hear the Indian s ay :
You h ave come on ground where there is

gre a t danger The Great Mo o s e kill s all white
m en that come here You go home He catch
you and then you never go home once mo re
I am sure I don t want to stay here no r

do e s my br other Wh a t i s the direction we
must take to get there a s s o on a s p o s sible ?

The r ed skin p ointed with h i s out st retched
a rm indica ting a cours e altogether different
from th e on e the lads h ad believed wa s th e
proper one t o follow
You go that way go fa st a s you can and

.
200
take in o rder to reach home he bade h i m g ood

day and started toward camp
The latter wa s at no gre at dis tance and he
wa s only a sho rt time in rea ching the creek
where h e paus ed a few mi nutes and waited fo r
s ome sign al from his bro ther
He must have heard my gun and ca ll he
thought and he ought t o be s omewhere in the

neighbo rh ood If he is as hungry a s I am he
wouldn t loiter by the way

Just then he he ard the cracking of a twig be
hind h i m and turn ed hi s head exp ec ting to see
Sydney ; but no one wa s in sight and naught but
the dull ro ar of the falls reached his ears
I wonder what that wa s ? he s aid to him

self with a va gue fear
It could hardly have
been an animal for if on e had com e s o near I
should have seen it

He sto o d st ationary fo r several minute s but
nothi ng more wa s heard and he m oved on pa s s
ing down the bank of the s tream and walking
to the o ther side on the ice
When the shore was re a ched he contin ued on
t oward the main stream until he had come to
a p oint n ea rly oppo site the pl ace cho sen fo r
their camp and s o fa r below the fall s that there
wa s n o disturbance from their roa r
Still nothing wa s se e n or heard of Sydney
,
VENGEAN CE IS M INE
201
and he concluded th at he h ad gone off on a hun t

of hi s own or ma y hap was waiting for him i n
the holl ow where they ha d left their bl anket and
snow shoes
Clarence wa s standing in th i s attitude with
his eye s wandering absently up and down the
oppo sit e bank wh en he obse r ved a bright a sh
accomp anied by a sharp repo rt and at the s ame
instant felt a stin ging sensation along the fore
head Instantly he dropped like a l og
But the boy wa s n ot hurt although his a ction s
were tho s e of on e wh o h ad been pierced by th e
treacher ous bullet He wa s s tunn ed fo r the
moment when he re covered his s enses ; but
yielding t o an impuls e which he never u n der
sto od he lay motionle s s and feigned death He
had no th ought of what wa s to be gained by s o
doing but there wa s a va st deal a s he learned
within the next few minutes
As he fell he lay in such a po s i tion that by
slightly turning his head and twisting his

ey e s to a p ainful ex tent he could look directly
at the p oint where he ha d seen the a sh
F or s everal minute s he wa s unable to detect
anything unusual ; but n ally he saw a move
ment a mong th e undergr owth nea r the point
and then a man appeared the same red skin

who h ad given hi m the p iece of deer s mea t
,
A H UN T O N SNO W SH OE S
202
and who h ad couns eled him to make all ha s te

in getting out of a c ountry which wa s s o danger
ou s becaus e it wa s the tr amping ground of th e
Great Mo o s e of the Upper Kennebec
The as sa s sin continued t o appro a ch until at
th e edge of the creek when he wa s wi th 1n a
short dis tance of whe re the motionl es s lad lay
He is coming to learn whether I am really
dea d or not wa s hi s thought ; and if I ain t

h e will ni sh me with his kn ife It won t do t o
lie here in this fa shion

He wa s on the point of leaping up and mak
ing off when the Indian halted He s to o d for a
minute intently sur eying him and then del i b
e r a tel y turned and walked away
Now th e whole i mp o rt of his thoughtles s
strate gy a shed upon Claren ce Landon The
Indian h ad made a deliberate attempt to shoot
Had h e failed t o do s o h e would have
him
pers evered and repeating the attempt would
have been certain to succeed But he had every
rea s on to believe he had succeeded He had
gone and no furthe r ha rm wa s to b e feared
from him
With this c onviction cam e a strange r ev ol u
tion in the feelings of the lad
What bu sines s ha s he to seek my life ? h e

demanded after waiting until he wa s ou t of
-
9 04
and it won t take him long to start a re and

make dinner fo r us Just now I don t feel a s
if I could eat anything until I meet h i m

Aft e r leaving the gully the trail became more
difcult to follow and considerable search wa s
r equired to n d it ; but a little c a r e enabled the
pursuer to do s o an d he to ok pains not to l o se it
again
The twenty minute s trail hunting that he i n
dul ged in on this cold day served to clarify his
s enses and to make him more ca utious ; but it
did not les sen his determ ination and he grew
impatient at the neces sary delay
If he isn t th er e I will still follow him
muttered the pursuer between his s et teeth

I
will be like th e wolf I will track him all day

and all night an d stick to it until I clear from
the earth such a wretch a s he !

The s e were erce words to come from one s o
young a s Clarence ; but it wa s no idle boa stin g
that led him t o prono unce them It wa s not ex
a speration alon e at the attempt that had been
made against him but a fea r that he had gone
to seek his brother which lent such a venom t o
his pursuit
He saw n o motive in th e act of the Indian be
yond a natural mali gnancy a certain devilish

hatred of another race It did not occur to the
VENGEAN CE I S M INE
205
th at there might be s om e caus e back of all
this th at the wretch mi ght h ave had a re a s on

fo r wi shing to put him away other than the
general ha tred which he held against th e Cau
ca sian r ace
Clar ence s earnestn e s s cam e nea r ru i n i ng
him He was so anxious to get forward that he
c am e in sight of his m an before he wa s pre
p ared
He wa s stooping over the carca s s of the deer
and engaged in cutting a slice for his own
n ourishment The lad hur r iedly step p ed back
s o a s to interpo se a s creen between him and his
vi ctim an d then ha s tily made his prep a rations
to inict the punishmen t the red skin des erved
He waited a moment a s the aim wa s n ot go od
while the In di an held a sto oping p o sition He
kn ew himself too well to run an y risk of mis s
ing The distance wa s too short t o give him a
p retext fo r doing s o
A ll at once the red ski n uncons cious of h i s
danger straightened up It s o happened that
he sto o d with his face t oward the lad lo oking
down at the veni son he held in his hand and
which he seemed to b e t r immi ng
A bette r ! iew could n ot b e de s ired an d the
boy careful ly raised the h ammer of his gun and
drew the b arr el up be side the tree The next
boy
A H UN T O N S NO W S H OES
206
minut e th e aim wa s certain and he be gan slowly

p res sing the trigger
But at this j unc ture he lowered his weapon
again and letting the hamm er s oftly down he
turned about and stole away
And a s he did s o he repeated to himself the
words :
V engeance is mine and I will re p ay saith
the Lo rd
,
A H UN T
208
ON S N O W S H O E S
-
I don t see th at there is any us e of going on
in this direction he mused a s he stopped and
lo oked ove r the dizzy precipice

There is
plenty of snow down th ere and it mu st h ave
drifted in fo r a long time ; but I haven t seen
the track of an ani mal even and my chanc e for
getting s ome thing to eat looks mighty slim

He wa s a littl e reluctant to turn b ack fo r it
seemed to him that th e b roken wilder count r y
on the other side of th e r a vine wa s j ust the pl a ce
to n d th e game for which he wa s s e ar ching
He wa s more likely to get within s triking di s
t ance than in th e open wo od wher e one s ap
proa ch could be detecte d a considerable way off
With thes e idea s he be gan moving along the
edge of th e ravine withou t turning back It
was slow locomotion but he wa s hopeful of n d
ing some place where h e would be able to reach
the oppo site side and extend his hunt in that
direction
I don t want to go back to Clar enc e empty
handed
he s aid to hims elf
It i s hard
en ough work for either of u s to get fo od with
ou t throwing a chance away
Hello ! N ow
that s go od !
This rem a rk wa s caus ed by ob se r ving that
th e cha sm wa s bridged by a tree which h a d been
blown down by the wind in such a manner that
T H E P AN T HE R
209
while its ro ots were on on e side its top lay on

the other
The lad lo st n o time in forcing his way to
it where he paused long enough to make sure it
had s tr en g th to bear his weight
The ro ots were imbedded s o rmly on his side
of th e ravine that there wa s no po s sibility of
their giving away an d from where he sto od th e
top s eemed e qually strong and rm He would
have preferred that it extended a little further
over but aft er climbing upon the ro ot s he be
l i ev ed there wa s no da n ger in tru sting his
weight to such a support
As the trunk at th e ba s e wa s scarcely mo re
than a foot in diameter and it ta pered off to le s s
than half th a t before the rst limb wa s reached
nea r the other brink and a s twenty odd feet
were neces s a ry t o be walked over it will be
und er sto od that the lad had e s saye d a task of
considerable di cul ty It wa s one in fact
which he wo uld not have undertaken but for
s everal g oo d rea s ons
The ma s s of snow tha t lay at the bottom of
the ravine wa s s o great that he knew h e would
su ffer n o harm in ca s e he should lo s e his foo t
ing and it would only requir e a little extra
time and patience to make his way out ag ai n
From where he stood he wa s certain he co uld
,
14
A H UN T O N SN O W S H OES
210
see t racks in the snow on the o ther side and he

felt such a gnawing hunger that this fa ct alone
would have induced him to incur twice the dan
ger he believed himself called upon to face
As he sto od at the ba s e of the tree he held
nothing but hi s lo aded r i e in hand s o that he
re sembled a young rope walker making ready
to give an exhibition to an admiring multitude
He remembered th e danger of dizzine s s if he
lo oked directly down while over the ravine an d
p aused long enough t o s can carefully th e primi
tive bridge over which he expected to pa s s
It o ccurred to him even then that thi s tree
had been cro s sed by something before him
The bark wa s abr a ded and torn in places evi
den tl y by the claws of s ome animal and he
ought to have reected that it wa s done by the
very kind of animal which it wa sn t advisable
fo r him to meet
Howev e r he had made up his mind and wi th
he
ou t pau sing t o ex amine matters clo sely
started acro s s the chasm
The s econd ste p came within a hair s breadth
a
of precipitating him into the depth below
piece o f the ba rk slipping and dropping away
under his tread This startled the lad for a
m oment ; but he so on re sumed the ticklish busi
nes s and wa s in the ve ry middle when a slight
,
A H UN T O N SN O W SH OES
212
saw two round orbs glaring with a pho s

glitter
from
among
the
evergreens
in
h
r
s
e
n
t
o
e
c
p
front as if they would illumine the way for
him to come a cro s s the chasm and walk t o his
do om
Sydney needed n o telling to understand what
this meant The mo st ferocious animal of th e
Am erica n fo rest wa s crouching there within
ea sy leap of the startled lad
The youngster wa s s o totally unprepared in
mind fo r meeting a panther at such clo s e quar
ters that he sa t s tupi ed and had the agile
brute made his leap at that moment he would
have found the choice st kind of dinn er awaiting
h i m without the danger of receiving a scratch
during the obtaining thereof ; and this creature
belonging to the felin e spec ies s eem s to po s ses s
every characteristic of the common cat of which
it may be considered an exaggerated edition
showing amazing agility and power with a fe
r oci ty like that of a j ungle tiger
Seeing its p rey approaching it quietly
crouched i n concealment and awaited the m o
ment when it should come within reach and s o
long a s such an i s sue see med certain there wa s
n o danger of the panther or painter a s he
is te rmed among the backwo odsmen venturing

out to secure his prize
he
T H E P AN T H ER
213
Couchant i n this po sition the s avage anim al

p robably ha d no suspicion that he wa s seen by
his p rey and consequently th e hesitation of the
lad wa s n ot understo o d by the bea st
It needed but a short t i me for Sydney to
comprehend the peril in which he wa s placed
and then he a sked himself what wa s best for
hi m t o do
T ho se gla ring eyeball s o ffered a
tempting mark and almo st any hunter would
have a ccepted the invitation and blazed away
T he knowledge that that shot wa s certain to be
the death of the on e who red it or the one at
which it wa s aimed might well c ause an older
p ers on to he sitate before taking the risk
A short debat e led our young hero t o decid e
tha t the safer plan would be to retreat and i n
ca s e h e wa s compelled to ght to do it from a
better po sition than the on e which he then held
With his eye therefore xed upon tho s e threat
en i n g orbs
he made a careful hitch several
inches b a ckward and then paused A moment
later h e repe ated th e movement when a low
growl from among the undergr owth notied
him that his action wa s displea sing to the sen
tinel on duty
This retrogra de motion wa s such that it en
gaged hands a s well a s feet and the great
danger to which the youth wa s now exp o sed was
,
214
H UN T
O N SN O W S H OES
-
that the p anther would make the leap while thus

employed and before he could use his rie to
defend hi mself
Sydney remained motionles s for som e time
bo th hands gra sping his weapon while he wait
ed to s ee whether the creature meant t o mak e
an at ta ck or n ot
The p anther after a little angry growling set
tl e d t o rest and then the lad resumed his r e
trea t but had ba rely time to move six inches
when a growl warned him that it wa s useles s
to think of e s caping by such mean s
There seemed to be no resource left except to
re direc tly at the brain of the brut e and Syd
ney carefully drew h i s rie for the purpo se of
taking aim ; but the s agacious creature ac ted
a s if he underst oo d the movement ; his p o sition
wa s quietly shifted s o that both eye s vanished
from view on the instant and the choice wa s left
the la d of ring a t random or of waiting until
his enemy showed himself
The latter course wa s a dopte d although with
ou t any election of his own ; for while he wa s
waiting and watching and debating the p anther
walked ou t from the undergrowth and with the
same guttural growl be gan advancing t oward
the t r unk wi th the evident purpo se of walking
ou t after his victim
,
A H UN T O N S N O W SH OES
216
superio r to that of th e boy wh o h ad ven

tur e d s o unhesita ti ngly upon it
The latter wa s making r e ady to perfo rate
the brai n of the brute when without the le a st
warning the t runk parted s omewhere near its
u pper portion and th e next in st ant tree p an
ther and boy went spinni ng downw ard to th e
bottom of the go rge
Had the a ccident o ccurred in the summ e r
time lad and brute would have inevita bly been
crushed ; but there wa s a drift of snow ful ly
ten feet in depth into which they s ank out of
sight but without either receiving the slighte st
dom
At
the m oment of going Sydney felt that his

danger was more from the wi ld animal than
from the fall ; and when he found himself cov
ered with sn ow he lo st no time in struggling out
to daylight and in bru shing th e feathery par
Making sure his gun wa s
ti cl e s from his eyes
in condition to be red he stare d around fo r
his foe
A terric thre shing and thumping s everal
pace s off wa s inging the snow in every di r ec
tion and the back and head of th e animal were
s een like s ome water logged ve s sel laboring in
the trough of the sea
I t required but a few e ff ort s by such a mu s
,
THE
P AN T H ER
217
creature to free hims elf o f the incubus

and then ca tching sight of the lad he bounded
toward h i m but half way met a bullet that
b ored i ts path through his thick skull and brain
and stretched him lifeles s barely giving him
time to mak e one tremendou s bound upward
that carried him over the boy and s everal feet
beyond
It wa s by fa r th e b e st shot that Sydn ey Lan
don h a d eve r m a de and he scarcely underst ood
what he h ad accomplished until he saw the
quiv e rin g limb s of the p an ther an d knew that
nothing furthe r wa s to be feared from him
That wa s rather well done ! he excl ai m e d
n a turally delighted
If ol d Pierre had seen
it he woul d have a better opinion of me than
when I red at the mo o se and mis sed hi m

Th ere remained the unplea sant task of climb
i ng out of the r avine to the hard land above and
Sydney lo st n o time in setting ab out it
A s h e turned to move off and glanced at the
bru te lying nea r he wa s s o struck wi th it s i m
m ens e size th at he re s olved to carry away s ome
trophy of the exploit knowing that if he showed
Pierre the cl aws of the p anther he would gain a
much better idea of its might than from any
desc r ip tio n he could give
He o p en ed his p ocket knife and cut from the
cul ar
A HUN T O N SN O W S H O E S
218
fore p aws the long curved cat like n ails which

when forced out of their sheaths lo oked like the
claws of a gigantic bird
Thes e he carefully plac ed in his pocket and
then relo ading hi s ri e where he sto od began
the labo rious ta sk of working his way out of
the ravine
This p roved mo re di fcult th an he had sup
po se d The snow wa s not only very deep but
in the gorge the crust wa s to o weak to bear
h im and since he broke through at eve ry step
he made but slow progres s
Thus nearly an hour pa s sed be fore he reached
a point where the conguration of th e rocks
gave hope of scaling them At la st he suc
cee de d rea ching the top in s o exhausted a con
dition that he wa s comp elled t o sit down and
rest befo re continuing his j ourney
Sitting thus awaiting the return of hi s
s trength he was puzzled by hea ring a whistle in
the wo od at no great distance
At rst he took it fo r a signal from Cl arence
and wa s on th e po int of replying when a cer
tain dis similarity or peculiarity arou sed hi s
suspicion and led him to wait un til he lea rn ed
mo re before making known his whereabouts
The sign aling continued fo r several minutes
uttered at in terval s and evidently intended for
-
CH A P T E R X VIII
A L AR M ING DANGE R
AN
YDNE Y Landon became un ea sy when h e
dis covered th a t in the ardo r of hi s hunt

he had gone beyond the s ound of the fall s
which it wil l be remembered the bro thers ha d
agreed should b e the means of guiding them to
the rendezvous
Intens e listening could n ot detec t th e faint
est murmur by which to sh ape his cours e and
he might have found himself in a s erious di f
cul ty had he n ot res orted t o the simple a rtice
of retracing hi s step s
By making his way
along the edge of the ravine to where the tree
had been s tretched a cro s s his tr ail was found
and he started back over it
While this wa s a certain mean s of extr i cat
ing hi m self it mad e the p rogre ss slow ; for the
crust of th e snow wa s s o ha rd and fro zen that
his feet had made a very slight abra sion or dis
t ur ban ce in pa s sing over it con sequently the
sign s were indistinct ; besides which t rail hunt
,
220
AN ALAR M ING DANGE R
221
ing was a busin e s s at which the lad wa s only the

raw e st kind of an apprentice
The pl an however w orked s o well tha t at th e
end of an hour he found himself in a neighbo r
ho o d whe re he di s tinctly caught th e s ound of
the f a lls and from which p oi n t of cours e it wa s
unn eces s ary th at he should cling to the trail ;
but b e fore this he h ad m ade a di s covery which
wa s anythi ng but r eas suring
Here and ther e
where his fo o tp r in t s we r e a littl e plainer than
usual o th ers w e r e detecte d s o near them as to
make it p lain th at s ome one h ad been following
.
C onn ecting this with th e si gnal s h e ha d heard

when ne a r th e ravine ther e wa s enough to
render any youn g m an unea sy He wa s i n
cl i n ed to t hi nk the Mo o s e wa s s om ewher e i n
h
i
m
the neighbo rho od and searching fo r
al
though he rec alled the Indi an whom h e and Clar
ence had s ee n cro s s th e froz e n creek and knew
tha t nothing wa s more likely than th a t ther e
were othe rs clo s e at h and
Whichever h orn of th e dilemma he took wa s
n ot calculated to s o othe him ; for the ques tio n
pre sented itself Let it be who soever it may

where wa s he now ?
He h ad sc r uti ni zed th e woo d through which
he wa s pa ssing o ften sto pp ing and li stening
,
222
while he lo oked right and left an d all around

fearing that s ome enemy wa s abo u t to ste al
upon h im
Mo s t of the fo rest through whi ch h e made
his way wa s quite open and he was able to
keep a go od lo ok out
N othing however rewarded this v i l i gan ce
until he wa s well over the greater part of the
j ourney when he rea ched an open space be
yond which quite an elevation wa s visible upon
who se top he saw the smoke of a camp r e
U p the slop e the tree s were sparse and scat
te r ed s o that th e broa d sweep of snow l ooked
like a va st shee t sca rcely broken by the d a rk
pine which wa s s o plentiful on the summit
N othing of the blaze wa s to be discovered but
a d a rk smoky spiral made its way up through
the top s of the tree s gradually di s s olving in the
clea r wintry air above
By this time no on had come and gone and
Sydney wa s cer ta in he had never felt such
gnawing hunger in all his life
But fo r the di stance he would have retra ced
his step s to th e r avine where the panther lay
and co oked and eaten a piece from his carca s s
And it was no doubt the prompting of this feel
ing which led him to hope more ardently than
,
,
.
224
The forest wa s silent and e ven the s ound of

the waterfall had sunk to a low humming mur
mur like the mo anin g of the dis tant s ea
The la d was not a little alarmed by the break
ing of the ice crust under his feet F rom s ome
cause o r other it wa s much weaker on the crest
of the hill than elsewh e re and at about every
third step his feet went through
It seemed that who ever was around the
camp r e must hear him and he wa s r eadv
mo re th an once to advance bol dl y and take the
risks
Luckily however h e did not permit himself
t o do this and while yet at a s afe distanc e he
gained a ! iew of the camp r e
It wa s merely a ma s s of fag o ts heaped
against a large tree while two Indians dres sed
like the on e that he and Cla rence ha d s een cro s s
the creek were se ated on a fall en trunk s m ok
ing their pipes and gazing abstractedly into
the re before them
It beats everything ! muttered the di s ap
Cl a rence and I are only a sho rt

p ointed la d
distance from home and eve ry man we meet is
an enemy After Pierre l eft u s all ou r neigh
b ors are wild Indian s or crazy men I don t
s ee any us e in our t rying to nd any on e to help
,
AN ALAR M ING DANGE R
225
us I have f oo l ed away to o much tM e al
ready
Hungry a s wa s the boy he wa s n ot ready to
go fo rwa rd and a sk the ho spitality of the se two
red skins He h ad heard Pierre tell of going
two and three days with out fo od rather than
imperil his chance s for succes s in some hunt
into which he had thrown his energies and it
seemed to him that he ought to be able to sta nd
twenty four hours in an emergency like the
p r e sent
I wonder h ow Clarence ha s made out he
muttered a s he picked his way forward

It is
pa st no on and if he ha sn t had any better show
than I have I m afraid we re in for a little more
fa sting than is plea sant

After making his way off the ridge and down
the slope th e s ound of the waterfall grew
louder and a s he had made such a devious trail
he had little fear of being dogged by the Mo o se
It seemed to him that
or any of the red skins
if he or his bro ther could secure a goo d dinner
the mo re prudent c ourse wa s to sta rt at once for
home ; and even if th e m e al wa s not to be gained
the safer pl a n wa s to get ou t of a neighbor
ho od which o ffered s o little i n the way of help
Th e ai r wa s s till crisp and sharp and a s he
ca rried his rie his ngers mo re than once be
.
,
,
15
A H UN T O N SN O W
226
SH
OES
came numb even when protected by mittens

His feet to o troubled him and he wa s weary
from the unusual amount of walking and climb
ing he h ad done during the foreno on
If my br other ha sn t got anything t o eat
he said to himself a s he labored along why

we will l i e by and take a rest until dark and
then sta rt home I don t suppo se ther e s much
fun in a mo onlight ramble on an empty stom
ach but there are a great many wors e things

This wa s a s ensible view o f the matter al
though it could not compensate for tha t insa
ti ate gnawing that made itself sen sible at every
step It being the dead of winter he wa s shut
off from all po s sibility of obtaining fruit or
sh The neare st he could come t o it wa s to
break off s ome of the branch e s of the birch and
chew the ba rk which plea sant a s it is at times
is not c alcula ted to go fa r in the way of satisfy
ing hung e r
N aturally enough the lad p aus ed when he wa s
in the immedia te vici nity of th e falls and lo oked
around with some hope of nding hi s bro ther
He did not succe ed but he did discover th e
more unwelcome sight of an Indian who s eemed
t o be returning from a hunt a s he bo re a large
piece of venis on upon his shoulder and wa s
walking at a l ei surely gait At th e moment
.
228
time Sydney wa s upon the ice the red

m an ha d vanished in the dens e wo od on the
opp o sit e side taking v e ry nearly th e cours e
which the l ads themselves had followed upon
leaving the ice a few hours befo re Strange
that it nev e r occurred to ou r young friend that
ther e might b e something more serious i n this
busines s th an he had suppo sed
Sydney wa s a little surprised when leaving
the ice again an d st epping upon the hard i n
crusted snow to dis cover that the trail of th e
Indian wa s almo st parallel with the on e made
by himself and b ro ther early in the morni ng ;
and furthermo re s ea rch a s h e might he c ould
not detect the slighte s t tr ace s left by any wild
animal in p a s sing ov e r the s ame ground
he a sked in an alarmed t on e
Can it be
that that Indian ha s discovered ou r trail for

the rst tim e and ha s started to f ollow it up ?
If he intends to keep on until h e tra cks me
b ack to this point it will be like ci r cum n av i ga t
ing the glo be but it m ay get Cla rence into
trouble
T his p o ssibility added speed to his ste p s and
he hurri ed on at the s ame reckl es s gait until
upon r eaching a mor e o p en p ortion of the
wo od he des cried th e red man moving in his
usual leisurely manner but pursuing prec isely
th e
By
AN AL A R M ING DANGER
229
the same direction a s the lad s o that there

wa s no danger of his seeing the l att e r unles s
he turned about an d faced hi m
The deli berate rate a t which the enemy wa s
wal king s erved in a grea t degree to remove the
painful suspicions that had hurried the boy
and he used mo re ca re himself
It must be he is after some wild an i mal

he added carefully scrutinizing the red skin
a s he m oved forwa rd ; he do e s not s eem to be

lo oking down at the ground a s though he were
watching for fo otprints on the snow Suppo s e
he ha d s een ou r tracks and knew them he could
n ot be sure they were made by us
There are
other p e r s ons in the neighborhoo d a s he well
knows and he ha s no me ans of learning that
they we re m a de by strangers
This wa s consoling in a certain sense but it
did not wholly relieve Sydney himself He r e
called th e signaling which he had heard after
s crambling ou t of th e ravin e and which u n
doubte dl y conc e rned him ; an d he rem embe red
th e two red skin s smoking at the ca mp r e on
all of which convinced him

top of the ridge
that ma tters w e re not by any mean s in the
sh ape he would like and he determined to keep
on after the Indian for a certain t i me
until
,
A H UN T O N SN O W SH OE S
23 0
he could make s ure whether he wa s huntin g a

human b eing or s ome of the brute creation
As nea r a s th e youth could recall th ey were
following nearly the same route that had been
followed by him when in company with his
brother and this s eemed in no way to reas sure
him ; for he recalled that Clarence had taken
a different cours e s o that it seemed the Indian
could not be pursuing hi m
It looks as if h e were after a wild a ni mal

o r els e is t a king up the tr a il of both of us at
the b eginning If that is what he is driving
at
then there i sn t much to fear for if he
sticks t o mine he will go over the ravine the
same a s I and by the time he can clamber out
and get ba ck here it will be a go od many hours
l ater B efore that ou r fate must be decided
on e way or the other

Sydney found himself gaining s o rapidly on
th e red skin that he fell back a little and kept
the tree s between them s o a s to hide the other
from view for a gre ate r portion of the time
He wa s afraid th e s av a ge would turn his head
in which ca se th e p ursuer would have to be very
a ctive in leaping behind a tree to prevent dis
.
cov er y
When
th e
wo ods be came more dens e he hur

,
A HUN T O N SN O W SH OES
23 2
der gr owth ,
and the next moment his bro the r

Clarence s tepped f orth standing gun in h and
and lo oking around a s if wondering at
continued absence of Sydney
And the la tter wi th a shock which n o pen
can des cribe realized that it wa s Cl arence
whom the Indian wa s hunting and a gainst
whom he h ad al rea dy raised his r i e an d wa s
a iming
,
CHAP T E R XIX
AI M LE S S W AND E RINGS
OR
instant Sydney Landon sto od as

if petri ed ; and then a s he saw the I n
dian sighting at hi s b rother he roused
him self and uttered a shout of wa rning which
if it di d not serv e it s purpo s e of c ausing the
end angered lad to s e ek shelter on the instant
st ay ed the hand of th e red skin
Al mo st simul taneo us w
ith the shout Sydney
rais ed hi s own rie and fe ar ful of th e con s e
h
u
n
a
a
moment
s
del
y
sighted
s
avage
e
e
s
o
f
t
e
c
q
an d r e d
The l att er slipp ed around the shel
t e ring trunk like a a sh ; but qui ck a s he wa s
the bullet was quicker and the arm th a t had
p ois ed th e deadly ri e wa s struck at the elbow
and shattered
With a howl of p ain and rage the half
stunned Indian staggered ba ckward inging up
on e a rm and then a s if sudde nl y roused to his
renewed p e ril turned and ran like a te rror
st r icken deer bounding from side to side after
on e
23 3
23 4
the manner of a D igger savage wh o seek s

thereby to divert the ai m of his fo e
O nly a few s econds of su ch work wer e needed
when th e wounded and affrighted red skin
vanished in the wo ods and the brothers were
left alone
Al l this had ta ken place so quickly th e
shout the shot the cry and the ight following
that
on e another with such electric r a pidity
Clarence L andon sto o d staring and wondering
what it could all mean
Wh at s the matt er Syd ? he called a s the

younger brother da shed toward him and ca ught
his hand
What doe s all this mean ?
It means that if I hadn t red j u st a s I
did you wo ul d have been done breathing by
this time Why didn t you dodge yo ur h ead
when I shouted and scoot for cover ?
What made you yell ? Were you hurt or

wa s I in danger of getting sho t ? D o you mean
to s ay he continued a s light began breaking
in upon h im
that th a t Indian wa s going to
re at me ?
A few minute s seemed t o make the elder
bro ther understand in what peril he ha d sto od
and what had taken place and then he relat e d
in turn the adventure he h a d had with the other
Indi an from whom he s o na r rowly e scaped
,
23 6
couldn t be done ; but I made sure you should
have plenty
Talk about ro a st turkey puddings pie s
tar ts de s se r t s and al l such stuff

said Syd
ney a s he crushed the j uicy morsel s between hi s
teeth I never ta s ted anything half s o delicious

a s that There isn t an y s auce like hunger you
know and if a scho ol boy want s to enj oy his
m eals the right way i s t o go o ff in th e wo ods
and get lo st fo r s everal days

But a s hunger becam e satised the brothers
began to consider mo re s eriou sly than they had
yet done the dis turbing situa tion in which b oth
sto od
The afterno on wa s half gone and a long di s
tance re m ained still to be traveled before reach
ing a point wher e they could feel any a s sur ance
of s afety
Th ey we re no t only in danger of
running agains t the Great Mo o se but there
were Indians a round them who de spite their
own situa tion in on e of the s overeign State s
of the Uni on did not hesitat e to attem p t their
lives
Ye s ; and that chap that I hurt will be ba ck
here again or els e he will s end some on e said
Sydney
You s ee h e can make s o m e excus e
for ring at u s n ow
Ye s ; but how is h e going to re with one
AI M L E S S W AND ERI NGS
23 7
his arm s ban ged t o piece s ? I don t think

there is any danger of his hunting u s ; but there
a re others n ot fa r away and the be st thing
we can do is t o change ou r quarters

It will be unde rsto od that the boys did n ot
wish to venture up on the ice again be fore dark
bec ause there would then b e le s s danger of de
The b road sheet of frozen water wa s
tecti on
like a great highw ay wh ere they ran more
chance of being discovered th an when going
through the wo ods or a cro s s lo ts

Still on
a ccount of what had taken plac e during the
day they could feel no s afety i n remaining
wh er e they were and a s night at the mo st wa s
only a few hours away they needed to go
bu t a short dis tanc e to place themselve s be
yond reach
A fter eating all th e dinner needed ther e r e
mained a goo dly sized piece which they c are

fully wrapped up and took with them Getting
one s din n er in the Maine forests in the dead
of winter is n ot such an ea sy task for a couple
of boys that they are apt t o rep e a t the attempt
We will strike off in the wo ods in this di
rection
s aid Sydney after carefully taking
the point s of the compa s s a s he pointed to the
south
Then if we turn to the we st we won t
have to go ve r y fa r before we ll s trik e th e
of
23 8
river and then we shall s ave a go od many miles

and get out of this dangerous place without go
ing anywhere ne a r the falls

This certa inly wa s a goo d plan and the boys
acted up on it without delay T o make les s
work they fastened their snow sho e s to their
feet and with ries and bla nket struck o
toward the s outh making only very mo derate
prog ress which grew mo re t a rdy a s the fore st
became dens er and abounded wi th undergrowth
Th e ob s tru cti on from this caus e became s o
great tha t they w e re comp elled frequently t o
tu r n a side and so shift the direction they had
s et out t o follow that the na tural consequence
followed and they lo st their recko ni ng entirely
A perceptible change in th e weather contrib
u te d t o this confu sion ; the sky becoming s o
overca st that it wa s impo s sible t o tell the loca
tion of the s un or to ca lculat e their l atitude

with any certainty at all
At such times when one i s sure he i s fol
l owing a certain direction it m ay be set d own
a s a rule that he is going in the oppo site and
when he a ttempt s t o pursue a straight line he
never succeeds unle ss h e use s s omething be
yond his own imp res sions to guide h i m
It is a strange but well kn own fa c t that a
wandere r in the wildernes s is led unconsciously
,
24 0
Then isn t it strange that we don t see
any river Cla rence ?

Clarence declared it wa s exceedingly strange
Something certainly wa s ou t of tune an d that
something wa s neither on e of the l a ds
Hark !
suddenly exclaimed the young er
when they h a d stoo d a minute liste ni ng and
lo oking
It seems to me I can hear the ro a r
of s omething like the wind in the wo o d s

B oth listened intently and became s atis ed
there wa s no mist ake about it
A dull a n d distant undertone wa s heard a s
the faint moaning of the o cean s omet i me s
reache s the ea r of th e traveler in the des e rt
when he is fa r bey ond sigh t of the co ol blue
waves and breakers
The sky looks strange

said th e exhau s ted
Clarence a s he s o arranged his bl ank et be tween
his snow sho e s that he could re st hims elf ;
and it may be that s ome so r t of a disturban ce

i s ab out to come Perhap s th ere is a t ornado
or
hurricane or earthquake tha t is getting
ready to s et things humming I don t know
what we can do in such a c a se unl e s s to lie
still and take the chance s

They remain ed where they were until re sted
during which time the low s olemn murmuring
AI M LE S S W AN D ER I NGS
24 1
like sound neither increa s ed no r diminished in

distinctne s s or in volume
This na turally led them to believe they were
nearin g s ome other falls a n ot unrea sonable

sup position when on e recalls how the cataracts
lake s and rivers ab ound in this p ortion of the
N ew E ngland States
Th a t shows we are nearing w a ter

s aid
Cl a r ence with some gra tication when they
had agreed upon this view of the ca se

And
wh e n we reach it we can keep on followin g it
until we strike the Lower Kennebe c or the At
lantic or the civilized regions s omewhere
Thi s prove s th e wisdom of ou r course

added Sydney a s he shoved his way ov e r the
snow crust
If we h a d kept on without any real
plan we mi ght have drifted about in the wo od s
and never found ou r way out ; but
a l l winter
by xing upon ou r course befo re we s ta rted
we have s aved our selve s from that blunder and
have made a goo d m any precious miles I
think wh en we see Pierre again we shall have
to expl a in h ow we did it for it m ay p r ove of
help to him at some future time

The steadily increa sing ro a r proved that
they were appro aching the fall s and a s they
believed were making go od progres s home
wa rd
.
16
A H UN T O N
24 2
NO W S H OE S
-
The wintry ni ght had fairly clo sed in upon

the lads ; but there wa s sti ll a moon which a s
sisted them m a terially in making headway
through th e fores t
I don t hear anything of wolves said Clar
ence
It mus t have been that they we re so
sc ared by tha t be ar that they re afraid to b other
us any more
I thought that bea rs are hibernating ani
m a ls a s they ca ll them
s aid Sydney
and
kept a sleep all winter instead of hunting
a round fo r fo od like that terrible fellow we
ha d such a time with I m eant to a sk Pierre
about it but I wa s s o fri ghte ned it slipped my
mind But I suppo s e that once in awhile they
come out and rage around like hi m though they
are not very plen ty
Hello ! here we are ! said Clarence a s they

emerged from the woods and saw the frozen
river lying before them ; and yonder are the

falls How beautiful they lo ok in the mo on
light !
,
They sto od fo r sev e r al minute s viewing with

a dmiration the rom anti c ca scade glimm ering
and shimmering in the s oft fairy like i l l um i
nation while the ro ar ech oed and r e e cho ed
along the arches of the forest with a profound
,
244
wa s silent except th e murmur of the

water fall and a feeling of lonelin es s came over
th em at the th ought of the weary tramping they
had undergone and of the many long mile s of
tir e s ome trav el that rem ained before them
How they longed fo r their skate s with which
to glide over th e smo oth gla s sy ice ! How
preferable t o the exh austing motion upon
their snow sho e s ; and if they were only
ste el sho d the s e precious mo o nl it hours would
not be allowed to pa s s unimproved but the ris
ing of the morrow s sun would s ee them many
lea gues to the s ou thward and beyond all p e ril
from Indians and th e dreaded Mo o s e of the
Kennebec
I don t think there is any us e of expecting
Pierre
said Cl arence after they had ni shed
their lunch and were making ready to get under
way again
We have been carried over such
a devious route and have doubled on ou r track
s o often that a blo odhound would have hard
work to take ou r trail at that camp r e where
h e left u s and follow u s t o th is point
No
a s sented Sydney ; and we canno t af
fo rd to lo s e any more time We mu st man age
to p lac e a go od many mi le s between us and thes e
falls by t o mo rrow mo r ni ng or I m afr aid we
shall n ot gain the chance of doing s o

All
AI M LE S S W AN DERINGS
24 5
I think if we have lo st Pierre we have also

lo st the Mo o s e or rather he ha s lo st us and we
needn t have any more fe a r of him
I wis h I c ould feel s o but I don t It wa s

fa r to the south of this that he discovered us
and we may run against hi m when we have no
thought of it
However we must hope fo r the be st

Pr ovidence ha s had us in his keeping and it is
too s o on to talk of despair
Hello
exclaimed Sydney in an excited un
der ton e
Lo ok at the falls Clarence ! What
can that mean ?

,
CH A P T E R XX
A
O OL H A RD Y A TT E M P T
OOK I NG towa rd
of wate r wa s all
the waterfall the shee t

agleam in the moonlight
a s it p oured over the ledge an d there
was s omething s o enchanting and romantic in
i ts appea r ance that the brothers wea ri ed ex
h au s te d and anxious a s they were found their
gaze cons tantly wandering thither while they
sat talking and conj ecturing of the futur e
And thus it wa s while Clarence s eye s were
turned in tha t direction that he saw s ometh ing
which caused him t o start in wonder and utter
his exclamation
D irectly ba ck of the sheet of water appeared
a point of light that l o oked like a sta r a s it
breaks thro u gh the dark cloud in th e sky
It shone with such a steady undimmed light
n ever ickering o r withdrawing that the boys
s at fo r s everal minutes looking at it in silent
amazement
Had it vanished a s it came they might have
,
24 6
24 8
feet I m gom g i n there to nd ou t s omething
about that light !
B etter n ot
wa s the reply
We have
been in enough scrap es already and we would
bette r keep out of others while we can
I know it is rather risky but I ve a strong

suspicion ab out something and I think it will
p ay to lo ok it up I noticed a pla ce ye sterd ay
when we were viewing th e falls where I saw
anybody could get wi thout trouble

Sydney naturally pro te sted ag ainst the p ro
po sed a ction of his brother insisting that they
had not a minute to spare and if he to ok time
t o grope around in th e rear of the falls after
dark he ran great risk and he wa s sure they
would get into trouble therefrom
Cla renc e quiete d his brother to a certain ex
tent by a s suring him that he kn ew precisely
the ground where he meant t o go an d that it
would take but a sh ort time to learn all h e
wished t o know He wa s quite certain that his
suspicion wa s well founded in which ca se great
advantage was likely t o come to th em
But the younger brother wa s certa inly the
more s ensible and told him th at if he went he
would not wait longer than half an hour when
h e would make all hast e homeward and tell his
parent s that Clarence ha d committed suicide
O OLH A RD Y A T T E M P T
24 9
Clarence a s sured h i m that he wa s willing for

him to do s o and wi th a laugh and light j est
struck off in the direction of the falls which
it will be remembered were clo se at hand
He wa s in ea rnest when he promis ed to ex
e r ci s e unusu a l care and instead of making th e
approach over the m e he tu r n ed into the wo ods
a n d moved ca refully over the snow where he
was sure the tree s would pr otect hi m fro m
sight
Sydney s at on the blanket which ha d bee n
left behind and watched the gure of hi s brother
until it di s appea red in the fore st whe n he
xed his gaze upon the falls wondering and
drea di ng the next a ct of the drama
He generally ha s a great de al mor e s ense
than I he said to him s elf and I can t under

s tand wh a t ha s put such a m ad schem e in his
head I should think he had ha d enough of thi s
count r y without wanti ng any more of it If
he gets hi s he a d cracked he ha sn t anybo dy but
him self to blame and I m cert ain I shan t wait
h e re all night fo r h i m
The la d s soliloquies were abruptly ended by
th e reappearance of the sta r like p oint of light
which s o excited hi s wonder in the rst place
He fancied it wa s n ot in the same po sition in
25 0
which he had rst seen it but a littl e higher and

m ore t o the left
And this time ins tead of r ema i n i ng station
a ry a s at rs t it had a wavy uncertain motion
showing that it was held in the hand of s ome
p erson and wa s theref ore more in the nature
of a torch than anything else
I hop e that th at light will tell him all he
wants to know thought Sydney without hi s

trying t o crawl in behi nd ther e It must be
tho s e Indian s who are there and they have
shown already what they would like to do wi th
us
Just then the torch vanished from view and
Sydney s trained his eye s in th e hope of catch
ing sight of his brother But th e mo onlight
its elf wa s too faint and the beaut i ful sheet of
water wa s thrown into to o deep shadow for him
to catc h the fainte st glimp se of the youth i f
indeed h e were making the attempt to explore
th e cavern under the fall
Sydney w a ited his full half hour upon th e
blanket watching and listening but hearing an d
s eeing nothing further ; and then well aware
that he had kept his promise he still lingered
Another half hour rolled away and he wa s
growing more impatient until he vowed that at
the end of ten minute s mo re he would sta rt
,
,
.
25 2
th e r the r ed skins were very j ealous about

their home being dis covered
Ther e wa s nothi ng p a r ticularly strange in the
fa ct of their making th eir quarters in such a
place A being who i s s o much indis po s ed to
w ork and s o much opp o sed to erecting a house
a s the America n Indian is always certain
to take advan ta ge of everything that nature
ha s done fo r hi m Wh a t mo re invit in g resi
dence co ul d he a sk than a cavern in the e a rth
p r otected aga i nst the dri fting snow piercing
cold the cutting wind and the sweep of the
deluge ? E sp ecially when the entrance to the
s ame wa s hidden in th e curious manner we have
d e s c ri b ed it wa s e a sy to s ee how attracti ve it
must b e t o the abo riginal mind
Thus far the ca se wa s plain ; but th e question
a s to why thes e Indians guarded it s o clo sely
a gainst all comers wa s not s o ea si ly answered
The live s of b oth th e lads had been a ttempted
! fo r he believed the sign aling in the r avine
mean t that ! fo r n o other rea son than that th ere
wa s a fea r that they might carry th e s ecret
away wi th them
Thes e half civilized Indians the t ramp s of

the bo rder s u ch a s Indian Bill and his com
rades who had maltreated th e youths a few
days before were not liable t o di sturbance

or o
O OLHARD Y AT T E M P T
25 3
from an ybody in the world and th e s ensitive

nes s of the se red skins seemed t o s ay th at there
wa s something b a ck of all thi s of which as yet
Sydney himself knew nothing
And then he recalled the words of hi s bro ther
the wo rds which really expl a ined why it wa s
he ventured upon hi s fo ol h ardy attempt He
had told h i m he held a c e rtain suspicion a
s trong on e to o which should i t p rove well

f ounded w ould be certain to be of great be net
to bo th
This wa s a strange state ment and one beyond
the reach of the youngster s wits He could not
imagine what Clarence meant by his hint He
cer tainly wa s in earnest when he made the
as sertion and Sydney did not suspect ther e
was the lea st attempt to deceive him From his
knowledge of his bro ther too he wa s sure that
it would require some p owerful motive to lead
him in to s o grave a d anger after such an ex
e
r
i
en ce a s had be e n theirs during th e pa st
p
thre e days
Sudden ly Sydney sprang to his feet with the
conviction that he h ad been waiting in that on e
sp ot for all of two hour s and he was resolved
not to linge r another minute
He caught u p hi s blanket but threw it down
again
,
25 4
Mayb e he ll want it more than I

he
thought
And carrying nothing but his rie he s ta rted
ov e r the ice on another a ttempt to reach home
He S p ee dily found th at it wa s no ea sy m atter
to get along up on th e smo oth surface with his
bro ad canoe like shoes which slid al together
to o much for convenience ; s o he rem oved them
from his feet and fe arful of le aving them lest
he s h ould ne ed them before he reached hom e
he gathered th em under his arm and with hi s
heavy winter clothing and rie he ha d a s much
of a load a s he wish e d to c a rry
When he came t o use his feet i n the more
natural way of walking he found his ankle s
were considerably galled from the thongs in
th e snow sho e s and that if comp elled to u s e
them s oon again it could not but be painful
Sydney would n ot have felt right ha d he
really been deserting his brother although the
latter had acted s o much against his wishe s He
had promised to return at the end of the half
hour His failure to do s o when four times that
p eri od had come and gone convinced the
younger that he wa s p revented from keeping his
pledge In other words he b e lieved he had been
made a prisoner by whoms oever the caon con
tai n ed an d th at it wa s his duty to bring s ome
25 6
moved fo rward he could dimly discern the tall

s entinel like trees while back and beyond them
all wa s blacknes s and darkne s s It wa s from
thes e depths that at any moment s ome ferocious
wild animal white man or Indian wa s liable
to lea p out up on him ; and conj ure a s much a s
on e may
there ar e few situa tion s in which a
boy can be placed where h I S courage would be
mo re seve rely tested than this
Sydn ey s ecured hi s snow shoes s o that his
a rms were left free and he held hi s loaded rie
gr a sped in both hands s o that it could be raised
and red at the same instant The eye and
hearing were kep t at the highest strain while he
carefully moved fo rward under the dark
shadows along shore
Hark !
D id he n ot he ar s omething walking be hind
hi m ? Wa s no t that s oft ti p tip which s ounded
upon the ice made by the f e et of man o r
an i mal ?
The youngster stoo d s till an d lo oked back in
th e glo om All wa s a s s till a s at rst and
naught reached his ear but the s oft mournful
sighing of the night wind among th e branches
overhead
At rst sight h e fancied h e could see a large
form moving t o and fro with an airy wavy
F O OLHARD Y
ATT E M P T
25 7
motion ; but a s he peered into the glo om h e

b ecame sa ti sed tha t it existe d o nl y in his
imagination
All fancy ! he concluded a s he moved for
w a rd again ; but things begin to lo ok pokei s h

It s enough to sca re any chap i n ou r scho ol t o
be s tealing through the wo o d s on such a night
a s this
An d then what an entrancing pic ture came up
of his loved hom e on the Kenneb e c !
It wa s
many miles yet to the s outhward ; but there
were his father and mother and little sister s
all sound a sleep by this time not dreaming of
th e great pe ril in which h e and Clarence were
placed Ah what enchantment dist ance lent
to the view ! Th e tea rs ga thered in his eye s
and his de spair almo st cau sed him to sink down
una ble to go on
He wa s exces sively wearied be yond doubt
and had already walked about a s fa r a s h e wa s
able ; but he still moved slowly fo r ward on the
wat ch for s ome suitable place in which to pa s s
the remainder of the night Although he had
s tarted out with the idea of hunting help for his
brother yet th e further he went the m ore un
comfo rtable he felt It seemed ou t of the ques
tion for him t o be of any u se by thi s cour s e and
every minute made him lo ok upon himself a s a
,
17
A H UN T O N SN O W S H OES
25 8
d e s ert er at the very ti me Clarenc e had mo st

need of hi m
At thi s t r ying j uncture when fatigue or
doubt h a d brought his feet almo st to a stand
s till he wa s startled by ob serving the twinkle
of a light thr ough the wo od on the left
,
A HUN T O N SN O W SH O E S
260
all the caution of an aboriginal scout stealing up

t o an enemy s camp r e
The point to which he wa s advancing proved
h ardly a hun dred yards from the bank of the
river and when he found hi mself in the i mm edi
at e vicinity he wa s un certain wha t it meant
It still s eemed t o glow within the bushe s or
undergrowth and he could neither he ar nor s e e
anything which showed th at any h um an beings
beside s himself were in the vicinity
D etermined to know what it meant he m oved
forwa rd still further and then made the dis
cov e r y tha t he wa s standing within a few feet of
a small cabin and that the light which he s aw
wa s shining through an opening that repre sent
ed a window
That s go o d ! he exclaimed the in sta nt he
learn ed this fact

Indians don t often live in
cabins and thi s must be th e hom e of s om e wo od
chopper or settler Here I wil l nd re st and
help
By the aid of th e rather weak light he wa s
able to loca te the do o r an d after s ome further
groping he m anaged t o get within reach
As he applied his knuckle s he noted tha t it
wa s compo sed of strong oaken planking a fa ct
which conrmed h i m more and mo re in hi s
hope s
AN UN W E L CO M E H O S T
261
But his kno ck timid at rst and so on louder

brought no re spons e and a fter v ai nl y p oun di ng
until his knuckles were sore he came to the con
e lusion that who ever lived there had s tepped
,
,
,
ou t
And i s coming back pretty s o on

he con
cluded or h e wouldn t h ave left his light bu r n
ing If it wa sn t s o cold I w ould wait L et
me s e e whether the l a tc h string is out

It wa s H e gra sp e d the st ri ng which hang
ing outside as is the custom of th e border sig
n i ed that who ever cho s e to draw it an d pas s
wi thin wa s welc ome
With som e trepidation Sydn ey gav e i t a
gentle pull when the heavy pun cheon do or
swung inward and he stepped into a strange
apartment
Th e ca bin in whi ch the la d n ow found himself
wa s of th e simplest de scrip tion The ro om wa s
h ardly a dozen feet squ a re and the o o r wa s of
planking placed clo se together with th e ex cep
tio n that at one end qui te a sp ace showed the
ea rth and upon this a re of fagot s wa s burn
ing At one side of the primitive hearth wa s a
la rge pile of wood and on the other a number
of furs
The smoke m a d e it s e scape through a
hol e in the r oof directly overhead and the venti
lation of the apartmen t was a s sisted by a small
,
A HUN T O N
262
N OW
SH
OE S
square opening which a s we h av e already said

answered the purpos e of a wind ow Just be
ne ath this wa s the rudest kind of stand and
s tu ck in an o rdi na ry candlestick wa s a sperm
candle which however wa s not bur ni ng
The light that had guided the youth to this
spot wa s that which came from the re on the
hearth and which seemed t o make the inte r io r
of the humbl e building s o visibl e that ther e wa s
n o need of other illuminati on
There wa s no ch air no clothing no co oking
u ten s ils no r any othe r articles of furniture
which the b oy could see E ve n the ceiling of
brush and bark wa s d evoid of the snow sho es
which any on e would have coun ted upon n d
ing and Sy dney sto o d a moment d oubtful
whe ther he ought t o advance o r retreat
But the thought of turning back again in the
cold w e a ri ed a s he wa s to tramp the night
through wa s enough t o drive him to despair
and he pushed a cro s s th e room the door swing
ing shut be hind him an d to ok a s eat upon the
s oft furs near th e r e and r emoved his skeleton
shoes
Ah never was lounge more l uxurious to his
wearied frame than were these hides from the
back of the be ar and wolf !
He wa s in that condition popularly known a s
,
264
curio sity to lift th e doo r and take a p ee p into

wh at might be ben e a th
But he knew the d ang er of doing s o The
l atch string hanging ou t said that who ever
cho s e t o come wa s w elc ome and the cov er ed
place in the oo r s aid j ust a s plainly th at no
on e was to disturb th a t except the owner
Sydney s own sens e told him thi s much and
h e cont ented himself with lying ba ck in an ea sy
po sition upon th e furs and gi ving his imagi
nation free rein
If we live to get b ack to scho ol won t we

have a big s to ry to tell ! Th e only troubl e is I
don t suppo se half th e boys will believ e u s Let
me s ee the rst scrap e wa s when the wolve s
got after us and my skate broke ; then Clarence
took me on his back and kep t up th e cha se
Th ere s Jimmy Clark and Joe R edfern and
Harry Slack and Lew Swem all of tho se

chap s will decla re I m telling them too big a
sto ry to swallow After we persuade them into
the idea that we a re speaking th e tru th I shall
have to s trike in on the bi g be ar that cam e out
on the ice and sca red th e wolves
They ll want
to kn ow what wake d the b e a r up ; and when I
tell th em I don t know I can understand how
they wi ll rema rk h a ! h a
B ut when we foll ow
it u p wi th the account of th e m oo s e tha t j um pe d
.
AN UN W ELCO M E H O S T
265
down with on e hoof on on e side o f me and one

on th e o ther and the wild man that put us on
the sled and pulled u s fo r miles over the lake ;
of ou r rolling off and starting homeward ; my
tumbling down the r avine with a p anther and
shooting th e wild Indian j u st before he shot
Clarence and then my coming into this cabin ;
while Cla renc e hi mself will have a bigger ac
count of what he saw under the fa lls I gues s

we ll h ave to string ou t the sto ry in small do ses
for if we should write it out they would think
it wa s on e of tho s e that B aron Munch ausen used
to tell
The youngster paused in his reve ries for a
s light noise on the out side told him that who
ever o wned the cabin wa s clo se at hand
Sydney insta ntly sat up ri ght and lo oked to
w a rd th e doo r ready to salu te and welcome hi m
a s he came in
He o bse rved the latch ris e the heavy do or
s wing upwa rd an d the amazed an d terried lad
s aw the Great Mo o s e of the Upper Kennebec
s talk into th e ro om !
Fo r on e minute Sydney wa s unable to speak
Str ange that in all his conj ec tures it had never
o ccurred to him that this might be one of the
homes of th e wild man ! The discov e ry cam e
upon him like a thunderbolt
,
A H UN T O N SNO W SH O E S
266
But if the b oy wa s a s tonished the man was

not He merely glanced a t him turned about
drew in the latch string and then advanced to
the re seating h i mself near it and directly
oppo sit e the lad who seemed to b e arous ed by
the act to a s ens e of propriety Sp r in ging up
he moved away and said in a s cour teou s a tone
a s he could a s sume :
This is yo u r seat ; do you take it and let me
h ave the o or
The Mo o s e waved him ba ck and rea ching out
drew a larg e b ear skin from the bundle and
irted it under him Then a s s um in g a po sition
of ea se he said in a commanding voice :
S i t down where you were ; I don t want it

Sit down I s ay and tell m e wh a t kept you away
s o long !
Thes e words gave the boy th e belief that the
wild man though t the two boys had been off
on a hunt and that they in tended s o on t o return
to him
Could he n ot help along the deception
and thu s disarm the strange bein g of wh atever
ill will he might fe el fo r the atte m pt on their
part ? It lo oked a s if the plan could be car
ried out t o pe r fection ; and yet to do s o n ece s s i
ta te d falsifying on the part of th e lad
He
thought of t hi s and the in structions of his
teachers and pa rents and he determined not to
,
A HUN T O N S N O W SH OE S
268
you wouldn t have come in if you knowed you
wa s going to meet me here would you now ?

Sydn ey a s sured him that he mo st c ertainly
would have given the pla ce a wide berth no
matter how ti red he wa s had he even susp ected
its ownership
U pon hearing this the M o o s e b roke into a
roaring laugh throwing ba ck his he a d and emi t
ting a rattling gurgling s ound that mad e the
alarmed boy shudder
I knowed you d be back again

added the
strang e be ing when he secured the ma ste r y of
his emotions
I wa s sure of it ; so when I
found I wa s p u lling an empty sled I didn t fee l
any disap pointment I wa s j u s t a s certain that
I w ould have you both again a s if I had you
each by the neck
What made you s o s ure ? Sydney ventured

t o a sk r ather timidly
Because nothing h as ever got away from the

Grea t Mo o s e of the U pper Kenn ebec when h e
ha s once placed his eye on him Sometimes I
let him wander o ff j ust a s a cat do es a mouse
but he never gets be yond my rea ch Ha ! ha !
ha ! And did you think you were clear o f me ?
D id you really believe you were going to get to
your home once more ?

Th e boy felt impelled t o s ay tha t he had en
AN UN W ELCO M E H O S T
269
te r tai n ed
rather strong hope s in tha t direction ;

and he mentally added that they were n ot quite
s o strong at present
Where is Pierre ? asked the Mo o se in his

ab rupt mann er
I cannot tell ; he left u s the o ther night an

hour o r two befo re you came and we haven t
seen or heard of hi m since
Shall I tell you where h e is and why he
went away ?
The boy answered that he would be glad to
hear fo r he had no ide a himself of the cause
He knew I wa s about and he got sc ared

and run off Ha ! ha ! ha ! E verybo dy ru n s
when they think I m coming Pierre is a br ave
man and a grea t hunter ; but he knows if h e
gets in my way he s gone sure and s o when I m
coming he runs Ha ! ha ! ha !
The statement of the wild man seemed i n ac
c or dan ce with circumstance s ; but fo r all that
th e youngste r could n ot believe it
Pierre had
s ome rea son of his own for temporarily leaving
the boys ; but i t wa s impo s sible for him abs o
l utel y to desert them
Sydney well kn ew that
n o proba ble d anger could make him do such a
ba se thing
But it wa s har dl y prudent to let the Mo o se
.
2 70
H UN T
O N S NO W
SH
OES
suspect his word wa s doubted and the guest

ra ther cleverly led the ques tioning on
Why is such a great hunter a s Pierre afraid
of you ?
B ecau s e ev er ybody is afraid of me Am I

not the Gre at Mo o s e of th e U pper Kennebec ?
D o I not own the S tat e of Maine ? Have I not
j umped over the top of Mount Katahdin and
dived from on e side of Mo o sehead L ake to the
other ? When I yell the women in ! uebec catch
up their children and run in the house and ba r
the do o rs B ring all the great hunter s in the
world do wn here and they would be afraid of
me !
This wa s such
steep
talk that Sydney
would have been amused had not the po sition of
his brother and himself been too seriou s to per
mit any such emotion
There are some men up th e creek who have
their hom e in a cavern under a waterfall con

ti n u ed the Mo o s e with a baleful gleam of his
eye and they are afraid of m e Some o f them

ain t a s scared when I m coming a s they ought
to be and I m going up there in the morning
t o teach them who I am I think they ll come
t o their senses after I have shot and killed
three or four of them
Here wa s a p romis ed new turn t o matters
,
27 2
lad could n ot refuse and h e gave it

th e
full intention of ke eping the parole in let ter and
spirit He did no t know po o r lad
great
the temp tation to break it w ould be
.
CHAPT E R XXII
UN D E R
T HE
W A T E R F A LL
T WILL be remembe red that when Clarence

Landon pa rt ed from his brother he told
him his mo tive wa s s om ething more than
idle curio sity He wa s l ed by a suspicion which
if well founded would prove of great benet to
bo th and it was in t ruth this rea son alone
which induced him to venture upon an attempt
that was attended with great danger
Clarenc e beli eved th a t if detected he w oul d
be killed ; and yet for all that he never faltered
no r wavered from the momen t he sta rted He
wa s re solved to do hi s utmos t let the con s e
u
n
s
e
e
b
e
what
they
may
c
q
He kept in the shelter of the dens e wo od
until he reached a point oppo site the sheet of
falling water when he c a refully r em oved his
sn ow sho es and gra sping nothing but his gun
stol e fo r w a rd un til he s to od within a r od of the
place where he had seen the point of light
Here he wa i ted several minutes using hi s
,
18
27 3
A H UN T O N SNO W S H O ES
274
eyes in the meanwhile t o the be st of his ability

bu t witho u t discovering anything to alarm h i m
and he again moved on
N ow ca m e th e tu g of war
He had studied
the structure of the falls when he h ad the day
light to a s si st him an d h e remembered the step s
by which it seemed any one could pa s s a round
t o th e Cave of Winds and yet fo r all th at

th e place wa s s trange to him and a t eve r y
step he wa s liable to fall
Th e mo onlight pa r tially aide d him fo r a few
fe e t and then all be came dark and uncertain
In such circ umstance s the best the boy could
do wa s to sto op down and grope his way using
on e of his h ands and gui di ng himself solely by
the sens e of touch
The ro cks were icy and slippery and his self
impo sed ta sk wa s on e before which the s toutest
heart might have been appalled
H e could distin guish the ro a r of the wat e r
s omewhere be neath him and a single slip wa s a s
likely to send him t o death with a s much quick
nes s and certa inty as could the bullet from a
loaded r i e
It wa s li ter ally inch by inch and s o slowly
and gua rdedly did he wo rk his way that at the
end of his own appointed half h our he had not
,
A H UN T O N S NO W S H O ES
27 6
which he would have pa ss ed had he advanced

six inche s further
Here t o all appearan ce s wa s an end t o thi s
curious reconnois sance ; fo r when he brought
his rie a round in front an d exte nded it a s far
forwa rd a s he could reach it still failed to t ouch
anything s olid o r sub stantial There wa s every
rea s on therefore to be lieve that further a d
vance wa s imp o s sible
I ll have to give it up after all

he mut
I ve already
ter ed after making the se te sts
bee n more than a half ho u r away fr om Sydney
and he will be worried h a lf to death if I don t
s o on get back to him I supp o se I shall have
about a s much tr ou ble in doing that a s I had in
reaching this pla ce

It proved wors e than that ; fo r a s he began
his retrograde movement still feeling every
inch of the way the suspicion that he wa s pa s s
ing over a different surfa ce spee di ly b e came a
certainty
I believe I am getting off the track

he
thought a s he p au sed a moment to collect his
sense s
This r ock is more sloping than that
over which I rst came and yet how am I t o
know whe ther I have turned to the right or
left ?
He thought of the strange situation of the
.
UNDER
THE
W A T ER F ALL
277
blind girl during the de s truction of Her cul a

neum and Pompeii where the on e who never
p o s se ss ed eyesight ha d by fa r the advantage of
tho se who could s ee from th eir birth ; for had
he be en eyeles s his s ens e of touch would h ave
been s o delicate that it would have revealed the
slightest deviation in attempting to gr op e his
way ba ck over the route he had used in en ter
ing
The o nl y p os sible approach to a guide or clue
wa s the di m misty sheet of wate r who se ro ar
l led the cavern with its dull s ound ; and lo ok
ing at thi s the youngster wa s unable to te ll
how much he wa s ou t of the plumb

Th e opening t hrough which he had come wa s
irregul ar and a dozen fee t in height and
brea dth and lo o king backward through this
from two standpoint s separated by a couple of
yards the view of the falls wa s sub stantially
the s ame in both ca ses
However this do o r reveal ed itself and s o
long a s it could be reached it mattered little
from what direction he came
R ecalling the full hour he ha d already pa s sed
in th e cavern and shivering with cold and a
nameles s dread the l a d continued backing to
ward it at a rate bo th imprudent and danger
ous
,
A H UN T O N SNO W S H O E S
27 8
B efo re he kn ew it both feet an d knee s were

shove d over the edge of the rock into another
fathomle ss abys s and he ga sped with terror a s
he felt himself s l iding down ward He thought
he wa s gone beyond a ll hope and dropping hi s
u
n
in front he de sp erately threw out both
g
hands and clutched at the s olid rock in an i n
s ti n cti v e e ffort to s ave himself
He succeeded by a narrower chance even than
when he clambered ou t of th e air hole in the
Kenneb ec ; bu t th ese few seconds when he hung
suspended over the bottomle s s pit were sec

on ds of s u ch dread that the longest life could
not blot ou t their vivid remembrance
It s eemed to the lad a s if he were freezing
and when at
a n d burning at the same moment
l a st he painfu lly drew himself u p again on the
a t su r face of the rock he lay on hi s face for
s everal minutes panting and exh austed unable
s o much a s to sti r a li m b
B u t youth and h e alth a re quick t o rally an d
in a short time he roused hi m self to his p e rilo u s
p o sition He ha d hope of being able to nd his
way to th e mouth of the cavern f r om which he
could ea sily make his exit ; bu t he wo r k e d for
wa r d with exceeding caution and within ve
min u te s c ame u p on the very danger he feared
He ha d wandered s o far from the right path
,
280
covered trying to steal int o their house a s it

may b e s aid were they likely t o b e les s lenient
with him ?
It n ally came down to the simple chance of
being abl e to wait where he wa s until d aylight
should come to his a s sistance Could he do it ?
,
No !
It wa s cert ainly colder in the cavern than in

the outer air There wa s i ce on th e rock and
the p enetrating chillines s wa s more trying than
the cle a r crisp atmo spher e in the wo o ds He
ha d no blanket with h i m and in ca s e he lay fo r
s everal hours in this pla ce it wa s morally cer
tain he would peri sh
There seemed to be a remot e p o s sibility of
ghting off the cold by j umping and swinging
his a rms ; but after all such antics rarely s ave
a man from fre ezing to dea th in the end
Clarence wa s meditating upon th e si tuation
and getting ready fo r another es say when a
peculiarity in the appearance of th e falls caught
his attention It will be remembered that a s he
looked toward them t h ey h a d the app ear ance of
a dim misty veil han gi ng motionle s s over the
entrance t o the cavern Th e churn ing and
foaming at th e ba s e were too l ow to be s een
fr om where h e sto od
It wa s while he wa s gazing at them that he
,
UNDER
THE
W AT ER F ALL
281
s aw a d a rk gure gli di ng acro s s th e sheet of

water and vanish on the o ther side It wa s
more like the itti ng of a shadow and wa s gone
s o quickly th at he could fo rm no conj ecture a s
t o its cause A moment later it wa s repeated
precisely a s before ; but this time he wa s able to
detect a semblance to the gure of a man m ov
ing in the same direction a s the rst S ooner
than befo re a third form came to view and this
instead of pa s sing from sight remained in the
eld of vision and con tinued to grow more dis
tinct
First the head and shoulders of an Indian ap
r
e
a
e
d then his body and when his lower limb s
p
were shown it could be seen that he was slowly
climbing the r ocks The meaning th erefore of
what the lad saw wa s that thes e three men were
entering the cavern their cour se being such
while doing s o that he saw them a s they
eclip sed th e pale sheet of water beyond
As s o on a s he comprehended this he t r ied to
learn how near they pa s sed to him fo r could
he do that h e would be hopeful of ndi ng his
.
But again th e noise of the falls interfered

and th e utmos t straining of his ears wa s unable
to detect the slightest s ound of a fo otfall
E ach gure a s i t r e ached a cert a in p oint wa s
A H UN T O N S NO W SH O ES
282
abs orbed in the darknes s and as com pletely

lo s t a s if it ha d fallen down the abys s from
which the lad hims elf had s o narrowly escaped
and he c ould o nl y gue ss that they had pa ss ed by
within a few feet which s o far a s it helped

him might a s well h ave been s o many mile s
Still he sat wondering and about ready to
despair when a giant fo r m stalked out in full
view coming up s o sudde n ly between him and
the sheet of falling water that he uttered an
exclamation expecting it wa s about t o step
upon him
Seen in relief against the mi sty light b eyond
it appeared of gi gantic size and the moti on of
its a rms and legs showed tha t it wa s striding
forward with a condent step ; but a s it began
sinking from view the next mom en t h e under
sto od that it wa s on e of the Indians going ou t
of the cave r n
It speedily vanished and he watched expect
ing o thers to follow ; bu t n o mo r e were s een
and again he wa s left t o conj ure up s ome
scheme fo r getting ou t of wha t he might safely
conclude to be the mo st trying dilemma of his
life
I gue ss I shall have to make a night of it

he decided rising t o his feet with a de sperate
e ffort t o screw up his courage

This isn t a s
,
284
sure enough he caught the outline s of on e of

the red skin s maki ng hi s way to the ou ter air
This p r oved tha t by a piece of go o d fortun e
he had got int o the right path and the pr obabi l
ity wa s that he c ould c ontinue to progr e s s unti l
s omething denit e wa s l e a rned
The contour of the rocks agains t which h e
gazed wa s di fferent and the la d might h av e
felt encouraged to a hi gh degr e e had he not
becom e convinced by this time that the p roper
cour s e for him t o pursue wa s to go backward
instead of forward
He wa s still m oving slowly ahe a d and abou t
half ready to repeat his attempt toward retre at
ing when he wa s startled by the unexpec ted ap
r
a
a
n
of
a
light
in
front
e
c
e
p
He straightened up and lo oked F or a s ec
on d or two he could s ee no thing but a ickering
reection agai nst the na rrow j agged walls of
the c avern a s if it came from some invisibl e
point ; but he needed to wat ch only a few min
utes longer when a bull s eye lantern appe ared
The swaying motion showed it wa s held in
the hand of s ome pers on ; and if further
p ro of had be en nee ded it wa s in th e shap e of
a pair of legs plai nly to b e s een a s they walke d
be side it
Thes e same legs we r e the g arb of an Am er
,
UNDER
THE
W A T ER F ALL
285
ica n Indian and were coming along the n a rr ow

rocky p ath an d directly towa rd the spot wh e re
th e y oungster had p aused beli eving
a
discovery was inevitabl e !
,
CH AP T E R XXIII
THE
B UL L
S E YE
-
L AR E N C E LAND O N crouching in the

cavern wa s certain that the appro aching
lantern wa s coming directly toward him
and tha t dis covery must follow He wa s equal
l y s atised that the Indian would do all he coul d
to put him ou t of the way th e insta nt he learned
of his
p re sence in their retreat But th e
youngster had p a s s ed through too much p eril
during the la st few days to submit without re
s i s ta n ce t o s u ch a fat e
He therefore gra sped
his gun prepared t o ght if it sho ul d become
neces sa ry
In the meantime the lantern a dvanced at a
rate s omewha t slowe r than at rst on account
of the unevennes s of the path ; and by this time
a po rtion of its light e ach ed the spot where
Clarence wa s t rying t o keep out of sight He
saw a s he lo ok ed around that he wa s sta nding
upon broad irregular steps protected on both
sides by the walls of the c avern s o that if he
,
"
28 6
A H UN T O N SNO W S H OES
288
fo r the situation of the boy wa s a s critica l a s it

could well be
I think I ha d b etter scrat ch out

wa s his
decision a s he stepped from th e w all

fo r it
isn t likely I can get any on e els e to show th e
way
But a s he a dvanced he caught the light of a
re on the right and a sudden conviction came
over him th a t having penetrated to thi s dis
tance he would never gain s o go od a chance of
learn ing the s ec ret that h ad led him thus far
It needed but a second to s ettle the question
when h e plunged further into the cavern and
steadil y ne a red what wa s th e ce ntral p oint

of the myste ry his curio sity leadi ng him for
ward at a speed which threatened discove r y
every instant
A few minute s mo re and he h ad l earn ed that
for which he had been s ee king s o l ong A sh o rt
distance ahead the cavern expanded in to a
bro ad lofty arched dome and in the centre a
large re wa s burning th rowing a bro ad circl e
of light in eve r y direction
A round this re
were s eated fully a dozen men loun ging in al l
manner of li stles s attitudes s ome sm oking on e

or two were a sleep and s everal wer e engaged
in a game of cards The scene wa s n ot exactly
abo riginal in i ts cha racter ; but when it is r e
.
T HE
B UL L S EY E
289
membered tha t the Indians h ad lived l ong

enough in contact with the whites t o become
civilized it will be admitted th a t their gam

bling o ccupation wa s perfectly na tural
As Clarence s to od in the gloom he noticed
s everal other point s which might well excite

wonder and inquiry
In the r st pl ace they
were the owners of an immense amount of prop
e r ty and a ca sual glance at the pile s of lug
gage would have led on e to suspect that s ome
lady s Sa ra toga or N arragan sett outt had
strayed into this place
The boxe s and chest s were heaped up on on e
another i n almo st countles s numbers ; and from
s ome the contents had p a rtly rolled out r e
vealing rolls of cl oth silks and satins while
smaller boxe s gave grounds fo r the re a sonable
belief that s ome of them contained j ewelry of
a valuable character
This wa s cu ri ous enough to s ay the lea st
and might excite surprise upon the p art of any
on e ; but there was still m ore to be seen an d ex
plained
A rst glan ce at these men would have led
any on e to pronounce them Indians ; but a sec
on d and more searching lo ok would have raised
a doubt on that point Indee d s everal had
white faces and others seemed to pos se s s coun
,
19
29 0
that had once been white but were

now exceedingl y s oiled ; and it wa s at this
j u ncture tha t C l arence recalled the peculiar ap
ea
r
a
n ce of the hair and neck of the suppo sed
p
Indian when he sto o d over the carca s s o f the
deer
The la d wa s gi ven some fteen minute s in
which t o scrutinize this party and by the end
of that time he had reached the important con
elusion that he had entered a den of ro gue s who
had gathered an extra o rdinary amount of
plunder about them Furthermore while they
appea red t o th e o utside world a s Indians they
were only whit e men disguised a s s uch
This conclusi on explain ed a number of things
which otherwis e would n ot have been s o readily
understo od The appearance of th es e men
hunting through the upper Maine fore s ts p aint
ed and clothed a s red skins and their broken

accent when talkin g t o strangers were intended
t o make it appea r that they belon ged to the
Penobsco t or s ome other tribe of Indian s nearly
extinct S carcely any on e meeting the min the
wildernes s would have the lea st doubt upon
thi s point
But they were burgl a rs and hou seb reakers
who had x e d upon thi s retreat a s the on e le a st
likely to be disturbed by the m

inions of the
te n an ces
'
THE
B ULL S E Y E
29 1
l aw
With ordina ry care it wa s h ardly pos
sible or at lea st pr obable that their hiding

place would be s uspe cted
U sing th e cavern under the falls a s he a d
qu a r ters they raided through the lowe r coun
try s ometime s alone or in couples and qui te
frequently in partie s of three or four
Thes e tr aveled pretty well to the s outhward
and n o doubt had committed de pred ations in
Portland B ango r Augusta and other widely
separated citie s In these pla ce s they ap
pe ar e d s o fa r a s they were compelled to appea r
in the guise of their own race and colo r and
then making a rapid retrea t n orthwa rd and
chan gi ng themselve s into noble red men their
general plan of operations will be understood
Clarence Landon ha d heard of this band at
inte rvals during a year pa st and indeed his own
home had been once plundered by burglars
who beyond a doubt belonged to the s ame
party He knew furthermo re tha t th e civil
authoritie s in different p ortions of Maine had
o ffered rew a rds fo r their detection which in the
aggregate would amount to mo re than a thou
sand dollar s ; and it was th e dim be lief of the
tru e state of th e ca se that led him to make
the dangerous attempt to enter the cavern and
le a rn the truth for himself
.
A H UN T O N S NO W S H O E S
29 2
The re sult wa s the c on rm ation of his sus

i
h
i
n
s
Here
wa
s
the
retreat
of
t
burglars
e
c
o
p
beyond all que stion and here wa s a collection
of plunde r the valu e of whi ch w ould doubtl e s s
enable every member of the gang s o on to make
a E uropean tour and waitin g until th e littl e
a ffair blew over return and s ettle down a s
p rominent and in uential me m ber s of th e com
m on wea l th
F or a time th e l a d wa s s o surprised by wh at
he s aw that he fo rgot his own exp o sed situa
tion and sto o d staring at the men who were
n o m ore than a hundred feet from hi m
and
every on e o f whom wa s desperate enough to
slay him without a compunction of con science
The a t tempt s they h ad already made t o shoot
had been with a view of shutting off all pos s i bi l
ity of hi s carrying away the sligh te st p ortion
of their s ecret
and the men hunting through
di fferent sections of the wo o d were doubtle s s
h
uided
by
fea
r
th
t
s
ome
dangerous
neigh
t
e
a
g
bo rs might drop down on them
The next and natural que stion wa s whether
the st r ange being who ca lled him self the Great
M oose of the U pper Kennebe c had anything t o
do wi th the illegal bu sines s
Th e wit s of Clarence had be en sh ar p ened
during the la st few hours and it occurred to
,
29 4
dis tinct vi ew of the sheet of wat er nothing wa s

to b e discovered of the light and it l ooked
very much a s if he wa s t o have the s ame futile
struggle a s bef ore
If there is any p o s sible way o f getting ou t
he muttered
of this plagued place I ll nd it !
with compre ss ed lip s

I ve learned all I wa s
after ; and if I can manage to reach home
again I think there s a go od chance of Syd and
m e making a thousand dolla rs and th at will
be a go o d help to father and mothe r who have
ha d hard enough wo rk t o keep us in s cho ol

As h e advanced there was the s ame decreas e
in temp erature that made him shiver on enter
ing and the murm u r of the fall s steadily grew
into a sullen oppres sive roa r
His hope s were no t a little strengthened by
the certainty tha t thu s far he had kept in pre
ci s el y the same path that the man with the lan
tern had followed
H e reco gnized the particular shape of the
ro ck s over which he wa s walking a s the s ame
that he had s een by the rays of the articial
light and it s eemed to him impo s sible that he
should go a stray with the

head light
in
view and such a short distance inte rvening be
tween him and it
All would have been well and doubtle s s he
,
B UL L S EY E
THE
29 5
would have found his way in to the open air

with little difcul ty but fo r the fact th a t as
he wa s going ou t others were coming in
He caught a faint shadowy glimp se of a
gure a s it i tted acro s s the veil of water and
he stopped in doubt what wa s be st to do
If he remained whe re he wa s somebody migh t
stum ble over him a n d if he attempted to r e
treat further into the cavern nothing wa s to
be gained thereby
The only prudent cours e seemed t o be to
withdraw to on e side and remain quiet until
the danger wa s over This the boy pro ceeded
t o do and th en with a r apidlythrobbing he a rt
awaited the result
There wa s go o d rea son to hop e th a t they
would pa s s him a s he with th e light had done
and such would have be en the ca s e had n ot
on e of the men who held a dark l antern sud
den l y a shed it at the m oment when he was no
more than two or th re e feet dis tan t He h a d
probably stumbled an d to ok this means of mak
ing sure where he wa s
The light wa s b rilli ant and wa s s o u n ex
e
d
n
by
the
crouchi
g lad that a s it ared in
ec
t
p
his face he made a sudden start and s truck
the stock of his r ie against the rock behind
him
,
29 6
The noise was slight and being made s o near

the falls it seemed i mpo s sible that it should
have caught the ear of the Indian so clo s e

to him ; but it undoubtedly help ed the l antern
in revealing his hiding place and before the
p oo r fellow kn ew what wa s going on aro und
him three men were in front an d one of them
holding alo ft the b u ll s eye which s o lled h i s
countenance wi th light th at he wa s dazed and
bewildered
Ho ! h o ! what have we here ? exclaimed a

fellow forgetful of his a s sumed character and
shouting loud enough to be heard above the din
of the f a lls
Here s a chick trying to steal
int o ou r ne st !
D on t st and there bl abbing when there may
be a dozen others ! added an other gr ufy a s

he stepped ba ck further in the gl oom like a
man afraid of tre achery

Let s n d out how
many there are
Are you alone ? o r have you s ome one with
you ? demanded the m an with the lantern a d

dres sing the te rr ied Clarence
I m alone wa s the reply

nobo dy came
with me
At this reply the other two laughed a s if they
thought thei r comrade had shown verdancy i n
p ropo sing h i s que stion
,
29 8
H UN T
O N SNO W S H OE S
-
m ake the venture and he had done it against

the protests of his own comm on sense
Suppo s e a s earch should reveal his body in
the depth of s ome of tho s e yawning cha sms
wh o would dare to say he had not fallen when
trying to steal int o the cavern ? If the se ou t
laws sho ul d conclude t o ing him there who
wa s to prove it ?
Wa s there n o way of e scape other than by
the entrance which he ha d u sed ? Wa s there
no me ans of retreat which thes e men held in
res erve to be used in the la st emergency when
the ofcers of the law should force their way
under th e f a lls ? Suppo s e there wa s of what
ava i l to him ? How wa s he to discover it ? and
even if he should detect such an avenue were
a dozen desperate co n scienceles s men likely to
give him an opp ortunity to us e it ?
A score of similar questions s eethed throu gh
th e brain of the lad a s he m 6ved along the
cavern guided by the bull s eye lantern of his
captor who kept clo se behind him ready to
strike h im t o the earth
More than once the po o r fellow felt a ri ng
ing shrinking sensation such a s come s over
a person when he expect s a stunning blow and
he ventured to steal a glance at the m an who
,
THE
B ULL S E Y E
29 9
seemed in h i s eye s ten fold more hideou s and

terrible than the Great Mo o se himself
But his capto r said no thing ; no r did he make
any motion to ha rm him
A few minute s later Clarence wa s introduced
t o the set of men whom he dreaded mo re than
any others upon e arth
-
CH A P T E R XXIV
AM O N G
THE
OU TL A W S
H E arrival of young Clarence Landon

among the outlaws in the ca ve rn natur
ally created excitement his coming being
totally unexpected Th e men all sprang to
their feet and gathering around his captor de
m an ded what he meant by bringing the youth
to their retreat
a pro ceeding which of course
ha d never been known before
There seemed to be no leader and for a
few minute s the clamor wa s such that it wa s
impo s sible t o understand m ore than a word o r
two of what wa s said
Several drew their weapon s and made thre at
e n i n g ge sture s toward their comrade
whom
they j udged to have committed the unpardon
abl e breach of discipline ; but he managed af
te r a time to explain and then they leveled
scowls at the boy
F or a tim e the latter wa s certain that eac h
sec ond wa s his last and he could not under
,
3 00
A H UN T O N SNO W S H OE S
3 02
mouth
the ca vern put in an appearance de

cl a r i n g that no other s trangers were inside o r
a round the out side of their retreat
As the excitement lulled the men arranged
thems elves around the lad and an examination
began
S ome were seated s ome s tanding and a cou
ple lolling on the earth with their pipes in their
mou ths the whol e pa rty a s s uming a listles s

a ttitude now th a t they had no fea r of imme
dia te molestation from out siders
Clarence Landon sto od in the centre erect
and courageous but not deant his appearance
and mann e r in contra st to tho s e around him
They to ok turn s in a sking que stions e ach
prop oun di ng such a s occurred to him
The rst inquiri e s a s t o his name age and
errand in th a t section we re readily and truth
fully an s wered an d then the questions began
t o cut clo ser
Where is Pierre the hunter whom you
sta rted out with ?
I have been hunting him ever since but

ca n t gain a sight of him I think he must be
a long di stance away or he wo ul d have found
u s a goo d while ago
Where i s the brother wh o came with you ?
I left him down th e creek but he t old me

of
AM ONG
T HE
OU TL AW S
3 03
if I wa sn t back in h alf an ho ur he would leave

and that wa s hours ago
After inquiring partic u larly a s to the point
where the lads ha d parted company on e of the
men slipped out t o hunt the other ; s o that
Cl a rence wa s now gi ven this a ddi tion al dis
tres s of mind
N obody sent you here yo u say ? continued

th e examiners
N o on e ; and if the Great Mo o s e hadn t

drawn us s o fa r on his sled we should h ave
been a grea t way from this place We ve
s een enough of this country to s atisfy us and
are anxious to get home fo r it will soon be
time t o return t o s choo l
Shouldn t wonder ! gri m ly remarked on e
of the men
I gues s that ere school can w a it
a few days fo r you We want to get through
with you rst What colo r do you take u s to
be younker ?
I thought you were Indians

replied the
boy looking around up on them

until I s aw
s ome of yo u with your faces wa shed
Now young man we want nothing but the
t ruth from you

scowled on e of the mo st r e
pulsive of the outlaws
mind that will you ?
F or if I catch you trying to pull the wo ol over
A H UN T O N S NO W S H O E S
3 04
my eyes I ll empty this ere s ix sho oter into
you !
I have been t elling nothing but the t ruth

wa s the respons e of th e captiv e a s he lo oked
in the fa ce of the bru tal crimin al

No matter
what you a sk me I am not afraid t o speak the
truth
Well then I want to know why you came
into this pla ce ? But r s t didn t anybo dy
send you here ?
I neve r spoke to but on e per son and he

wa s my brother All that he said wa s to t ry t o
persuade me not to m ake th e trial
Why di d you come ?
I saw s everal Indians pa s s under the falls

and there wa s a light shining to o a s if to i n
vite me to come in and I came to s ee what
it all me ant I wa s trying to nd my way ou t
when I ran against the man with the lantern
who brought m e here with him There is the
whole sto ry
This wa s s aid with a readine s s that co ul d not
fail to impres s tho s e around him
B rutal ca se hardened to the la st degree with
crime ma rked all ove r their face s they could
not refus e to reco gniz e virtue whereve r they
came in contac t with it
There wa s something in the manly daunt
,
,
A H UN T O N S NO W SH O E S
3 06
bed of the river and a sudden run might en

able him to crawl into s ome s sure or opening ;
bu t after all no re al advantage could re sult
theref r om and the a ttempt would be mo re
likely t o ha sten than p o stpone his death
B y and by his attention wa s wholly taken up
with the discus sion among the o u tlaws every
word of which he wa s able t o hear and in which
h e could not fail to take the deepe st intere st
since i t wa s a m a tter of life and death to him
The p ropo sal s were almo st a s diverse a s can
be imagined S ome favored sho oting the lad
where he sto od ; others thought the more pru
dent cours e would be t o ing him down on e
of the many cha sms which aboun ded near the
mouth of th e cavern i n which ca s e a s we have
i t wa s h a rdly pos
i ntimated in ano ther place
sible th at any criminality could b e proven
against them
There were not wanting tho se who showed
their ta ste s t o be pu r el v Indian They favored
th e idea of extracting s ome amusement from
the captive wh o had al r ez l y been condemned to
death and spoke of starting him through the
cavern while they red in the dark at him and
there wa s on e man who advocated making him
run the gauntlet after the abo riginal fa shion
while they peppered him with their revolver s
,
,
.
,
.
A M O NG
O U T L AW S
T HE
3 07
N aturally the dispute ran high and the more

,
they talked and deb a ted the more conrmed

did e a ch become in his own views un til at one
time it lo oked a s if a free row were i nevitable ;
but at this critic al j uncture a genius propo sed
that they should let the matter re st until morn
ing a frming that during their sleep e ach wa s
sure to dream out some scheme that would be
an imp rovemen t upon all that had been sug
ge sted The propo sition wa s oi l poured upon
the troubled waters Almo st instantly every
thing became s erene
This naturally wa s an immens e relief to the
youngster ; for boy like he considered every
hour s delay a s almo s t salvation itself D ur
ing the long watches of the night i t s eemed t o
him he would be sure to conj ure up some way
by which his po sition would be bettered It
had occurred to him at rst that there might
be on e or two among the party with who m he
could e sta blish s ome s o rt of friendship or
who se sym pathie s po s sibly could be rea ched
But a scrutiny of the visage s a s revealed
by the camp r e showed the folly of any such
hope Mercy among them wa s on e of the un
known quali ties
This decision having been reached the only
question that remained wa s a s to how th e p ris
,
A H UN T O N SNOW SH OE S
3 08
oner should be dispo sed of fo r the remainde r

This wa s a small matter If
of the night
twelve desperado e s were not able to keep a
youngst er fteen ye ars ol d they would be
ready to retire from the profe s sion
The rs t plan suggeste d wa s to bind hi m ;
but when this wa s p rop o sed some on e a sked
why take the trouble when it wa s ea sy to a r
r ange the m outh of the cavern s o th at it wa s
literally out of the que stion fo r him to e scape
even if left to hims elf fo r several days The
inquiry wa s followed by the withdr awal of two
of the outlaws fo r the purp o s e of taking this
additional s afeguard and then it may be said
the arrangements we re completed
U p to this time the b oy had remained stand
ing but now a s the in dications were that he
wa s to be left to himself fo r a couple of hours
he ventured to sit down up on the i n ty o o r
taking care to place himself a s fa r from the
outer ring of outlaws a s he could with out
drawing attention to the act H e thought
however that on e of the men eyed him sus
i
i
c
o
u
s
l
though
he
said
and
did
nothing
p
y
T henceforth these ch aracters acted a s if he
wa s n ot with them They j oked and recounted
their exploit s laughing ov e r s ome mishap s that
had occurred to on e o r mo re of their number
.
A H UN T O N SNO W
3 10
SH
OE S
the vap o r lo s t itself in the glo om an d he could

discover no opening thro u gh which it found it s
way into th e outer world
Here wa s a mys tery which h e wa s unable to
explain ; but he wa s conrmed in his belief that
thes e men had s ome other do or than that of
which he h a d learned and hi s hope wa s now
ba sed on the b are po s sibility as it may be
c alled of getting away from them unob served
in the dead of night and hunting until he dis
covered this means of exi t It bein g the only
hop e which he co u ld conj ure up he clung to it
with th e more persistency
It wa s nea r midn ight when the rst si gns of
drowsine s s were seen and on e of the criminals
o
u
f
st wed himself in s ome o t o the way nook
with the intention of securing sleep Several
others did the same and in the cou rs e of an
hour there were only thre e men who showed
an y wakefulnes s
They sat s omewhat apart
from th e others comm uning in earnest low
tone s th e meaning of which the lad wa s un abl e
to understand though he tried the utmo st to
catch a wo rd o r two
Thinki n g he would b e mor e likel y t o le arn
that which he wa s seeking he let his eyes grad
nally droop and clo se in pretended sleep Or
di n a r i l y this would have resulted in genuine
,
A M O NG
THE
OU TL AW S
3 11
slumber but t o night th e youngster s br ain wa s

in a feverish condition and he was never mo re
awake th a n when the thre e men muttering in
low tone s believed him to be the mo s t un con
scio u s of all
The r u s e succeeded and Cla renc e gathered
from the words sp oken with mo re freedom that
the trio b elieved he had deceived them and
th at s erious danger thre atened s o much s o
that they meant t o take their share of the
plun der and le ave befo re the setting of th e
m orrow s sun
A half hour mo r e wa s used in a rranging their
c ours e of a ction and then when the night wa s
fa r a dv anced thes e malcontent s stretche d ou t
for sleep so on leaving Cla rence the only on e
a round th e ca mp r e who had f ul l comm a nd of
his senses
Still the s ame in surmounta bl e difcultie s
were in hi s path H e might steal away uno h
served to the mouth of the cave rn but he h ad
alre a dy t ri ed and failed ; and since the two
men had been there and taken certa in pr ecau
tions ag ainst such an attempt how could he
expect t o succeed ?
And yet he wa s doomed to death in the morn
ing as c er tainly a s if he ha d be en legally tried
3 12
and convicte d and this fact gave hi s wits a

prete r natural sha rpne s s
I se e no way of n ding the other p ath of
e scape
he mu rmured a fter thinking it over
fo r a long time and I will try this If I fail

I cannot be wors e off than I am now and
He aven I believe will no t des e rt me in my ex
,
tr em i ty
H e rst rais ed his he a d on hi s elbow , and
peered around on the strange lo oking group by

which he wa s surrounded All s ee med to be
sunk in profound slum ber and h e ro s e s oftly t o
his feet E veryth i ng rem ained quiet and even
the fa r o ff roar of the waterfall appea red t o
sink to a s oft murmur that wa s like silence
itself
He had not been deprived of his gun and he
t ook care to p o s ses s himself of tha t a s he
s tealthily withdrew from the circl e of light
thrown out by the camp r e
I don t suppo se any of them would s top me
if he were a wake
he thought moving o ff in
the direction of the falls
For s ome distance he wa s able to pick his
cours e without trouble ; but when fairly within
the impenetrable glo om beyond the difcultie s
increa sed and at la st h e paus ed entirely lo st
-
CH AP T E R
ALO NE
X X !
I N TH E
CAB I N
H E N Sydney Landon found himself once

more alone in the cabin of th e Great
M oo se Of the U pp er Kennebec his anx
If
i ety Of mind amounted t o p o sitive anguish
he wa s only at liberty t o rush ou t and make hi s
way to the ca vern he m ight be of a s sistance to
his brother or at lea st h e co ul d hurry homeward
and bring som e on e t o avenge if he could n ot
p revent his death
But he ha d gi ven his pledge to the wild man
not to a ttempt to es cape duri ng hi s ab sen ce and
n o stres s could j usti fy a violation of his parole
He had been left thus alone fo r the greater
part of an hour plunged in the deepest melan
ch ol y when he wa s a roused by a ru stling upon
the snow c r ust out side followed by a scratch

ing against the do or
Can it be h e ha s come back ? he whispered
rising to his feet

o r is it s ome stranger a sk
ing admi ttance ?

,
3 14
ALO NE IN
T H E CA
BI N
3 15
The lat ch string was hanging out side but th e

latch wa s not rais ed ; and m ore c u riou s than
ever he walked forwa r d a n d drew the do o r
inwa r d
As he did s o an animal bounded into the
ro om and in alarm the la d raised his gun with
which t o defend him self
But the next moment he saw t o his surp ris e
and delight that it wa s th e do g belo n ging t o
Pierre the Ol d hunter
Why T owser where did you come fro m ?

exclai me d Sydney p atting the back of the
hound which leaped up with it s fo re p aws
against him wag gi ng its t a il an d indul gi ng in
the mo st extravagant manife stations Of j oy
I h a rdly thought you and I were to meet again
for it seemed a s if you had fo rgotten me

And then when th e rst ush of excitement
wa s over i t occurred to him that a s the canine
wa s there his ma ster wa s no t likely to be far
-
Off
Can it be th a t Pierre ha s tra cked us here ?

Whe r e i s he T owser ? Is he coming at this la st
hour to help us out of our tro u bl e ? O h I hop e
he is not to o late ! But how much better ha d
we kept together from the rst
Sure eno u gh this lament ha d ha rdly p a ssed
his lip s when he heard another rustling upon
,
3 16
snow crust Th e do or swung inwa rd a s

before and Pierre the Ol d hunter shoved him
s elf within upon his snow sho es
You a re here my lad !

he ex claimed
But I h ave h ad a wea ris ome tramp after you

I would ra ther follow a mo o se over into Can
ada th a n to have ano ther such a hunt Where
is Cla rence ?
By thi s t i me the n i mble Frenchman had
irted OH his snow shoe s and pushing them t o
on e side
st oo d b efore the lad har dl y taller
than he
T ell me where is your b r other ? he added

with s omethi ng of his old impatience
As briey as po s sibl e Sydney related the
fact s Of their separa tion in the earlier pa r t of
the evening with the exp res s e d intenti on by the
other of exploring th e cavern under the falls
t o n d out the truth or falsity of s ome s u s pi
cion he held
Pierre listened with th e greatest interest to
the hurried narrative and when it wa s nished
exclaimed with considerable excitement in his
broken language :
I know why ze leetle man go e s za re fo r

Z e Indi an s za re am whit e Indians
Z ey steal
and much money is to be paid to him that nds
them
th e
A HUN T O N S NO W
3 18
SH
OES
the Ol d man a s ha stily explained where he had

been and what he had done
His rea son for leaving them at the time wa s
to learn s ome thi ng about the Great Mo os e
Th e F renchman ha d known of the existence of
this wild man fo r many yea rs and he did hold
him in superstitious dread but n ot enough s o
t o show any cowa rdice or to leave his young
friends i n the l u rch He had cro s sed his trail
once of twice while on the mo o se hunt and
knowing s omething of his habit s had started
with no intention
O ff on on a reconnois sance
of staying away fo r any length of time
an d
he had rea son to believe tha t he return ed within
fteen minutes after the wild man had run Off
with the boys
Pierre started at once in pursuit an d aided
by T ows er kept the trail to the river along
which they followed it until it wa s cro s sed and
recro s sed by the lads after they h a d m a de th eir
e s cap e from the sled At this time they had
probably gone up the creek which led them into
such a serie s of adventure s
Finding the sagacity of the dog wa s ba fed
Pierre called him Off from the hunt and took
charge himself He pro ceeded upon general
p r inciples be lieving he wa s capable of tracing
the whereab out s o f the youngsters by a rea son
.
AL O NE IN T H E C A B IN
3 19
ing proce s s of his own But a s is frequen tly

the ca s e he slipped up completely and pa ssing
below the mouth Of th e creek up whic h the
b oys had gone he deprived the dog of the clue
that might have guided them both to where the
lads had gotten themselve s in d i fc ul ty
Thus it wa s that h e l o st many precious hours
in scouting mile s down th e river until con
v i n ce d of his mist ake
he started no rthward
again i n company with T owser D uring all
this time he had not seen the wild man no r
one of the Indian s no r indeed an y living
p erson
He kn ew that the Mo o se ha d run away with
the lads and po s sibly ha d sl ain them ; s o the
Ol d hunter made his cha s e a s clo se and hot a s
he co ul d He wa s movi ng northward along the
creek on their left when a whine from T owser
told that he had st ruck a trail and a few mi n
utes convinced Pierre that it wa s the one fo r
which he wa s s earching He p res sed forward
with all ha st e unable to keep up with the dog
and the re s ul t wa s he wa s here with one of
the boys while the other wa s mis sing
And I have had s o much t o t alk and think
about
he added with a smile
th at I don t
know what hunter or woo d chopper own s this
hous e
.
3 20
Haven t I told you

replied the boy in
s ome surpris e
th at I am a pri soner h e re in
the hands of th e Great Mo o se who went off
a little whi le ago in s e arch of Clarence ?

U pon hearing this Pi e rre leaped up from the
furs upon which he was sitting and almo st ex
l
o
d
e
d
w
i
th
amazement
p
Z under two tree times ! Is zat

Sydney explained mo re fully what is al r eady
known t o the reader by which time the volatile
Fren chm an ha d co oled down again
And this Moo s e ha s gone after him ! Then

if he should get away from th e Indian s the
wild fellow will catch him sure That is a
bad x and we must go and get him ou t of it
Come along Sydney and w e ll take a hand in
this little game !

As h e spoke he strode in the direction Of the
do or ; but th e yo ungster reminded him that he
wa s upon his p a rol e and could not think of
going away during the ab sence of the Moo se
who had exacted th e pro mi s e from him
Pie r re sta red at the boy in wonder for he
wa s ha r dl y prepared fo r such moral heroism
a s this He s aw the l ad wa s in earnest and it
wa s u seles s to ar gue wi th h i m
Supp o s e I take you on my shoulders an d

run away with you ? Then you will not b e
A H UN T O N SN O W S H O E S
3 22
stay there till the Moo s e comes bac k and I

shall have to go into the cabin and demand him
O f cours e the wild man will refuse an d then
He i s a s stro n g a s two
th e ght will be gi n
like me but he isn t any quicker and I can
keep hi m from clo sing in on me I shan t
spend half the night in quarreling either If
a shot from my revolver is needed it will be
given
Since both he an d the Mo o se were aiming at
the same point there wa s s ome pro spect of
their mee ting and the hunter gave his dog a
few words of warn ing to prevent any erro r on
his pa rt The sagacious animal no doubt to ok
in the situation a s well a s his ma s ter an d they
h ad hunted so long togeth e r had been in mutual
peril s o Often and underst oo d each other s
ways s o well that any slip by either seemed
ou t o f the que stion
When the creek to which we have made s o

frequent reference wa s reached the brute
kept his p osition slightly in advance and both
hugged the shore where the den se shade wa s
all the p ro tecti on th ey needed
Still nothing wa s seen o r heard and in a
short time they sto od at the ba s e of the fall s
Ther e a paus e wa s made and a s the hunter
s to oped down t o remove his snow sho e s he
,
ALO NE I N
CA B IN
T HE
3 23
placed his mouth clo s e to the ea r of his com

panion and said in a sharp v oice :
T ows er ta ke a lo ok in behi nd the falls and
let me know whether the way is clear or not

The dog vani shed like a sh a d ow an d hi s ma s
ter patiently awaited his retu r n knowi ng he
would be gone but a few mi nutes He returned
even so oner than he expected an d frisked
around the hunte r in a way that any on e woul d
have supp osed wa s expres sive only of delight
But it meant far more a s Pi e rre well knew
And s o there is no thing to keep u s ba ck ?

Well am gla d to hear you s ay so and now
T owser I want you to wait here till I come
again If anybo dy appears slip in and let me
know
and with this parting command the
hunter moved cautiously fo r ward in the di r ec
tion of the falls
,
CHAP T E R XXVI
A
F RI E
N D IN N E E D
LAR E N C E LA ND O N did n ot lo se his

pre sence of mind when the iron like grip
wa s fa stened u p on his a rm He made
a despera te wrench to free himself and failing
attempted to club his rie and st r ike when that
wa s als o seized and a familiar voice called out :
N ot s o fa s t my youngs ter not s o fa st !
Why should you try to h u rt me ?
O h is th a t you Pierre ?
ga sped the l ad ;
or am I dreami ng ?
It is I come at la st when you had made

up your mind you were never to see me again
I ha d a hard time getting in the cavern ; for
they had turn ed off the drawbridge that is

they had moved away a broad at stone which
spanned a cha sm under the falls and if I

h a dn t been in this place years ago and knew
all about it and wa s fe eling for it I would have
fallen through to Chin a As it wa s it to ok a
pretty go o d j ump to fe tch it ; and if you ha d
-
3 24
A H UN T O N
3 26
NO W S H O ES
-
h i m ; bu t if it is necess ary , I won t hesitate to
i
!
a
bullet
through
hi
s
bra
n
replied
the
u
t
p
hunter de terminedly
Here we are
called ou t Pierre wh o was
now compelled to shout that his voice might be
heard ab ove th e din of the falls

We stand
upon the edge of th e dangerous place that I
t old you about and th e only way I could get
a cro s s wa s t o leap
H ow broad is it ?
B roader than you can j ump
What sh all we do then ? a sked the per

l
x
lad
d
e
e
p
I will show you Lay down your gun

Clarence stooped and obeyed him wondering
what he meant
N ow I am going to throw you over !

And with this decla ration he caught the lad
beneath the arms and b egan swaying him back
and fo rth with the o scillating movement of a
pendulum
When you land try to keep exactly where
you strike
he added
All ready ?
Th e wo rds were yet in his mouth when he
hurl ed h im outward There wa s a dizzying
sensation a s he pa ss ed through the air and the
next moment the boy struck upon his hands
and knee s He ma de himself a s rigid a s p o s
.
RIEND IN NEED
3 27
ible and thus escaped sliding into the danger

beyond
Are you all righ t ? called ou t the h un ter

his voice sounding faint and distant
All right ; come ahead

was the cheery
reply
The next inst a nt the ol d man came down al
mo st a stride of him A moment only wa s
needed to right thems elves when they started
forward again
They we re n ow s o clo se t o the falls th a t they
cea sed attempting to speak to each other The
hunter held bo th rie s under on e arm while
he gra sped the lad wi th the other han d They
were upon ticklish ground and the greatest
care wa s needed in s tepping forward It wa s
only the intimate kn owledge of Pierre th at en
abled him to make any progres s at all
S o di fcult indeed was the path th at when
directly under the falls where it seemed s carce
l y twenty feet s eparated them from the out side
they s pent a full half hour in groping along
inch by inch
The Ol d trapp e r wa s on e of tho se men who
naturally excit able could never be hurried out
of his p ropriety by an y on e
or in any cir
s
cum s tan ces
At the very moment the two were about t o
A H UN T O N SN O W SH O ES
3 28
emerge from the entrance there came a sud

den rush and in the dim light Cl a rence rec
ogn i zed T ows er the dog
S ome co mm u ni cation pa s sed b etween him
and his ma ster and the latter hesitat e d fo r
s eve ral minute s
The ro ar in this pla c e wa s too deafening fo r
him to speak but n ally they moved forwa rd
the hunter taking the lead
A half dozen step s more and b oth st oo d up
on the outside entirely fre e from the outlaws
retreat
Pierre walked on the edge of the ice unti l
he reached the point where his snow shoe s lay
and where his dog had been stationed Here
conversation wa s easy and a s he ref a stened his
shoe s on hi s feet he remarked in his i n di ffer
ent way :
I don t exactly understand h ow it is but

while we were in there T owser ha s seen some
on e pa s s by
He didn t come un der the falls
or we should have known it
Maybe there is an othe r cours e by which
they can get into the cavern ! suggested Cl ar

ence
I believe you are right ! ueer I didn t

thi nk of i t but it may have b e en the Mo o s e
,
,
.
330
and cam e out upon the ice where they sto o d a

moment a s if in con sult ation
L et the m n d u s if they can !

chuckled
Pierre
But they have a dog

said Clarence a s
on e of tho se animal s made his appearance
S O have we and T ows er will attend to

him ; but that put s a different face up on mat
ters and I gues s we had better move ahead

Wheeling about they plunged into the dens e
wood through which they traveled with no
o
inc nsiderable speed the hunter a s a matter
of cours e placing hims elf at the head while
T owser frisked along at the right afte r the
manner Of one who had the two under his
charge
They h ad g one but a s h ort distance when a
baying sounded behind them and Pie rre paused
and listened
D id you hear that my boy ? That is the

hound that ha s got on ou r track and he will
be here in a few mi nute s Towser can you
abate that nui sance ?

T owser replied in the bes t language at his
command that he had enough condence in his
ability t o make the attempt and he wa s given
littl e time fo r preparation
Here he c ome s ! a dded Pierre a s the rat

,
RIEND I N NEE D
33 1
tling and cra shing of the undergrowth told of

the approach of s ome on e
There wa s a ru sh a sharp yelp and a huge
bo dy shot like a ball in to view and sped di
r ectl y toward the lad
who in a larm raised
hi s rie fo r th e purpo se Of sho oting him when
Towser made on e tremendous leap and caught
the hound by the thro at th e two rolling over
and over in a de spera te encounter
D on t sh oot
called out Pierre
or you
may hit my pup !
But what a savage dog he is ! He will tea r
Tows er to pie ce s !
He s welcome to do it if h e can Come
said the hunter in his careles s matter Of

on ;
fa ct manner
We may a s well be i mproving
ou r t i me
But su p po se tho s e men come up befo re the
ght is over ? suggested Cla rence ; they will
kill Towser
If he doe sn t wipe ou t that pup befo re that
I hope th ey wi l l sho ot hi m
You are the strange st man I ever met !

returned th e boy a s the two walked away in
in the fore s t leaving the two ca nines rolling
over on the snow and going fo r each other
with the fury of tiger s
Th ey could hear the s ounds of the ght for
.
3 32
s everal minutes and then eve rything be ca me

quiet
The ba ttle wa s ended on e way or other and
Cl a rence wa s fa r mo re anx ious than the owner
of Towser to know the result
The condence of Pierre wa s no t misplaced ;
for a few minutes after his canine wa s seen
trotting at th eir side a s demurely a s a lamb
Had it been daylight a sparkl e would h ave
been s een in the eye of the Ol d Canadian when
he remarked :
I have a suspicion that when tho se m en

come to look fo r their pu p they will n d him
aro u nd in spot s Go ahead T ows er and keep
your eyes and ears open !
Pierre isn t the night nearly gon e ? a sked

Clarence when they had pa s sed some distance
fu r ther
It seems to me that it ought to
have ended long ago
D aylight will be here inside of an hour

wa s the reply
D on t you think the se men will then make
the hunt pretty hot fo r us ?
Sho u ldn t wonder if they tried t o do so

If they can o v erhaul us I ho pe th ey will I ain t
th inking about them but am looking ahe a d
wh e re the danger lies I ve an idea that the
Mo o se s omehow or other h as got an inkling
,
3 34
watched his friend with an intere st whi ch i t

would be hard t o ima gi ne He saw the little
Ol d man shove along in that silent yet seem
i n gl y c areles s fa shion aiming straight a t the
o
f
do o r
the building never changing or i n
crea sing his speed until he st oo d directly be
fo re th e entrance when he reached up his hand
drew the latch st ring and pa s sed in
D uring th e very few minute s that Pierr e wa s
inside the structure the l a d suffered the keen
e st distre s s and his condition wa s n ot much
improved when the Ol d man came to the doo r
and holding it ope n lo oked out in a bewildered
way a s if he had come a cro s s s omething which
he did not understand
Clarence stepped ou t from b ehind the tree
and the hunt er without speaking be ckoned him
t o j oin him
He ha s found the dead body of Syd ! wa s

the awful fea r Of the youth a s he hurri e d for
ward t o learn the truth

What s the m atte r
Pierre ?
There s something here which I don t under
the an swer
There i sn t any
on e inside of the cabin !
What is there s o strange a bout that ? a sked
the frightened brother

You left Syd alone
and he ha s t a ken it into hi s head t o leave and
.
R I END I N N E E D
335
may a t this moment be many mile s on his way
home
But Pierr e shook his head He knew better
He would n ot come with me and he ha s not

gone unles s some on e ha s taken him Clar
ence I don t like the lo ok of things
D on t keep the tru th from me If you have
any belief tell me what it is

The trapper m a de a sign to his dog and gave
him s ome o rder by means of a ge s ture
T owser began s n ufi n g about the cabin r un
ning round and round like an animal cha sing
his shadow Then he abruptly pau sed be side
his ma ster and emitted a low whine
I thought s o
he said to the l a d
Th e
Mo o se came back while we were in the c avern
and ha s gone Off with Syd !
What is th e meaning of that ?
He ha s found out that I ve been here and

ha s been afraid I would get the boy away fro m
him ; s o to prevent that he ha s taken him off
What will he do with him ?
N othing I hope
wa s the reply ; that is
if we can overtake him in time to p revent
Towser ha s st ruck the t rail and it leads towa rd
the river I think he ha s taken to th e ice ag ain
and we ll change ou r snow sho es fo r skates

.
,
.
3 3 6
Wh ere are they ? a sked the amazed Cla r

ence
I wi ll show you C ome with me inside the

.
h ou s e f
Advancing to the trap do o r which ha s been

mentioned in another place he raised it and
p ointed downward
There s everything a man in the se part s is
likely to need
A glance showed that the wild man had i n
dul ge d in the freak O f delving a cellar for his
house a n d in it wa s st owed about all the wo rldly
po s se ssi ons he co u ld claim It wa s t o o dark
to see on e half O f the interior but Clarence ob
s erv ed snow sho es skate s sleds knive s b ows
and arrows and indeed a perfect curio sity shop
in it s way
Pierre reached down and after s ome di f
culty selected a pair which the boy could use
although they were considerably to o large fo r
him Then h e picked ou t a co u ple for himself
and handed a third pair to the youngster
Wh at are the se for ? a sked the latter
Sydney may need them

The lad strung them over his shoulder h op
ing a s h e never hoped befo re that th e time wa s
at hand when his brother would require them to
help speed him homeward N othing further
CHA PT E R XXVII
THE
RES C UE
E N CO UN T E R
AN D
N CE more Clarence Landon wa s gliding

over the frozen surface of the U ppe r
Kennebec with the free ea sy swinging

motion Of the skillful skater
It wa s a sharp crisp mo rn ing and n o snow
having fallen since the freezing Of the river the
ice had the same crystal like gla s sy smooth
nes s that ha d te m p ted him and hi s brother a
few nights before to venture s o far from home
that they were led into the di i cul ti e s and dan
ger s which we have attempted t o de scribe
A ce rt ain exhila ration of spirit s accompanied
this po etry Of motion

and bu t for the an x
i e ty about the fate of Sydney the young skater
wo ul d have found the excursion a delightful one
in every re spect
He carried his gun and Pierre the Ol d hunter
wa s with him s o that all pers onal fea r wa s
ab sent
T owser the sagacious and faithful dog wa s
,
3 3 8
T H E RESCUE AN D
N COUN T ER
339
a short distance in the r e a r but managed to

hold his ground although his friends were go
ing with considerable speed
The ne white lines seen here and there upon
th e ice enabled the hunter to j udge of the rate
of speed with which the Mo o se and the lad were
traveling and he s aw that it wa s les s than his
own
This s ort of trailing had its drawbacks a s well
a s it advantage s The smo oth surface clear
of all breaks and imperfections showed the
tracks of the skaters with a s much cert ainty a s
if made in the yielding mud but there wa s n o
telling from their appea rance the time when
they were made and Pierre could only gues s
from his previous knowledge that the wild man
ha s pa s sed that way s ome two o r three hours
before
The fea r of the hunter wa s that the Moo se
meant to ca rry th e lad to s ome remot e point
and there put him to death ; hence h e used
great e r speed with the view of preventing such
a crime
He hardly expected to overtake the wild man
while gliding upon the ice ; but when he reached
a bend in the river he kept clo ser to shore and
put on the brake s until he could make sure

,
3 40
that the course was cle a r when he shot forward

with the same speed a s at rst
Clarence could n ot free himself of the dread
that they themselve s were in danger of pur
suit by and c ollision with the criminals who
made their ret rea t beneath th e falls and while
Pierre gave his entir e attention to the river in
front he kept gl a ncing ba ckwa rd beyond the
dog which s eemed to act an d feel a s did hi s
ma s ter
Hello ! there they go ! suddenly exclaimed

th e ol d F renchman
The startled lad checked his sp eed and looked
ahead expecting to see th e partie s they we re
following ; but the Ol d hunter p ointed down to
the trail whi ch had caused his exclamation
There ! do vou see whe re it leads ? he a ske d
in a whisper
We are cl o se upon them
T ows er take a lo ok in front and be quick about
it
The marks of th e ste el r unners showed that
the ska ters had left the Kennebec and turn ing
to the ri ght had gone up a small creek which
wound through the fo re st a s did the stream
over which the brother s had pa s sed on their way
to the falls their view from where they ha d

halted extending hardly more than a hundred
yards
,
3 42
There wa s something intense l y exciting in the

po sition of Clarence who could hardly keep
himself from stealing forwa rd to learn the situ
ation
Pierre now made no further attempt at con
ce al m en t but leaving his g un in the hand s of
Clarence and making sure that his pistol wa s at
command skated slowly and ea sily forward
like one who is doubtful of the strength Of the
ice over which he is pa s sing
T owser i n Obedience to orders kept in th e
background s o that th e trapper a s sumed en tire
cha rge of matters
Just ahea d he s aw the blue smoke from a
camp r e clo s e to the edg e of the stream
There the tree s were dense and clo se, and he
headed a t once fo r the place It wa s not until
he reached a point not more than twenty feet
dist ant that he caught the rst gl i mp se of the
camp r e
He saw the skate s lying upon the snow and
h e stealthily removed his own s o a s to place
himself on the s ame fo oting a s his enemy
Then he moved forward toward the camp
re purpo sely making enough noise on the
snow cru st to be heard by any on e within a few
rods
As he did so he saw a number of sticks piled
,
T HE
R E S CUE AND EN CO UN T ER
3 43
together and burning while the tall gure Of

the Great Mo o s e wa s visible upon the other side
a s holding his rie in one hand he raised his
head and gl ared like a wild bea st in the di r ec
tion of the p oint whence came the fo o t step s
Pierre wa s not a little alarmed by his f ailure
to s ee anything of Sydney ; but ere a word
pa s sed between him and the wild man the lad
came fo rward from among the tree s beyond the
camp r e and called ou t a s he saw his friend :
S o you have followed me here Pierre ?
Yes ; and I m n ot going t o cha se you another
step ! wa s the surly answer

It s all fun
enough at rst but we ve ha d eno ugh of it and
it s time you went home !

When the hunter utte red the se and the follow
ing wo rds he lo oked towa rd the lad but a s he
sto od a sho rt distance from the Moo s e it wil l
be unders to od that the la tte r wa s entirely in his
eld of vision and he could n ot make th e slight
e st movement without being a s distinctly s een
a s i f the keen sparkling eye s of the little
Canadian were leveled directly at him He in
fa ct wa s the on e whom the hunt er had in view
more than he did the other
Sydney suspected the ruse Of his friend and
favored it a s well a s he could
You know father l et Cla rence and me go o ff

,
3 44
a long hunt
he replied a s if trying to
j ustify his conduct

and he will not exp ect us
back for a day or two yet
That don t make any diffe rence He didn t
intend t o have any such fo oling a s this ! added
Pierre with an a s sumption of anger

It will
take you a couple of days to reach home and
inste a d of g oing in that direction you keep
tramping further and further away
Maybe I have come further than I ought

but we scho ol boys don t Often get a chance fo r
a frolic s o we have to make the mo st of it ; and
then Clarence wa s j ust a s anxious a s I to go
on up the Kennebec
But he ha s shown a little sens e by s tarting

home again He ha s ha d enough O f this tom
fo olery and is ti r ed Of waiting for you ; s o don t
keep him any longer

All thi s time a s a matter of cours e Pierre
kept his eye on the wild man and he wa s a little
puzzled at hi s man ner
He sto o d in all his t owering ugl ines s staring
s tr a ight at the hunter and never once noticing
the lad It seemed a s if the strange being did
not yet understand the obj ect of the Canadian
in venturing to appro ach his camp and he wa s
list enin g to his wo r ds and trying to gain from
on
A H UN T O N S NO W
3 46
SH
OE S
Thes e words were intended a s much fo r the

on e a s the other and a s the latter ob eyed the
fo rmer fairly howled in fury
You have cro s sed my path he said in his
low frightful tones and I will cru sh you rst
and then go on and slay the two youngsters !
The Mo o se knows that when I speak I sp eak
the truth
said Pierre lo oking h i m in
the eye ; and if he s eeks to lay hands on me
then I will kill him !

A maniacal laugh broke from the wild man a s
h e clubbe d his rie and advanced ercely upon
the Ol d hunter The latter sto od his ground
unti l the blow wa s ready to de scend when h e
leaped a side with inimitable dexterity
Thoroughly exa sperated his enemy tu r ned
like a demon upon the trapper who seeing there
wa s n o e scap e whipped ou t his revolver and
pointing it full at him red
Fo r on e moment it s eemed a s if his shot wa s
without res ul t and Pierre wa s about to re
again when the hideous gi ant of the wo ods st a g
er
e
threw
up
his
a
rm
s
and
pitched
forward
d
g
up on hi s face where he lay limp and motion
les s
T he Canadian waited a minute o r two to see
whether he were really de ad and then a s th e
,
,
.
R E S CUE AN D EN CO UN T ER
THE
3 47
savag e di d n ot s tir he believed it was all over

and turned and left him
Sydn ey had obeyed the co mm and Of Pierre
with such alacrity that he wa s beyond sight
when the weapon wa s discharged and he there
fo re saw nothing of th e re sults
S orry I had to do it ; but there didn t s eem
to be any hel p fo r it
wa s the quiet remark of
Pierre a s he turned his ba ck upon the scene Of
his struggle and followed after his young
friends
By the t i me he ha d adj usted his sk a te s and
glided down to the bend where he ha d left
Cla rence th e brothers were together and
a n xi ously awaiting his coming His pre sence
wa s pro of of the succes s of his attempt at
rescue an d th e silence and glo om beyond
s eemed to s ay that the caree r of the wild man
wh o had fanta stically styled himself the Great
Mo o s e wa s ended
D id you shoo t him ? inquired Cla ren ce in

awed undertone
A nod wa s the reply and with out any further
words the t ri o tu r ned their face s to wa rd the
Kennebec wi th the dog following clo se after
the m The brother s had seen enough of the
wilds of no rthern Maine in the depth of winte r
and their only wish now wa s to get home
A H UN T O N S NO W
3 48
SH
O ES
Starting ou t with the purp o se of enj oying a

skating frolic and perhap s t o gain a shot at a
mo o s e we have shown how a train of circum
stance s led them forward and more th a n once
involved them i n di fc ul ties and p erils from
whi ch there app ea red to be no e scap e
It seemed now a s if the dangers wer e over
and a clear road lay b efore them The pre sence
of Pierre it self wa s an a s s u rance of safety
which nothing else could gi ve beside s which
Towser wa s lit tle sho rt of him in that re spect
There remained the shadow of a fe a r th a t
a s they turned s o u thward they might meet some
of th o s e Ou tlaws of the cave r n and both the lad s
sp oke of it more than once ; but Pierre t reated it
lightly
They ain t in the busine s s Of cha sing p e opl e

and if some of them sho u ld take it in to their
heads I don t se e what chance they would have
O f doing anything
Then you think we have nothing mo re to
fea r ? said Clarence inquiringly
I don t s ay that There is one thing I don t
feel ea sy over
B oth lo oked at him expecting he would an
swer ; but he merely smiled and sho ok his head
He wa s not ready fo r some rea son or other to
,
A H UN T O N SNO W SH OE S
3 50
he intended t o take Sydney and put him t o

death after which he wa s to return and do
his best to capture Cla rence ; for the m ann er
of the wild man pr oved that from th e rst h e
meant to slay them both He seemed to hold
s om e vindictive grudge a gainst the father of
the lads and the course he to ok to s atisfy i t
wa s characteristic of a wild irre sponsible being
H ad h e been in the p o s s es sion of his sens e s and
sti ll inspired by his malicious hatred he would
have us ed one of the sco re of chance s already
h i s for the gratifying Of hi s revenge ; but h e
did not and letting slip s o many golden op
n
r
o
u
i
i
t
t
e
s
the
chance
ha
d
now
gone
from
his
p
gra sp fo rever
,
CHA PT E R XXVI II
CO N C L USIO N
H E N the trio found themselve s in the vi
ci n i ty of the cabin of the Mo o s e where
Pierre had come up with Sydney they
used great care in pa s sing the p oint It wa s
there their trail led to the river and at thi s
place if anywhere they were in danger from the
outlaws of th e cavern The guide therefo re
glided clo se to the other shore and they put on
their b est speed A t the same time the s aga
ci ou s T owser wa s s ent ahea d to reconnoitre
The dan gerou s p oint if such it really wa s
however gave no sign and fairly below that the
lads breathed with more freedom than they had
fo r s eve ral days
N o on wa s clo s e at hand and a mile or two
further they turned into a secluded place and
made their camp r e wh ile Pierre started ou t
with his gun to obtain the wherewithal fo r their
dinner His skill prevented his be ing kept
away any length of time and the dinner of
,
3 51
3 52
H UN T
O N S NO W
SH
OE S
which the thre e parto ok wa s perhap s a s thor

oughly relished a s any meal of t h eir live s
They enj oyed an ex h i l i r a ti n g ow Of spirit s
although now and then a dark awful shadow
stole over them a t the recollection of that pistol
shot a few hour s before and at the picture
which their ima gi nation drew o f the silent form
that lay stretched in front of his own camp
re in the northe rn wilderne s s
N either spoke Of him for they knew it would
not be plea sing to the hunte r They only r e
fer r ed to the fu ture and pictured the happine s s
that would be theirs when they could rej oin
their parent s and tell their a dventures by the
re side while Sydney wondered how he wa s
going to make his cla s smate s believe th e won
de r fu l yarns he wo uld have to relate when he
should return t o school ; and he declared it i m
po s sible fo r any two lads starting ou t a s they
did to meet and pa s s through such a s eries of
adventures
They did not linger by the ca mp r e fo r all
three were too eager t o place a s m any miles
behind them a s po s sible They did a goo d deal
of traveling between no on and d u sk and a long
time after dark ; but t oo many miles still r e
main e d for them t o reach home that evening ;
and O l d Pierre who seemed to know every no ok
.
A H UN T O N SN O W SH O E S
3 54
fo r s ome time p a st and for who se capture a

la rge reward wa s o er ed
The Ofcials stated that there ha d been m any
attempt s to track them during the previous six
month s ; but beyond th e fact that their retreat
wa s s omewhere in the fore st s of the U p per
Kenne bec nothing had been learned
An expedition wa s at once organized and
placed un der charge of Pierre th e Canadian
who wa s a n xious to pilot the Ofcers t o the hid
ing place of the outlaws
It would be intere sting ha d we space to fol
l ow this p arty through the wo ods when they
entered upon the exciting busine s s with the care
and caution of a party of scouts venturing int o
the Indian count ry
The criminal s were partly prepared fo r such
a visit and some of them ha d already succeeded
in getting away There wa s a hard ght but
th e remainder were captured tried and sen
ten ced t o long te rm s of im p ri sonment i n the
S tat e P enitentia ry
It wa s decided after a fair consideration of
the question that Clarence Landon and Pierre
the hunter were each entitled to on e half the
rewa rd ; but the Cana di an refus ed t o take a
penny an d through his in sistence the amount
wa s divided between the two brother s the fathe r
,
'
C ON CLUSIO N
85 5
investing it for them until such time a s e ach in

turn should reach his ma j ority
A few days l a ter Clarence and Sydney r e
turned to scho ol where a s may be suppo sed
they told their wonderful a dventure s over again
t o their gaping cla s smate s The younger broth
er declares that he to ok particular p ains to r e
late no thing but the simple tru th and yet to
this day he is suspicious that they believe he
and Clarence ha d grown into real B aron Mun
.
ch au s en s
A month h ad p as sed since the event s de

s cribed and th e rigo rous Maine winter seemed
to have abated none of its s everity The moo s e
were still herded in their yards far to the

no rthward and Pierre ou r Ol d friend had been
up on an expedition from which he returned
with remarkable succes s
He wa s sitting in his cabin one afternoon
when the wea ther wa s milder engaged in clean
ing his gun He had disconnected the barrel
carefully swathed it out and wa s in the a ct of
return ing it to its place when T owser stretched
upon the oo r at his feet raised his head with a
growl
What s up n ow ? a sked hi s mas ter holding

his work suspended
T he dog sto od a moment showing his teeth
,
A H UN T O N S NO W SH OE S
3 56
and then s ank d own upon the o or a gain a s i f

the caus e of his disturbanc e whatever it might
be had pa s sed
Stretching out his p aws in an ea sy po sition
with his no s e be tween them h e gradually let his
eyelids clo s e and in a few minute s wa s to all
appea rance s a sleep while the wrin kled ol d tra p
per resumed hi s work which was now nea rly
nished
But T ows er wa s given short rest when he
uttered another growl and rising to his feet
walked to the do o r like a canine th a t had given
up all idea of slumber for the tim e
Some one is coming s aid Pie rre stopping
work again
It isn t Often I have vi si tors but
whoev er come s t o my cabin i s welcome Hell o !
I heard a man walking over the snow !

The ol d hunte r a s n o doubt the reader ha s
ga thered was a man who ha d faced nea rly all
manner of perils and there we re few scene s
from which he wa s likely to shrink ; but neve r
in all his life wa s he s o startled a s when the
do or open ed and he saw standing before him
th e wild man who ha s been kn own in this sto ry
a s the Great Mo o se of the U pper Kennebe c !
At rst Pierre thought it wa s a gho st and he
s at like on e petried while T ows er s to od growl
ing and sh owing his teeth a s if waiting only a
,
3 60
hurt in my forehea d bleeding NO one can

imagine the thought s I had and h ow the harder
I tried to think the mo re I wa s puzzled The
tracks in the snow showed that I had had t rouble
with s ome on e but I had n o more idea of who or
what it wa s than the man in the mo on My
dres s an d the gray hairs I n my hea d and whi s
kers gav e me an inkling of the truth and I
started to hunt up s ome on e who could help me
ou t
As luck would have it I c ame acro s s a
wo od chopper that I had kn own and after a
long talk with him I got the thing st raigh tened
out and found I wa s a second R i p V an Winkl e
Then I made my way down to Po rtland and
found s ome mo re friends I stayed la st night
with Mr Landon and ta lked with him and his
wife till after midnight They insisted on my
making my home with them fo r the pres ent at
lea st and told me to skate up here t o s ee you
t o day and here I am

And s o the mystery wa s explained The sho t
red by Pie rre in self defense and which he
s upp o s ed had been fata l to Jared Mu ch m an
struck the wound in hi s head in such a manner
a s really to re sto re his rea s on and a s it may be
said bringing h i m ba ck t o life
T he hero Of this strange serie s of adventure s
h ad heard nearly everything relating to th e
.
CONC L U S IO N
3 61
Lando n brothers in which he had take n part

from their father and it n ow remained for
Pierre to explain that it wa s he wh o red the
pistol ; and h e added that it had caused him the
mo st inte nse su ffering He told h ow he went
back all alone in s e arch of th e body and fail
ing to nd it h ad s u er ed the mo st poignant
anguish ever since His j oy therefore at
learning the marvelous is sue Of that a ffray
p erhap s can be fa intly imagined
The individual who ha s gured in our sto ry
a s the self named Great Mo o se of the U pper
Kenn ebec ha s partly explain ed his own mis
fo rtune A skillful medica l man who atten
ti v el y examined the ca se s aid th at at the time
he wa s inj ured by his fall from the Portland
do ck a slight fra gmen t Of the skull wa s made
to pre s s inward upon the brain in such a way
a s to cause his mental delusion and the heaven
controlled shot of Pierre removed this pres sure
and rea son at a bound recovered its balance
Jared Mu ch m an lived but a sho rt time afte r
his recovery He wa s never able to recall the
slightest part of his experience during that ter
rible decade of insanity ; but he died in peace
carefully tended and watched
an d quietnes s
over by Landon hi s wife and Pierre who felt
a peculia r attachm ent to him ; and the Ol d
-
Canadi an Often decl ared that when he to ok two
youthful mo o se trackers on the mo s t mem or

able hunt of their live s it brought to him a
ma rvelous ex p erience and heaven it self o rdered
the whole series of adventures s o that they
t erm ina ted in a way that
s ca rcely sh ort of
th e miraculous
,
TH E E N D
to place i n th e ha n ds of h er boy a n y boo k wr i tt en by

M r E llis T he y ar e foun d i n the le a di n g S un d ay schoo l
li b r a r ies whe r e a s m ay well b e b elieve d the y ar e i n
wi de de m an d an d do m u ch g ood b y thei r so un d whole
so m e lesso n s which r e n de r the m a s a cce p t a b le to pa
N e a r l y all of the E llis b oo k s
r e n ts a s to thei r ch i l dr e n
p ub lishe d b y Th e J oh n C Wi n sto n C o m p any ar e r e
iss u e d i n L o n do n an d m any h a ve b ee n t r an sl a te d i n to
othe r l an gua ges Mr E llis i s a wr iter o f v a r ie d a eco m
pl i s h m e n ts a n d i n a dditio n to his sto r ies i s the a u tho r
o f histo r ic a l wo r ks o f a n um b e r o f p ieces o f p o p ul ar
m usic an d h a s m a d e seve r a l v a l u a b le i n ve n tio n s
Mr
E llis is i n the p r i m e o f his m e n t a l a n d p h y sic a l p o we r s
an d gr e a t a s h a ve b ee n the m e r its o f his p a st a ch i eve
m e n ts the r e is r e a so n to look for m o r e b r ill ia n t pr o
ducti ons fr om hi s p e n i n the n e a r f u t ur e
-
D E E RF OOT S E R I E S
vols
H un te rs of th e
3
llis
ak
a st War T r ai l
a p i n the M o n t ai n s
L O G CA B I N S E R I E S
By E dwa d S E llis
F oot p r i n ts i n the F o r est
C a m p F i r e an d W igwa m
By E dwa r d S E
Oz r
Th e L
C m
u
.
Lost
ol s
Tr ail
BO Y P I O N E E R S E R I E S
vo l s
By E dw d S E llis
N e d o n the
Ned i n the B lock H o u se
N e d i n the Woo ds
3
ar
ive r
T H E NO RT HW E S T S E R I ES
By E dw r d S E llis
vols
Two B o y s i n Wy o m i n g
C o wm e n an d R ustle r s
A S t r an ge Cr af t an d i ts Wo n de r ful ! o y ag e
CO
M P L ET E C AT A L O G 0 ' B E S T B O O KS F O R B OYS A N D G I R LS
M A I L E D O N A P P L I C AT I O N T O T H E P U B L I B H E B B
THE J O HN C
WI N S
TO N C O
P H I L AD E L P H I A
vols
R e d E a gle
I r on
3
llis
l a i n g Ar r o w
C hie f o f the I r o q uois
By E dwa r d S E
B z
.
H e ar t
Wa r
T H E N E W D E E R F O OT S E R I E S
llis
De er foot i n the F o r est
D e e r foot o n th e P r ai r ie
D ee r foot i n the M o un t a i n s
T RU E G R I T S E R I E S
By E dw d S E llis
3 vols
D o r se y the Y o u n g I n ve n to r
J i m an d J oe
S ec r et of C o f n I sl an d
GR E AT AM E R I CAN S E R I E S
E llis
By E dw d 3
2 vols
T e ddy an d T o wse r ; or E a r l y D ay s i n C a li f o r n i a
U p the F o r ke d R ive r
3
vols
By E dwa r d S
ar
ar
CO LO NI
vols
A n Am er ic an
3
AL
S E R I ES
By E dwa r d S E l l i s
Th e Cr m w
.
Ki n g
vols
L ost i n the
3
a st
ell o f ! i r gi n i a
D o m i n io n
p e r o r o f the Ol d
F O R E I G N A D! E N T U R E S E R I E S
Th e L
Em
By E dwa r d 8
lli s
o r b i dde n L an d
T h e H u n t o f the Wh ite
ive r an d
E le p h an t
n gle
Ju
YO U R O W N C A NO E S E R I E S
By E dwa r d S E l l i s
vols
Th e M o un ta i n
Th e F o r est M esse n ge r s
! uee n o f the Clouds
ADDL E
t ar
A R I Z O NA
T HE
3
O
By
vols
the R ese r v a tio n
.
Edwa r d S
S E RI ES
.
llis
Tr
o n
Th e R u d U p
a i li n g
e roni mo
HORATI O ALGER, JR
n o rm o us s al es of th e b ook s of Ho r ati o Al ger

sho w the g r e a t n ess o f his p o p ul a r ity a m o n g the
Jr
b o y s an d p r ove th a t he is o n e o f thei r m ost fa vo r e d
wr ite r s I a m tol d th a t m o r e th an h a l f a m illio n Co p ies
a ltogethe r h a ve b ee n sol d a n d th a t a ll the l a r ge c i r cu
l a ti n g li b a r ies i n the co un t y h a ve seve r a l co m p lete
sets o f which o nl y two or th r ee vol um es ar e eve r
o n the shelves a t o n e ti m e I f this is t u e wh a t tho u
s an ds an d tho u s an d s o f b o y s h a ve r e a d an d ar e r e a di n g
M r Alge r s b ooks ! H i s p ec uli a r st y le of sto ri es o f te n
i m it a te d b ut n eve r e q u ale d h a ve t a ke n a hol d u p o n the
y o un g p eo p le an d d es p ite thei r si mi l a r it y ar e e a ge r l y
r e a d a s soo n a s the y a pp e a r
Mr Alge r b ec a m e fa m o u s with the p ub l i c a t i o n of
th a t un dy i n g b ook R a gge d D ick or S t r eet L i f e i n N ew

Yo r k
I t wa s his r st b ook for y o u n g p eo p le an d its
s uccess wa s so g r e a t th a t he i m m e di a tel y devote d h i m
sel f to th a t ki n d o f wr iti n g I t was a n ew an d f e r tile
el d for a w r ite r the n an d M r Alge r s t r e a t m e n t o f it
"
a t o n ce c aught the fan c y o f the b o y s R a gge d D ick
r st a pp e a r e d i n 1868 a n d eve r si n ce the n it h a s b ee n
selli n g ste a dil y un til n ow i t i s esti m a te d th a t a b out
c o pi es o f the se r ies h a ve b ee n sol d
P l eas an t H o ur s for B o y s an d Gi r ls "
Th e
A wr i t e r for
p a th y with the m
b o y s sho ul d h a ve an a b un dant s ym
H e sho ul d b e a b le to e n te r i n to thei r
p l an s ho p es an d a s p i r a tio n s H e sho ul d le a r n to look
B o y s o b j ect to b e wr itte n do wn to
u p o n li f e a s the y do
A b o y s he a r t o p e n s to the m an or wr ite r wh o un der
.
st an ds
him
F r om Wri tin g
t o ri es
for
B oys
"
,
by H o r a ti o Al ger. J r
vol s
Onl y an
3
V I CTO RY
By Hor a t
S E R I ES .
i o A l ge r
Jr
s h B oy
Adr i f t i n th e Ci ty
Vi cto r ! an e or th e Y o un g S ec r et ar y
F RA N K A N D F EA R L E S S S E R I E S
By Ho r ti o A l ge r J r
3 vols
F r an k an d F e a r less
F r an k Hunt e r s P e r il
Th e Y o un g S a les m an
I ri
GOO D F O RT U N E L I B RA RY
By Ho r a ti o Al ge r J r
vols
Wal te r S h e rwoo d s P r o b a tio n A B o y s F o r tun e
Th e Yo un g B an k M esse n ge r
HOW TO R I S E L I B RA RY
By Ho rati o A l ge r , J r
R u p e r t s Am bi ti on
P oor h ous e B oy
L es ter s L uck.
.
vols
J ed, th e

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U P A N D D O I N G S E R I ES

N ew D eerfoot S eri es,

through the fo rest of o aks and pines

D idn t you he ar it Sydney ?

Ye s ; but not a s plai nly a s you Wh at do

The cr y of a wolf This ha s been a hard

wond e r if we had a race with them to night

Hadn t we better turn about and go home I

We a re ten miles from the house and we

have only a little way to go ; and then I think we

can skate fa ster than tho se animals can run

D id that wolf seem to be above or below

Below S o it will be safer to go on ; and if

All right ! Go ahe a d ! replied Sydn ey a s

they struck ou t again

graceful and when they che cked themselve s

tion s eemed causeles s th a t is the impul s e

ide wi th fo rests of oak and pine The ba nks

circul a tio n a nd prevent being nipp ed

a n d in a ce rtain way longed fo r a trial of speed

I t ell you Clarence

tone I don t like the lo oks of this I f we go

What if he h as ? It is ea sier to whisk about

have them Syd

D on t you remembe r what ol d Pierre once

t old u s that when on e of thes e animals gets on

conden t did he seem to be of succes s that

that they we re their legitimate g ame the whole

called out th e elder brother

We are running the gauntlet and it l ooks as if

suddenly then it is that th e re a l difculty has to

Let yourself out !

They ar e c oming for us lik e a n expres s

cloud The boys wer e doing their level best

and their limbs moving in exact co rrespondence

Precisely what their speed wa s it is i m pos

The only t hi ng we can do is to do dge

s aid Cla rence

wh o ha s singled you out and give him the slip

mor e t oward the ea ste rn bank

The elder br other saw the wisdom of this

pursue r and his comrades went sliding by their

But at this moment came the despairing cr y

darted by them like a meteor and wa s at hi s

What do you me an to do ? he called

Climb a tree for I c a n t get along on one

That wo n t do ; they ll be on you before you

s a r y lee r oom when he made a long swe ep

his own ; an d ta king the centre o f the river

Can you keep it up Clarence ? asked his

They c an t catch us a s long a s you travel like

watch the wolves while I l ook in front

but s o to gain upon them a s to give him this

I f they only had the s en se of other creature s

to give up when th ere isn t any chance of

The cabin is clo s e by ! he called ou t t o

Keep it up a little longer and we shall be all

The skater made no reply ; his lips were tight

him and it s eemed to him that he would never

light night the wrinkled hunte r within little

As Sydney c aught sight o f the cabin , it

curred to him that he might do some go od too

L ook ! lo ok ! Clarence ! Hurrah ! we a re