CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.
DECOYING AN ANTELOPE.
They had not rested more than five minutes, when their attention wasagain attracted to the prairie. Another herd of antelopes! Strange tosay, it was; and, like the former, these were making directly for thespring. The hunters knew they were not the same; for this herd was muchlarger, and there were several males in it, easily distinguishable bytheir forked horns.
The guns were again loaded, and Marengo was called up--lest he mightfrighten them off.
These, like the others, marched in order, in single file--led by a largebuck. There appeared to be about thirty or more in this herd. Theyhad, no doubt, been pasturing all day on some far plain, and were now ontheir way to the water, determined to have a good drink before going torest for the night.
When they had arrived within four or five hundred yards of the spring,they turned slightly to the left. This brought them at once to therivulet--where they entered, and having drunk, went out again, andcommenced browsing along the bank. It was evident they did not intendcoming any nearer to the butte, or the grove of willows, where ourhunters had concealed themselves. This was a disappointment. All threehad once more set their minds upon an antelope supper; and now theirchances of getting it seemed every moment growing less--as the animals,instead of coming nearer, were browsing away from them over the prairie.There was no cover by which they might be approached. What, then,could the hunters do, but leave them to go as they had come?
But there was an expedient which suggested itself to the mind of Basil.He had heard of it from old hunters; and the curious conduct of thefirst herd, so lately shown in regard to the wolves, recalled it to hisremembrance. He resolved, therefore, to try this expedient, and securean antelope if possible.
Cautioning his brothers to remain quiet, he took up one of the redblankets that lay near. He had already cut a long forked sapling, andsharpened it at one end with his knife. He now spread out the blanket,holding it up before him; and, with his rifle in one hand, and thesapling in the other, he passed out of the willows into the openground--keeping the blanket between him and the animals, so that hisbody was completely hidden from them. In this way he advanced a fewpaces, walking in a bent attitude, until he had attracted the attentionof the antelopes. He then stuck the sapling firmly in the ground, hungthe blanket upon its forks, and knelt down behind it.
An object so odd-looking, both as regarded form and colour, at onceexcited the curiosity of the herd. They left off feeding, and commencedapproaching it--halting at short intervals, and then continuing toadvance. They did not move in single file--as the former herd haddone--but first one, and then another of the bucks took the lead, eachwishing to make a display of his courage. In a few minutes one of thelargest was within range; when Basil, who was lying flat along thegrass, took sight at the animal's breast and fired.
The buck leaped up at the shot; but, to the great disappointment of themarksman, turned in his tracks, and fled along with the rest of theherd, all of which had bounded off on hearing the crack of the rifle.
Basil beheld this with some surprise. He had taken deliberate aim; andhe knew that when he did so, it was seldom that his rifle failed him.He had missed this time, however, as he thought, when he saw theantelope run off apparently unhurt; and, attributing his failure to thehurried manner in which he had loaded his piece, he took up the blanket,and turned with a mortified look towards his companions.
"Look yonder!" cried Francois, who still watched the retreatingantelopes; "look at the wolves! Away they go after."
"Ha!" exclaimed Lucien, "you have wounded the buck, brother, else thewolves would never follow. See! they are running upon his track likehounds!"
Lucien was right. The animal was hit, or the wolves would not haveembarked in a chase so hopeless as the pursuit of a prong-horn; for,strange to say, these cunning creatures can tell when game has beenwounded better than the hunters themselves, and very often pursue andrun it down, when the latter believes it to have escaped! It wasevident, therefore, that Basil had hit the animal--though not in adeadly part--and the wolves were now following with the hope of huntingit down.
A new idea came into Basil's mind. He thought he might yet _be in atthe death_; and with this idea he ran up to his horse, drew thepicket-pin, and leaping upon his bare back, directed him after thechase. He was soon in full gallop over the prairie, keeping the wolvesin sight as he went. He could see the antelope, he had fired at, somedistance ahead of the wolves, but _far behind the rest of the herd_, andevidently running _heavily and with pain_.
It cost the young hunter a five-mile gallop; and, at the end of that,while he was yet half-a-mile in the rear, he saw the wolves come up withthe wounded antelope, and drag it down upon the prairie. He made allthe haste he could--putting Black Hawk to the top of his speed. In afew minutes he was upon the ground, and scattered the wolves as hegalloped among them; but once more he had arrived too late. The body ofthe antelope was torn to pieces, and more than half devoured; while onlyhalf-picked bones and pieces of skin remained to reward him for his longride!
With an ejaculation, which came very near being a French oath, thedisappointed hunter turned his horse, and rode slowly back--wishing thewolves far enough as he went.
When he returned, Francois assisted him in his maledictions; forFrancois was tired of the bear-meat, and was vexed at being thus asecond time cheated out of something fresh for supper.
Lucien, however, assured them both that the flesh of the antelope, as hehad heard, was "no great eating," after all; and this, in some degree,pacified them--so that, with a stew of the jerked bear and parsnips, andsome pinon bread, which Lucien had prepared according to the Indianfashion, all three made a supper that was not to be sneered at under anycircumstances. When it was eaten, they brought their horses closer tothe camp--so as to have them near in case of necessity--and, havingwrapped themselves in their blankets, they once more sought therefreshment of sleep.