CHAPTER VII.
THE FIRST GAME.
It was an ideal day for hunting among the mountains. The sun shone froman unclouded sky, and the air had just enough crispness to make exerciseenjoyable. In short, it was a perfect copy of that day which saw the V.W. W. start from Fort Steele on their long ride northward to Bowman'sranch.
The other cowmen would have been glad to join in the hunt, but theycould not be spared from duty. Thus it came about that, as in the firstinstance, Hank Hazletine was the guide and only companion of Jack Dudleyand Fred Greenwood on that which was destined to prove the mostmemorable hunt of their lives.
The three had ridden briskly through a part of the foot-hills until theyreached the more elevated portion, when the hunter led the way up awinding trail until, early in the afternoon, they arrived at what may becalled the limit of "horse navigation," which is to say their poniescould give them no more help, since the way was too broken for them toclimb further.
Accordingly the three dismounted and removed all the trappings of theanimals. Hazletine was so familiar with the country that he came to thisfavored spot without mistake or hesitation. It was a broad, irregularinclosure, in the form of a grassy plateau, where grass grew abundantly,and was walled in on nearly every side by immense rocks and boulders. Atiny stream of icy water wound along one side, disappearing at a corneramong the rocks, which were so craggy and eccentric in their formationthat a cavity or partial cavern was found, in which the party placedtheir bridles, saddles and blankets, and which was capable of givingthem shelter against the most furiously driving rain-storm.
"Surely we couldn't have found a better spot if we had hunted for amonth," said Jack, admiringly surveying their surroundings.
"This is to be our headquarters," explained Hazletine, "during the fewdays or the week that we spend in hunting here."
"You mean that we are to spend each night in this place?"
The guide nodded his head.
"I don't know of any better arrangement," said Fred; "we can gatherenough wood to keep a fire going, and, if rain should set in, shall haveas good shelter as if in the house on the ranch."
"That's it; and you mustn't furgit one thing," added Hazletine; "wefetched along just 'nough stuff fur dinner. We haven't anything left fursupper. None of the cattle git this fur into the mountains, so we can'tcount on them. Therefore, we've the ch'ice atween shooting game orstarving to death."
"That's enough to make us all do our best, but we cannot suffer so longas we have you for our companion."
"But you ain't going to have me fur your companion."
The boys stared at their friend in astonishment. He explained:
"There ain't much show fur three persons to find game as long as theystick together. The right way is fur 'em all to part and each keep it upon his own hook. A chap isn't in half the danger of being seen by thedeer or sheep, or whatever it may be he's after; and he has the chance,too, to show what stuff he's made of."
"Then you intend to leave us?"
"You've hit it the first time. I'll start out on my own bus'ness,meaning to be back here while the night's young."
Observing significant looks passing between the boys, the man hastenedto add:
"Now, don't you folks make the mistake of thinking I'll get your supperfur you, fur I don't mean to do nothing of the kind. I don't intend todo any hunting, but to git away from you so as to let you have thechance. I don't say that if a big horn or a antelope or buck walks up infront of me and asks me to take a shy at him that I won't pop him over,though some folks that I know wouldn't do the same if the buck happenedto be a two-legged one; but such things don't often happen; and, if youdon't fetch in any game, them appetites of your'n are likely to botheryou as much as they did t'other day when we was riding from the fort."
"Do you wish Fred and me to part company?"
Hank's eyes twinkled and a quizzical expression lit up that part of hiscountenance which was visible.
"'Twouldn't be safe."
"Why not?"
"You'd each take the other fur a wild donkey and plug him afore youfound out the mistake, which the same wouldn't be such a mistake afterall."
The boys could well afford to laugh at the pleasantry of the man who, itwas evident, felt a partiality for them. He added, more seriously:
"You'd have more show to shoot game if you parted, but I'd not adviseyou to do it till after you've hunted for some days together. It'smighty easy for younkers like you to git lost in these mountains. Youmust keep your bearings, so it won't be any trouble fur you to find yourway back to this spot when it's dark. If you happen to catch sight ofany game, try to not let it see you till you git a fair shot at it; andthere ain't much good in wounding a critter in these parts, fur it'ssure to git away from you."
After some further instructions, Hank bade his young friends good-by andleft them. He strode off in the direction of the trail over which theyhad come to reach this interesting spot in the mountains, anddisappeared without once looking back to see what they were doing.
It was odd thus to be left alone in this wild region, and the chumslooked in each other's face with smiles. It certainly was a curiousexperience to be set down in one of the greatest mountain spurs of theWest, and to be told that now they must take care of themselves. It waslike being cast into deep water and ordered to choose between swimmingand drowning.
"It's just as well," said Jack, "or he wouldn't have done it. Surely theV. W. W. ought to be able to take care of ourselves, with our repeatersand pistols. There's nothing to be feared from wild animals, or he wouldhave warned us."
"It strikes me that the most important thing to do is to keep ourbearings, for if we should happen to lose our way it would go hard withus."
"We took care to bring spy-glasses, as well as everything else that wethought we were likely to need, but forgot about a compass, which may beworth all the rest."
"Well, we must be careful not to stray too far until we become familiarwith the country. Let's not delay our start."
The plateau where their ponies were cropping the grass was several acresin extent, nearly half of it sloping abruptly; but the grass wasabundant enough to furnish the animals with all they could need, nomatter how long they stayed, since it had plenty of opportunity to renewitself.
Side by side the boys moved across the space, the ponies not raisingtheir heads to look at them, as they passed near. Instead of followingthe course taken by their guide they bore to the right, but at the sametime proceeded nearly westward, which led them deeper into themountains. Remembering the caution of their friend they studied thelandmarks around them, in the hope of not losing their way when itshould become time to return to camp.
When fairly clear of the plateau, where they must have been at aconsiderable elevation above the sea, they found the way so rough thattravelling became a task. There was nothing in the nature of a path ortrail to follow, and they were compelled to pass around boulders androcks, sometimes turning back and retracing their steps, and making longdetours, so as to flank impassable chasms. All this tended to confusetheir knowledge of the points of the compass, but they did not forget tonote everything that could serve as a guide, and were confident offinding their way whenever it should become necessary to return.
Most of the time Jack Dudley was in the lead, for it was not easy towalk beside each other. He was perhaps a half-dozen paces in advance ofFred, when he abruptly stopped with an exclamation of affright.
"What is it?" asked his friend, hardly less startled.
"Look at that!"
He pointed downward, almost at his feet. Still unaware of what he meant,Fred stepped guardedly forward to his side.
There was good cause, indeed, for the alarm of the elder, for he hadchecked himself on the edge of a ravine or canyon fully a thousand feetdeep. One step further and he would have dropped into eternity.
The peculiar formation of the canyon accounted for this peril. The chasmwas barely a dozen feet wide, but the other side w
as depressed, so thatit was not noticed by the youth until on the edge of the danger. Thewalls were of solid rock, showing the numerous strata of sandstone andother formations, worn so unevenly that it looked possible for a personto use them as stairs in climbing the sides. Pausing on the edge andpeering cautiously down the dizzy steep, the youths could see a streamof water, winding its course far down at the bottom, where the roughnessof its bed churned it into foam, and gave it the appearance of a whiteribbon that had been strung along the course. The murmur was so soft andfaint that at times they were not sure they heard it, and when itreached their ears the voice of the distant ocean was suggested.
A striking feature of this phenomenon was the exceeding narrowness ofthe canyon. It has been stated that directly opposite to where the boyshad halted it was scarcely a dozen feet wide, and there were places insight with the width still less, though most of it was greater. The agesthat it had taken this stream to erode such a bed for itself was beyondimagination.
"Jack," said his companion, with that elasticity of spirits natural toone of his years, "if you had pitched down there, how in the world couldI have pulled you up to the top again?"
"Why would you wish to do that?"
"Well, you would have been pretty well bruised and would have neededhelp."
"Possibly; but I wonder whether there are many such pit-holes in thispart of the world. It resembles the fissures in the mountains of icewhich I have read that the Arctic explorers sometimes find."
However, since the youths were on one side of the canyon, naturally theywere seized with the belief that it was necessary immediately to placethemselves on the other side. Why it was so they would have found hardto explain, but they were unanimous on the point; and, since there wasbut the single method of crossing the chasm, they set out to find it.
"It looks narrower over there to the left," said Jack, turning in thatdirection.
He did not have to go far when he paused, where the width was barely sixfeet--not enough to afford much of a leap for sturdy lads of theiryears.
"That's easy," added Jack, measuring it with his eye.
"You must remember one thing, Jack. There's something in the air of thispart of the world which makes a mile look no more than a few hundredyards. Suppose that that other bank is fifty feet off!"
It was an alarming thought, and Jack recoiled as if again on the edge ofthe brink. But he was quick to see the absurdity of the idea.
"If that is so, then the canyon must be several miles deep. But we wouldbetter make sure."
It was easy to do this. Hunting around until a chip from one of theboulders was found, Jack tossed it across the abyss. It fell as heexpected, proving that, wonderfully deceptive as is the atmosphere ofthe West, it cannot mislead in instances like that which confrontedthem.
"That makes it right. I am not afraid to make the leap; are you?"
"Not a bit; but wait."
Near them lay a stone, so large that it required their united strengthto move it. By hard work they rolled it to the edge of the canyon andtumbled it over, carefully watching its descent. A curious thingfollowed. At first it shot straight downward for a hundred feet, when itimpinged against a projecting point of the mountain wall, knocked thefragments in every direction, as if it were a ball fired from athousand-pounder, and bounded against the opposite side, further down,scattering fragments again. By this time it had achieved an almostinconceivable momentum, and was shooting downward at a terrific rate.
In the depths of this narrow canyon, where the sunlight never penetratedfor more than a few minutes at a time, it was always twilight. At thebottom it was almost dark, so that the stream would hardly have beenvisible but for its yeasty foam. At some point near the base, when theflinty stone was speeding forward like a meteor, it abraded a harderportion than before. Instantly a stream of fire shot out, such assometimes flashes from a murky cloud in the sky, and, as if it were anecho of the impact, the splash and thunderous thump were heard by theboys at the top.
It was a tempting theme for the imagination, but they were too practicalto linger. Having agreed that the canyon could be readily jumped, theydid not hesitate. Running a few steps, Jack Dudley cleared the passageand landed on the other side, with several feet to spare. He did nottake the trouble to toss his rifle in advance, but kept it in his hand.
"I had a queer feeling," he said, as Fred joined him, "when I was rightover the middle of the canyon, and knew, if I had made anymiscalculation, I should never stop until pretty well down toward thecentre of the earth."
"It doesn't take long to do a deal of thinking at such time, but whatbothered me was whether I was going to make as good a jump as you. Ibelieve I beat you by two or three inches."
"You wouldn't have done it if I had tried. But, Fred, since we are onthis side of that split in the mountain, we have got to jump it again toget back to camp."
"And we must manage to do it before dark, for it isn't safe to takechances where there is so much variance in the width."
"Fact of it is," remarked Jack, expressing that which had been clear toboth from the first, "there was no need of our jumping it at all. But weare here, and must make the best of it. It's time we found some game."
And Jack looked sharply around, as if he expected to see a fat deer orbig horn step forward and sacrifice himself for their good.
But they were more fortunate than they were warranted in expecting.While surveying the rocks and heights which seemed to wall them in, Fredexclaimed:
"There's our game!"
He pointed to a cliff fully two hundred yards distant, and of half thatheight. On this projecting ledge stood a noble buck, with antlers andhead raised, while he seemed to be gazing over the wild expanse ofcountry below him. They knew he was a fine animal, though the distancemade him appear diminutive.
"On the projecting ledge stood a noble buck."]
"I wonder if he sees us?" said Jack in a whisper, as if afraid of beingoverheard.
"If he does, he knows we are too far off to harm him."
The next instant the boys had unslung their glasses and leveled them atthe fellow, who formed a striking picture, as he stood out in boldrelief, with his spreading antlers, his fine head, and his brown, sinewylimbs. The next remark by Jack may not have been romantic, but it wascharacteristic:
"What a fine meal he will make for us!"
"Provided we can secure him. We must get a good deal nearer."
"Our rifles will carry a bullet that far."
"No doubt; but if we hit him he would be only slightly wounded and wouldmake off. We must go closer."
This necessity was self-evident, but the task was certain to be adifficult one. As they approached the animal they were likely to exposethemselves to his keen gaze, when he would disappear on the instant.
"Remember what Hank said. There is twice the chance for one that thereis for two. I'll stay here, Fred, while you go on. If I see him moveI'll try it, and you must do the same. Between us, we may bring himdown."
The plan was acted upon. It was agreed that Fred should steal as near tothe buck as possible, in the hope of securing him, while Jack shouldhold himself in readiness to make a shot, with precious little prospectof success.
If the game would maintain his position it looked as if there was a goodprospect of the younger lad getting within shooting distance, for theway was so rugged, and offered so many opportunities for screening hisapproach, that he did not believe he would be detected if he used propercare. Meanwhile Jack took position behind the nearest boulder, where hecould keep an eye on the animal and it was impossible for the latter tosee him.
Fred was lost to sight almost immediately. He grew so anxious as theinterval decreased that he trembled, and it was hard to fight off anattack of what is called "buck fever," and which is fatal to the besthunter; but by and by his nerves settled, and he became as cool andself-possessed as Hank Hazletine himself would have been under thecircumstances.
It seemed improbable that the buck would wait where
he was, even if notalarmed, for the time necessary to afford a good shot for his enemy. Itwas some whim that had led him out upon the top of the towering bluff,where he was in view of the young hunters. It is not to be supposed thathis kind appreciate such a thing as beauty in a landscape or scenespread before them, and yet the action of the buck almost indicatedsomething of that nature; for he stood motionless, minute after minute,as if absorbed, and suggesting a statue carved from the rock itself.
Foot by foot Fred Greenwood stole forward, crouching behind boulders,creeping beside immense rocks which shut him from the gaze of thewatchful animal, until with a rapidly beating heart he whispered:
"I'm near enough to try a shot."
He was making ready, when he observed a well-screened point a few rodsin advance, which impressed him as the right place. Once there, he couldask no better opportunity to test his skill. Was it safe to wait aminute or two longer? Yes, he would make the attempt.
With infinite care, and holding his nerves in superb control, he workedhis way to the spot without alarming the buck.