CHAPTER XIV
TOM'S SCHEME
"Roll out of the way, Jack! Roll out of the way!" yelled Tom, as soonas the smoke had cleared from his line of vision, and he could see theresult of his shot. The tawny beast was writhing on the ground in itsfinal struggle, close to the prostrate youth.
"Jack! Jack! Wake up!" cried Bert.
There was no need for the last injunction, for Jack had sat up with astart at the report of the rifle.
"Look out that he doesn't claw you!" shouted Dick, and then Jack becameaware of the cause of the commotion.
"Roll to one side!" Tom again called, and his chum understood.
It was probably the only thing that could have saved him, even afterTom's lucky shot, for the beast still had plenty of fight left in him,and doubtless associated the pain he suffered with the youth on whom hehad been about to leap. The creature was trying to reach Jack.
But if the latter could not spring up and run, because of his injuredleg, he could roll to good advantage, and this he proceeded to do assoon as he saw the need of it.
Over and over he went, like some living log, down toward the lakeshore, and away from the struggling beast.
"Give him another bullet, Tom!" cried Bert. "Finish him off now."
"Here goes!" exclaimed our hero, and from the muzzle of his repeater hepumped another leaden missile into the brute. He had a clear view now,with Jack out of the way.
The animal sprang into the air, fell back, quivered convulsively, andthen lay still. The second bullet had ended its misery.
Tom, Bert and Dick ran up.
"He's done for," remarked Bert.
"Stop rolling, Jack!" suddenly called Tom, "or you'll be in the lake,"for his chum, being unable to see the result of the shot, stillimagined himself in danger, and was approaching the water.
At Tom's call, however, he slacked up in his queer method of progress,and arose to his feet.
"That was a close call," said Jack, as he limped up to the others."Who did the business for our savage friend there?" and he kicked thecarcass.
"Tom did. You might have known it," answered Bert.
"I just happened to," said our hero modestly. "I was in the lead, andsaw it first. Then I fired."
"And a good job for you that he did," remarked Dick.
"Thanks," said Jack, fervently, and his hand and that of Tom met in afirm clasp.
"What sort of a beast is it, anyhow?" asked Bert, as he surveyed thetawny body.
"A lynx, and a big one, too," declared Dick, who knew something aboutanimals. "They're as savage as a wildcat when they're hungry, and thisone probably thought Jack would make a good meal."
"I never heard a thing until the shot," explained Tom's chum. "I wassleeping soundly and I thought it was a clap of thunder. Jove! If youhadn't come along!" and he shuddered.
"Well, shall we take it back to camp with us?" asked Bert.
"I'd like to," spoke Tom, "but it's a hard job to skin it in hotweather, and I'm afraid I couldn't keep the hide. Besides the fur isn'tin very good condition. I guess we'll just leave it where it is."
Then, after a rest on shore, and talking over the incident, they gotin the boat, Tom taking the big owl he had shot, and started back fortheir camp.
The next day they went off on another trip, exploring the woods andhills around the lake. They did more fishing, and looked for somethingto shoot, but saw nothing.
"But there hasn't any more bacon disappeared," said Dick one morning,as he was frying some for breakfast.
"No, I guess we got the lynx that took it," said Tom. "I thought Idetected the odor of fried bacon and eggs on him," he added with asmile.
But if they imagined they were to be free from the prowlers of thewoods they were mistaken, for, a few nights later, they were awakenedby a noise near the place where they threw the odds and ends from theirkitchen--empty tins, bits of food and the like.
"Something's out there," called Tom, as he and the others awoke.
"The hermit, maybe," suggested Jack.
"He wouldn't make as much noise as that," said Tom. "I'm going to takea look."
He got down a low-burning lantern from where it hung in the spacebetween the two tents, turned it up, and flashed it from the entrancein the direction of the refuse pile.
As he did so he and the others saw a black body rear up, and then theyheard a menacing growl, while something big and clumsy lumbered off inthe darkness.
"A bear!" cried Jack. "A bear as sure as you're alive! Take a shot,somebody!"
Dick was the first to grab his gun, and, taking the best aim he could,he pulled the trigger. Following the flash and the report the boysheard a yelp as of pain.
"You winged him!" cried Bert. "Come on, we can get him!"
He would have rushed from the tent, lightly clad as he was, had not Tomgrabbed him.
"Hold on," urged our hero. "Don't do anything rash."
"Why not?"
"Because that bear--if that's what it was--is far enough off by now.And besides, he's probably only wounded. Dick's gun doesn't carry aheavy enough bullet to fetch a bear down in one shot, unless it wentright into the brain. And again, you're not exactly dressed for a trampthrough the woods at midnight," and Tom glanced at his friend's barefeet. "Wait until morning," he advised, "and maybe we can trail him."
Morning showed them some drops of blood, and marks in the soft earththat were undoubtedly the tracks of a big bear.
"Oh, if we can only get him!" exclaimed Dick, with enthusiasm. "Maybehe's worse wounded than we think."
But though they tramped about nearly all that day they did not comeupon any traces of bruin, and they had to give up the chase, thoughthey did so reluctantly.
"Well, Tom," remarked Jack that night, as they sat about the campfireafter supper, "this isn't treasure-hunting very fast."
"No, that's so. I've been sort of holding off, hoping I'd happen tothink of some solution to that plan, but I haven't. How about youfellows?"
"Nothing doing as far as I'm concerned," said Jack, as he limped overto the water pail. He was much better and the soreness was almost gone.
"Two more to hear from," suggested Tom.
"I can't think of anything," admitted Bert, and Dick confessed to thesame thing.
"Then I'll tell you what we'll do," proposed Tom. "We'll take anothertrip to the old mill."
"And do what?" asked Jack.
"We'll take the plan with us, and try to see if, by looking at thestructure itself, and, then the plan, we can come to any solution. Itmay be we might hit on some secret room, or something like that."
"What about the old hermit?" asked Dick. "He'll be furious if hecatches us there."
"Well, we'll watch our chance, and go in the mill when we're surehe's out," went on Tom. "Then we won't all go in. We'll leave someoneoutside to give the alarm in case he comes. How do you like my plan?"
"Good!" cried Jack; and the others agreed with him.
"Then we'll start in the morning," decided Tom.