CHAPTER X.
A Beaver Hunt.
The next morning, as soon as they had eaten their breakfast, thetrapper went to the door, and, after listening, and looking at the skya few moments, said:
"Youngsters, if we intend to ketch any of them beaver, we had betterdo it to-day. We are goin' to have a storm as is a storm, an' aforetwo days the woods will be blocked up so that we can't do no huntin'at all."
Frank and George were eager to accompany the trapper, forbeaver-hunting was something entirely new to them; but Archie andHarry concluded to make another attempt to capture the black fox; forthe trapper's description of his swiftness and cunning had renderedhim an object worthy of attention, and made the young hunters moreanxious than ever to catch him.
Frank and George drew on their overcoats, strapped their blankets fastto their belts, and filled their haversacks. When all was ready, eachshouldered his gun and an ax, and followed the trapper from the cabin.About noon they came to a halt on the banks of a large pond that layhemmed in on all sides by the trees. Near the center of this pond wereseveral objects of a conical shape, looking like drifts of snow. Thesewere the beavers' houses.
The boys were entirely at a loss to conceive how they were to go towork to capture the beaver. If they began to cut through the houses,the animals would take the alarm in a moment, and dive under the ice,where they would be safe from all pursuit.
"I'll show you how it is done," said the trapper, who perceived thatthey did not understand it. "In the first place, take your axes and goand pound on every house you can see."
"Why, that will frighten out all the beaver," said Frank.
"That's jest what I want to do," said Dick; "but you must know that abeaver can't live under the ice any longer than me or you."
He then went on to explain that the banks on each side of the pondwere supplied with "breathing-holes," which were dug into the bank,and extended upward above the level of the water, and that the beaver,when frightened out of their houses, would seek refuge in these holes,where they could be easily captured.
"But how do we know where these holes are?" asked George.
"Easy enough," answered Dick. "All you have got to do is to go alongthe bank an' strike the ice with an ax, an' you can tell by the soundwhere they are. But I fixed all that when I first diskivered thispond. I know jest where the holes are. Now, you go an' pound on themhouses, an' drive out the beaver."
The boys accordingly laid down their guns, and commenced an attack onthe dwellings of the beaver, when the animals at once plunged into thewater under the ice. After every house had been visited, and the boyswere satisfied that they had made noise sufficient to drive out allthe beaver, they returned to the place where they had left thetrapper, and found him engaged in cutting a hole in the ice close tothe bank. As the boys came up, he directed one of them to fasten hishunting-knife to a long sapling for a spear, and the other to chop ahole in the bank directly opposite to the one he had cut in the ice.
By the time the spear was finished, an opening had been cut down intothe "breathing-hole," and the hunters discovered three beavercrouching in the furthest corner. Useless thrust his head into thehole, and contented himself with barking at the game; but Bravesqueezed himself down into the opening among the beavers, and attackedthem furiously. The animals made a desperate resistance, and in a fewmoments Brave backed out of the hole, with his ears and nose bleedingfrom several wounds, which showed that the long teeth of the beaverhad been used to a good advantage. Frank gazed in surprise at thedog's lacerated head, and exclaimed:
"There's something besides a beaver in there."
"No, I reckon not," replied the trapper. "Your dog is jest about askeerless as you be, an' hasn't got no more sense than to pitch intoevery wild varmint he comes acrost. You must understand that a beavercan get up a tarnal good fight if he onct makes up his mind to it. An'when you get one of 'em cornered up, it takes somethin' besides a'coon dog to whip him."
Frank made no reply, and the trapper reached down with his long spear,when one after the other of the beavers were killed and pulled out onthe bank. The attack on the houses was then renewed, to drive out anyof the animals which might have returned. In the next breathing-holetwo beavers were found, but only one was secured, the other making hisescape by plunging back under the ice. While they were cutting intothe next hole, a large mink suddenly popped out from under the rootsof a tree into which the trapper was chopping; and although Georgemade a frantic blow at him with the handle of his ax, he succeeded ingetting past him, and started across the pond toward the oppositeshore. The boys immediately went in pursuit, George leading the way,and Frank following close behind him, brandishing his spear, andshouting to the dogs, which were close upon the mink's heels. Thelittle animal made headway through the snow with a rapidity that wassurprising; but the long bounds of the dogs were rapidly diminishingthe distance between them, and when about half way across the pond,Useless overtook and seized him. The boys increased their speed,fearful that the dog might spoil the skin, which was one of the finestthey had ever seen.
"Useless!" shouted George, "get out! Drop that"----
He did not finish the sentence; for suddenly there was a loud crack,and the ice opened beneath him, and he sank out of sight in the coldwater. Frank, as we have said, was following close behind him, and atthe rate of speed at which he was running, it was impossible to stop;and the trapper, who had been watching the race, and had witnessed theaccident with an expression of great concern depicted on hisweather-beaten countenance, expected to see Frank disappear also. Butthe young naturalist always had his wits about him, and summoning allhis strength, he sprang into the air, and cleared the hole into whichGeorge had fallen, by an extraordinary leap, and landed on the firmice on the opposite side. George rose almost instantly, for he was anexpert swimmer; but his sudden immersion into the cold water seemedto have paralyzed his limbs, and rendered him incapable of action.Frank turned immediately and made a desperate clutch at George's longhair; but he was too late, for the unfortunate young hunter again sankslowly out of sight. Frank's mind was made up in an instant, andhastily pulling off his fur cap and comforter, he unbuckled his beltand began to divest himself of his overcoat.
"Take care now, youngster," exclaimed the trapper, who at this momentcame up. "Don't let George get a hold of you, or you'll both go downtogether;" and Dick threw himself on his knees, and stretched his longarm out over the water ready to catch George if he should come upwithin his reach, while Frank stood upon the edge of the ice, ready toplunge into the water the moment his companion should rise again.
But his intentions were anticipated; for at this moment Brave camebounding to the spot, carrying the mink in his mouth. Understanding,in an instant, that something was wrong, he dropped his game andsprang into the water. At this moment George's head appeared at thesurface, and the dog seized him, when, to the horror of the hunters,both disappeared together. But they arose a moment afterward, andBrave, holding the rescued hunter by the collar of his coat, swamtoward his master, and George was drawn out on the ice, in a state ofinsensibility.
"Here! here!" exclaimed Dick, running around to the place where Frankwas kneeling, holding George in his arms; "give him to me, an' you runback an' get the axes."
The trapper raised his young companion in his arms as easily as thoughhe had been an infant, and started toward the bank at the top of hisspeed; while Frank, after pulling Brave out of the water, ran backafter the axes, as Dick had directed. When he again found the trapper,he was on the bank, kneeling beside George, and engaged in chafing hishands and temples.
"Now, youngster!" he exclaimed, hurriedly, "if you ever worked in yourlife, work now. Build a fire and throw up a shantee. We must get hiswet clothes off him to onct."
Frank, as may be supposed, worked with a will, knowing that the lifeof his companion depended on his exertions. In a short time a roaringfire was started, and a rude shelter erected, when George's wet andfrozen clothes were pulled off and hun
g up to dry, and he was warmlywrapped up in blankets. The rubbing was continued a few momentslonger, when they had the satisfaction of seeing him open his eyes andgaze about him. Dick now left the hut. In a short time he returned,with a bunch of herbs in his hand, and soon afterward a cup of strong,nauseating tea was pressed to George's lips, and he was compelled toswallow the whole of it. He was then enveloped in more blankets, andordered to "go to sleep."
While Frank and the trapper were seated beside the fire, talking overthe accident, they heard the noise of approaching footsteps on thecrust, and presently Archie and Harry hurried up to the hut.
"What's the matter with George?" inquired the latter, hurriedly, forhe saw that Dick and Frank were the only ones at the fire.
"O, he got a duckin' in the pond, that's all," replied the trapper."Don't be alarmed. He's sleepin' nicely now."
"We thought somebody was drowned, sure," said Archie, "for we saw thehole in the ice, and your guns and overcoats scattered about, asthough they had been thrown down in a great hurry."
In about an hour George awoke, and, of course, was immediatelyassailed with innumerable questions. Among others, his brother askedhim why he didn't swim when he fell into the water.
"Why didn't I swim!" repeated George; "I couldn't move. It seemed asthough every drop of blood in my body was frozen solid as soon as Itouched the water. But where's the black fox you were going to bringback with you? Did you catch him?"
Archie replied in the negative; and then went on to tell how they hadfound the trail in the gully, followed it for a mile, then suddenlylost it again, all efforts to recover it proving unsuccessful.
About the middle of the afternoon, George, declaring that he was ableto travel, was allowed to put on his clothes, and the huntersshouldered their guns and started for home.
The sight of their snug little cabin was a pleasant thing to the eyesof the trappers that evening, for the day's hunt had been a hard aswell as a profitable one. A fire was quickly started, and, whiletheir supper was cooking, George changed his wet clothes; and a strongcup of coffee, as the trapper remarked, "set _him_ all right again."After supper, how soft and comfortable their blankets felt! They layfor a long time in silence, watching the sparks as they arose slowlytoward the opening in the roof that served as a chimney, and listeningto the whistling of the wind and the sifting of the snow against thewalls of the cabin; for the storm that the trapper had predicted hadalready set in.