So Walter held his peace, and threw himself into the preparations for dinner as if he had nothing of more importance on his mind. That Christmas feast will never be forgotten by the three city lads. There was the promised roast of venison, a rabbit stew, potatoes baked in the ashes, canned peas, biscuit, a jar of jam, and, to top off with, a hot apple pie made from evaporated apples. But the real surprise was a steak done to a turn over the hot coals.
"Bear!" shouted Hal as he set his teeth in the first mouthful.
Alec smiled. "I see ye have tasted it before," said he.
"Once," replied Hal. "Louis Woodhull got one on that Swift River trip a year ago last fall. But when did you get this fellow, and why have you kept so mum about it?"
Alec nodded toward the skin which was to be Spud Ely"s. "It"s the same one," said he. "I"ve kept part of him ripening out in the storehouse against this day," he explained.
When they could eat no more there was a general loosening of belts and sighs of complete satisfaction into which Pat rudely broke with a demand for dishwashers and wipers.
"Oh, can it!" grunted Hal. "When a fellow"s in the seventh heaven what do you try to bring him down to earth again for?"
But Pat was obdurate, and with many an exaggerated grunt and groan the remains of the feast were cleared away, the dishes washed and the cabin set to rights. Then followed a lazy hour before the rifle match. It was agreed that Pat and Alec, both of whom were expert shots, should count as a clean miss any shot not striking in the black, while the others should be credited with whatever their actual scores were. Each was to be allowed ten shots. The bull"s-eye counted ten, the first ring outside counted nine, the next ring eight, and so on. Each was allowed three trial shots to get the range.
Hal was the first to take his trial shots. At the crack of the rifle Upton ran forward to examine the target. "Never touched it! Didn"t even hit the board! Some shooter you are, Hal!" he yelled.
Hal flushed, but said nothing. For his second shot he took plenty of time and was as careful as he knew how to be. The result was the same.
For his third shot he used a rest, which was contrary to the rules, but was allowed, as this was only a trial shot. This time he nicked a splinter from one edge of the board on which the target was fastened.
"Here, let me see that rifle," cried Pat, striding forward and s.n.a.t.c.hing the gun out of Hal"s hands. He sighted it, then handed it back with a grin. "Will ye tell me how iver ye got thot wan rabbit wid a gun the loikes av thot?" he demanded.
"Why, what"s the matter with the gun?" demanded Hal, reaching for it, a puzzled scowl furrowing his brows.
Alec forestalled him and took the rifle from Pat"s hands. He in turn sighted along the barrel. "Laddie," said he, the soberness of his face belied by the twinkle in his eyes, "do ye no ken that a gun is like a fine lady? It must be treated wi" respect."
Hal took the gun with a puzzled look. "I don"t quite get you fellows yet," said he.
Pat laughed outright. "Look at your forward sight, man. You"ve hit the end of your barrel against something and knocked that sight a wee bit out of alignment. It must have been pure luck that you got that rabbit this morning."
"Use my rifle," interrupted Walter.
"Thanks," replied Hal. "I believe I will. Even if I got the sights adjusted on my gun I shouldn"t be able to shoot. Every time I made a poor shot I"d have the feeling that it was the gun"s fault. My, but it is a relief to know that I haven"t gone back in my shooting quite so badly as all that."
All having made their trial shots the match was on. Walter shot first, getting five tens, four nines and an eight, a total of ninety-four. Alec was next, and his first shot was a nine, followed by nine bull"s-eyes, a total of ninety under his handicap. Hal started off with a seven, went into the black six times in succession, then got two eights and wound up with a nine, total ninety-two. Sparrer gave them a surprise with eighty-seven and Pat slapped him on the back. The coaching he had received that morning during the rabbit hunt had not been in vain. Pat was the last man up, and shot rapidly and with seeming carelessness, but the succession of bull"s-eyes was proof that this was more apparent than real. His last shot, however, barely touched the edge of the black, and he insisted that it be counted a miss, tying him with Alec and giving Walter the match.
After this Pat and Alec shot a friendly match. While this was going on Hal slipped back to the cabin. He had marked a small spruce of perfect shape not far from the rear of the cabin, and this he now cut and dragged in. By the time the shooting was over he had it set up at the rear of the room and had stretched a blanket across so as to screen it.
When his comrades came trooping in they were warned not to peep behind it under threat of dire penalties. He made one exception. He needed Upton"s help and also the gifts that Walter had brought from home.
By the time they had finished it was quite dark in the cabin. They piled logs on the fire and when the blaze was leaping merrily up the chimney and casting a warm ruddy light over the room Hal suggested that they draw up to the fire for a Christmas story. He chose the German legend of the origin of the Christmas tree. He possessed no mean skill as a story-teller and he threw himself into the telling of this so that his listeners sat in rapt attention.
Just before the conclusion he gave Walter a signal and the latter arose and slipped back of the blanket. As the story ended the blanket was pulled down and there was the little tree glittering with lights and tinsel and hung with the gifts which the boys had brought. There was a delighted gasp from Pat, Alec and Sparrer and then a silence that was a tribute in itself as they watched the colored candles gradually shorten.
The truth is it was the first Christmas tree within the experience of any one of the three, and they were as delighted as any children could have been.
When the candles had burned down to the danger point Hal blew them out and then distributed the gifts, which were opened amid much hilarity and fun making.
"This makes up for the stockings this morning," he laughed as the others showered him with fulsome praise.
"It more than makes up," declared Pat. ""Tis a Christmas I"ll never forget." Then as he lovingly fingered a long desired book sent in by Doctor Merriam he added: "But when did you think of the tree idea? Was it in New York?"
Hal nodded. "The idea came to me the very day we left. Saw a window full of tree fixings and on the impulse ran in and got the candles and tinsel. Glad you like it."
An hour of story-telling followed ere they turned in and silence like a Christmas benediction settled over the cabin.
CHAPTER XII
A DEER YARD
"Would you fellows like to visit a deer yard?" Pat asked at breakfast the next morning when the subject of the day"s program had been brought up.
"Would we!" Upton fairly shouted it. "Say, Pat, do you mean that there is a really, truly sure enough deer yard anywhere near here? I"ve read about "em, and I"d give all my old shoes to see one."
"Right O, my fine bucko! You shall see one, and it won"t cost you so much as a shoestring," replied Pat. "It"s not over a mile from camp, and on the ridge just above it is one of those deadfalls for bear that Alec built last fall. We"ll take that in and kill two birds with one stone if you say so. There are some marten traps on that same ridge that I want to have a look at. What do you say, Alec?"
"Verra good," replied Alec. "You show the laddies the yard and look over that line, and I"ll take the short line east. We"ll get back here by noon and this afternoon we can show them some other sets."
To this plan the others agreed with enthusiasm and preparations for an immediate start were begun. "Shall we take rifles?" asked Hal eagerly.
"For what?" demanded Pat. "We be going to visit a deer yard, and "twould be tempting fate and flying in the face of Providence to let such a bloodthirsty young gintleman in among the poor cratures with a gun in his hands."
Hal joined in the laugh at his expense and then added rather lamely:
"We might run across that silver fox."
"And we might jump over the moon. The one is as likely as the other,"
retorted Pat.
So the guns were left at the cabin. Pat led the way straight to the ridge on which Spud Ely had missed his first chance to get a buck in the fall, but instead of climbing the ridge worked along the foot of it, skirting a swamp. They followed the edge of this for some distance and then abruptly turned into it. The growth was dense in places, with thickets of young hemlocks which afforded both warmth and shelter in severe weather. Almost at once they came to a deeply trodden path which led them presently to a maze of paths running in all directions.
"Here we are," said Pat.
Sparrer"s face was a study. "Where"s de yard?" he asked.
"All around here," replied Pat with a comprehensive sweep of his arm, "wherever you see these paths." Then, a sudden light breaking over him, he added, "Did you expect to find a fence around it, son?"
Sparrer grinned, not at all embarra.s.sed by the general laugh and perfectly willing to confess his ignorance. "All de yards ever Oi seen had fences round "em. Oi thought a fence was what made a yard," he confessed.
"Not a deer yard," replied Pat. "A deer yard is a place where the deer tramp out paths in the snow and spend the winter. It is made where they get both shelter and food. When the first deep snow comes they collect in such a place and start the paths while browsing for food. Then as the snow gets deeper they follow the same paths because it is easier going, and make new paths only when they have to to reach new food supplies. By continually using these paths they keep them open and manage to pick up a living browsing on twigs and pawing down to the ground moss. By the time the heaviest snows come they can"t very well get out if they want to, especially when there is a crust like this. You see some of those paths are two to three feet deep. The more plentiful the feed and the smaller the herd the smaller the yard. Before there were any laws to protect deer and moose they used to be slaughtered in the yards by trappers and lumber jacks because it is no trick at all for a man on snow-shoes to run them down. Once get them frightened so that they break out of the yard and they can be run down in no time. There"s a deal of poaching goes on now when a yard is discovered near a lumber camp. It"s just plain murder and nothing less. I"ve known a whole family of moose, bull, cow, yearling and calf, to be wiped out in one day by a b.l.o.o.d.y-minded game-hog. Didn"t even waste a shot on the calf, but ran it down and cut its throat. Red Pete, the brute Walt helped to put in the pen the first year he came up here, used to make a business of locating deer yards and keeping lumber camps supplied with fresh meat all winter.
The poor critters haven"t even a running chance for their lives."
"Oi hope we"ll be able to lamp some. Oi wud loike to put me peepers on a real live wild deer before we go home," said Sparrer, his eyes shining with suppressed excitement.
"I guess I can promise you that, my son," replied Pat. "We"ll separate here. Sparrer and I will work off to leeward, Hal will keep straight ahead and Walt will swing to windward. If you two start any they will work over to us and give Sparrer a chance to see em. Yell if you start any. I reckon you"ll find "em pretty tame. They haven"t been bothered here and they know as well as we do that the law protects "em now. Watch for fresh sign and follow it up."
They separated as suggested, Hal and Walter moving slowly so as to give Pat and Sparrer time to gain a good position. Walter swung well to the windward side. Of course this meant that his chances of getting a close view of any deer which might be on his side of the yard were comparatively slim. They would wind him and at once move on. He was in effect a driver for the others. But he didn"t mind this. Wild deer were no new sight to him, and he was only too anxious to give Sparrer the pleasure which he knew a glimpse of Peaked-toes in the freedom of his native woods would be.