"I just saw the eyes of some wild animal back there. See! There they are now!"
As Jack spoke he raised his gun and blazed away. This shot was followed by one from Spouter.
The reports were followed almost immediately by a snarl and a whining cry, and they heard some animal thrashing around wildly in the bushes behind the spring, sending the loose snow flying in all directions.
"We hit it, whatever it is," announced Jack.
"What do you suppose it can be?" questioned Spouter quickly. "It wasn"t a deer, was it?"
"I don"t think so, Spouter. It was too low down for that. Maybe it was a fox, although it didn"t sound like it."
"Perhaps there are brook mink around this spring."
"Maybe."
"Are you going back there to find out?" went on Spouter, for the sounds in the brushwood had now ceased.
"Sure, I"m going back there! You don"t suppose I"m going to let any game get away from us!"
"Be careful, Jack. That animal may be playing possum, you know, and may spring out at you."
"Don"t worry; I"ll be on my guard," answered Jack.
He had slipped another charge into his gun, and Spouter quickly did likewise. Then, with their weapons ready for use and with the flashlight held so that it cast its rays ahead, they cautiously moved around to one side of the frozen spring and made their way in the direction of the bushes and rocks in the rear.
"h.e.l.lo there! what are you shooting at?" The cry came from where the pair had left the boxsled. It was Gif who was calling.
"We don"t know yet," answered Jack.
"We saw a pair of eyes, and we shot at them," added Spouter.
"Gee! what do you know about that?" exclaimed Fred. "Hunting before we even reach the Lodge!"
"Let"s go ahead and see what they struck," came from Randy.
"That"s the talk!" added his twin.
Gif was willing, and in a moment more the four lads had scrambled down from the boxsled and were making their way along the road leading to the spring. By this time Jack and Spouter had advanced through the brushwood and over the rocks close to the spot where they had last seen the gleaming eyes. As they went on Jack imagined once or twice he saw something moving through the snow, but of this he was not certain.
"Here is where we hit it, whatever it was," declared Spouter, when they reached the point directly behind the spring. "See how the snow is dug up?"
"Yes, and here are some drops of blood," said Jack, as he turned the flashlight on the snow. "But whatever it was, it got away," he added disappointedly.
"What have you got?" sang out Gif, for he and the others had come up on the opposite side of the spring.
"We haven"t got anything," answered Spouter dolefully. "We hit something, but it got away from us."
"It wasn"t a moose, was it?" queried Randy with great interest.
"No, I think it was a three-horned elephant," replied Jack, who was not then in the best of humor. He hated to have the first thing he shot at get away from him.
"Well, this seems to be the end of this road," remarked Gif, looking around.
"Yes, it only led down to this frozen-up spring," answered Spouter.
"I move we go on," said Fred. "I"m cold, and I"m sleepy too."
"I think we"re all that way," answered Gif. "Come on, you fellows. No use of remaining around here. If that animal got away it probably moved off quite a distance."
"That would depend on how badly it was wounded," answered Jack. "Just wait a minute, and I"ll see if I can"t find its trail."
Aided by the flashlight, he looked around carefully, and presently made out some tracks in the snow leading in the direction of a nearby thicket. He moved to this, coming presently to several low-hanging trees.
"See anything?" questioned Fred impatiently.
"Not yet. But the trail is here as plain as can be."
"Maybe those are only rabbit tracks," remarked Randy.
"Or tracks of the animals that came down to the spring for a drink," put in Gif.
Jack did not answer. He was flashing the light around carefully, inspecting all the trees and bushes in that vicinity. Suddenly the light was flashed upward, and as the rays ran along one of the branches of the tree directly in front of the youth there came a sudden snarl of rage and protest.
"It"s a wildcat!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Spouter, whose eyes had also been following the rays of light. "A wildcat!"
"Yes, and it"s the animal we wounded," answered Jack. "See how it is holding up one of its front paws."
"Be careful!" sang out Gif, in alarm. "A wounded wildcat is no beast to play with."
Scarcely had he uttered the words when the wildcat gave another snarl of rage. Then the tail of the beast began to quiver, and suddenly, with a cry, it leaped down from the tree, striking the ground directly in front of the surprised boys.
CHAPTER XIII
THE MEETING ON THE ROAD
That the wildcat was in a savage mood and prepared to fight to a finish, there could be no doubt. Evidently the wounded paw had made the beast more savage than usual, and hardly had it struck the ground than it tried to make a leap forward at Jack.
"Look out, Jack!"
"He means to claw you to death!"
Bang! went Spouter"s gun, but he did not dare to take too close an aim for fear of hitting Jack, and as a consequence the charge of shot merely damaged the wildcat"s tail.
It must not be thought that the oldest Rover was slow in moving. Had this been true, the wildcat would undoubtedly have fastened its claws and its teeth into the youth and done serious damage. As the animal came forward, the young captain leaped to one side and the wildcat landed in the snow, facing the others who had come up.