"Humph," said Caleb; "nothing but a Cottontail. Might "a" knowed that by the light scent an" the circling without treeing."
So Turk was called off and the company groped through the inky woods in quest of more adventures.
"There"s a kind of swampy pond down the lower end of the bush--a likely place for c.o.o.ns on a Frog-hunt," suggested the Woodp.e.c.k.e.r.
So the Hound was again "turned on" near the pond. The dry woods were poor for scent, but the damp margin of the marsh proved good, and Turk became keenly interested and very sniffy. A preliminary "_Woof!_"
was followed by one or two yelps and then a full-chested "_Boooow!"_ that left no doubt he had struck a hot trail at last.
Oh, what wonderfully thrilling horn-blasts those were! Yan for the first time realized the power of the "full cry," whose praises are so often sung.
The hunters sat down to await the result, for, as Caleb pointed out, there was "no saying where the critter might run."
The Hound bayed his fullest, roundest notes at quick intervals, but did not circle. The sound of his voice told them that the chase was straight away, out of the woods, easterly across an open field, and at a hot pace, with regular, full bellowing, unbroken by turn or doubt.
"I believe he"s after the old Callaghan Fox," said the Trapper.
"They"ve tried it together before now, an" there ain"t anything but a Fox will run so straight and fetch such a tune out of Turk."
The baying finally was lost in the distance, probably a mile away, but there was nothing for it but to wait. If Turk had been a full-bred and trained Foxhound he would have stuck to that trail all night, but in half an hour he returned, puffing and hot, to throw himself into the shallow pond.
"Everything scared away now," remarked Caleb. "We might try the other side of the pond." Once or twice the dog became interested, but decided that there was nothing in it, and returned to pant by his master"s feet.
They had now travelled so far toward home that a very short cut across fields would bring them into their own woods.
The moon arose as they got there, and after their long groping in the murky darkness this made the night seem very bright and clear.
They had crossed the brook below Granny de Neuville"s, and were following the old timber trail that went near the stream, when Turk stopped to sniff, ran back and forth two or three times, then stirred the echoes with a full-toned bugle blast and led toward the water.
"_Bow--bow--bow--bow_," he bawled for forty yards and came to a stop. The baying was exactly the same that he gave on the Fox trail, but the course of the animal was crooked, and now there was a break.
They could hear the dog beating about close at hand and far away, but silent so far as tongue was concerned.
"What is it, Caleb?" said Sam with calm a.s.surance, forgetting how recent was their acquaintance.
"Dunno," was the short reply.
""Tisn"t a Fox, is it?" asked Yan.
But a sudden renewal of "_Bow--bow--bow--_" from the Hound one hundred yards away, at the fence, ended all discussion. The dog had the hot trail again. The break had been along the line of a fence that showed, as Caleb said, "It was a c.o.o.n, "cept it might be some old house Cat maybe; them was the only things that would run along top of a fence in the night time."
It was easy to follow now; the moonlight was good, and the baying of the Hound was loud and regular. It led right down the creek, crossing several pools and swamps.
"That settles it," remarked the Trapper decisively. "Cats don"t take to the water. That"s a c.o.o.n," and as they hurried they heard a sudden change in the dog"s note, no longer a deep rich "_B-o-o-w-w_." It became an outrageous clamour of mingled yelps, growls and barks.
"Ha--heh. That means he"s right on it. That is what he does when he _sees_ the critter."
But the "view halloo" was quickly dropped and the tonguing of the dog was now in short, high-pitched yelps _at one place_.
"Jest so! He"s treed! That"s a c.o.o.n, all right!" and Caleb led straight for the place.
The Hound was barking and leaping against a big Ba.s.swood, and Caleb"s comment was: "Hm, never knowed a c.o.o.n to do any other way--always gets up the highest and tarnalest tree to climb in the hull bush. Now who"s the best climber here?"
"Yan is," volunteered Sam.
"Kin ye do it, Yan?"
"I"ll try."
"Guess we"ll make a fire first and see if we can"t see him," said the Woodp.e.c.k.e.r.
"If it was a Woodchuck I"d soon get him for you," chimed in Hawkeye, but no one heeded.
Sam and Yan gathered stuff and soon had a flood of flickering red light on all the surrounding trees. They scanned the big Ba.s.swood without getting sight of their quarry. Caleb took a torch and found on the bark some fresh mud. By going back on the trail to where it had crossed the brook they found the footprint--undoubtedly that of a large c.o.o.n.
"Reckon he"s in some hollow; he"s surely up that tree, and Ba.s.swood"s are always hollow."
Yan now looked at the large trunk in doubt as to whether he could manage it.
Caleb remarked his perplexity and said: "Yes; that"s so. You ain"t fifteen foot spread across the wings, are you? But hold on--"
He walked to a tall thin tree near at hand, cut it through with the axe in a few minutes, and threw it so as to rest against the lowest branch of the big Ba.s.swood. Up this Yan easily swarmed, carrying a stout Elm stick tied behind. When he got to the great Ba.s.swood he felt lost in the green ma.s.s, but the boys below carried torches so as to shed light on each part in turn. At first Yan found neither hole in the trunk nor c.o.o.n, but after long search in the upper branches he saw a great ball of fur on a high crotch and in it two glowing eyes that gave him a thrill. He yelled: "Here he is! Look out below." He climbed up nearer and tried to push the c.o.o.n off, but it braced itself firmly and defied him until he climbed above it, when it leaped and scrambled to a lower branch.
Yan followed it, while his companions below got greatly excited, as they could see nothing, and only judged by the growling and snarling that Yan and the c.o.o.n were fighting. After another pa.s.sage at arms the c.o.o.n left the second crotch and scrambled down the trunk till it reached the leaning sapling, and there perched, glaring at the hunters below. The old Hound raised a howl when he saw the quarry, and Caleb, stepping to one side, drew his revolver and fired. The c.o.o.n fell dead into their midst. Turk sprang to do battle, but he was not needed, and Caleb fondly and proudly wiped the old white pistol as though it alone were to be thanked for the clever shot.
Yan came down quickly, though he found it harder to get down than up.
He hurried excitedly into the ring and stroked the c.o.o.n with a mixture of feelings--admiring its fur--sorry, after all, that it was killed, and triumphant that he had led the way. _It was his c.o.o.n_, and all admitted that. Sam "hefted" it by one leg and said, "Weighs thirty pounds, I bet."
Guy said: "Pooh! Tain"t half as big as that there big Woodchuck I killed, an" you never would have got him if I hadn"t thought of the axe."
Yan thought it would weigh thirty-five pounds. Caleb guessed it at twenty-five (and afterward they found out that it barely weighed eighteen). While they were thus talking the Dog broke into an angry barking such as he gave for strangers--his "human voice," Caleb called it--and at once there stepped into the circle William Raften. He had seen the lights in the woods, and, dreading a fire at this dry season, had dressed and come out.
"h.e.l.lo, Da; why ain"t you in bed, where you ought to be?"
Raften took no notice of his son, but said sneeringly to Caleb: "Ye ain"t out trying to get another shot at me, air ye?" "Tain"t worth your while; I hain"t got no cash on me to-night."
"Now see here, Da," said Sam, interrupting before Caleb could answer, "you don"t play fair. I know, an" you ought to know, that"s all rot about Caleb shooting at you. If he had, he"d "a" got you sure. I"ve seen him shoot."
"Not when he was drunk."
"Last time I was drunk we was in it together," said Caleb fiercely, finding his voice.
"Purty good for a man as swore he had no revolver," and Raften pointed to Caleb"s weapon. "I seen you with that ten years ago. An" sure I"m not scairt of you an" yer revolver," said Raften, seeing Caleb fingering his white pet; "an" I tell ye this. I won"t have ye and yer Sheep-killing cur ramatacking through my woods an" making fires this dry saison."
"D---- you, Raften, I"ve stood all I"m goin" to stand from you." The revolver was out in a flash, and doubtless Caleb would have lived up to his reputation, but Sam, springing to push his father back, came between, and Yan clung to Caleb"s revolver arm, while Guy got safely behind a tree.
"Get out o" the way, you kids!" snarled Caleb.
"By all manes," said Raften scoffingly; "now that he"s got me unarrumed again. You dhirty coward! Get out av the way, bhoys, an Oi"ll settle him," for Raften was incapable of fear, and the boys would have been thrust aside and trouble follow, but that Raften as he left the house had called his two hired men to follow and help fight the fire, and now they came on the scene. One of them was quite friendly with Caleb, the other neutral, and they succeeded in stopping hostilities for a time, while Sam exploded:
"Now see here, Da, "twould just "a" served you right if you"d got a hole through you. You make me sick, running on Caleb. He didn"t make that fire; "twas me an" Yan, an" we"ll put it out safe enough. You skinned Caleb an" he never done you no harm. You run on him just as Granny de Neuville done on you after she grabbed your groceries. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Tain"t square, an" "tain"t being a man. When you can"t prove nothin" you ought to shut up."