CHAPTER VII
LIL ARTHA SAVES THE DAY
"THAT'S too bad, Lil Artha," said Elmer, "but no matter, I'm sure youdid the best you could."
That was just like Elmer. Plenty of fellows, in the first flush of keendisappointment, would have allowed themselves to speak more or lessbitterly, and complain that it must have been rank carelessness thatwould account for such bad results. But Elmer saw that the tall scoutwas already suffering keenly; and his first thought was to console him.
At the same time he was looking about, and while the chagrined hunterbegan to aimlessly open his gun so as to thrust new shells into thebarrels, Elmer went on to say:
"Point out to me just where the deer was when you fired, Lil Artha."
"Oh! now even you suspect that I just imagined I saw one, Elmer," sighedthe other scout, "but d'ye notice that log lying across the other,something like a letter X? Well, he jumped clean over that when I gavehim the second shot. Oh! he was as big as a barn to me, I tell you, andhow I could ever miss him with the barrel that had the buckshot shell init beats my time. I ought never to go out in the forest alone; I'm afine duck of a hunter, ain't I? If it depended on Lil Artha to keep thecamp in game we'd all turn into living skeletons, like the one in thesideshow of the circus last summer. Oh, rats--but not muskrats--I'mfeeling pretty sick."
Elmer had not waited to listen to all this lament on the part of thedisappointed marksman. Pushing forward he was now at the crossed logs.Immediately he called out in a loud voice that seemed to have an air ofexcitement about it:
"Hi! there, Lil Artha, come here, and hurry, too!"
Upon that the tall scout jammed the breech of his gun shut, havingsucceeded in reloading the same, and he lost no time in hastening tojoin his chum.
"W-what is it, Elmer?" he asked, breathlessly.
The other pointed to his feet.
"What do you call that, and that, and that?" he asked, impressively.
Lil Artha stared, and over his thin face there crept a look, almost ofrapture, as he ejaculated:
"Blood spots on the snow, as sure as anything, Elmer! Oh! then I musthave hit that deer after all! I'm glad, and then again I'm sorry. If hehad to get away from us, I'd much rather not a single piece of lead hadfound him. Now he'll only suffer, and it'll do us no good at all."
"Hold on, don't be too sure about that," remarked Elmer, as he startedto step across the logs, and follow the plainly marked red trail overthe otherwise spotless field of pure snow; "that chap has been struckhard, and I don't believe he can go very far before he drops!"
At hearing this Lil Artha became greatly excited.
"Then let's chase after him right away!" he exclaimed. "Goodness knowswe need fresh meat about as much as anybody could, because we're almosthalf starved, and haven't a ghost of a show at anything else. And if thepoor thing does drop think how mean it'd be to have the foxes and othervarmints gnaw at _our_ deer all night long, while we sucked our thumbsin camp, and went hungry."
All this while Elmer was following the trail. It was an easy task, andeven the tenderfoot scout of the troop might have accomplished such aproposition without being coached.
"Don't you see that it seems to be getting stronger all the while," heexplained to Lil Artha, who was close at his heels, holding his breathwith eagerness as he tried to look ahead so as to glimpse the welcomesight of the deer fallen at last through sheer exhaustion, "and take myword for it, we're pretty sure to get your game before we go back tocamp."
"Well, that would tickle me more'n I could tell you, Elmer," the otherassured him, with visions of glorious feasts rising up before his mind.
"And there he is!" added the other, quickly, "just at the foot of thatfir tree!"
They made a spurt, and were soon bending over the deer, which they foundquite dead, though life had evidently just departed. Lil Artha couldhardly contain himself. He insisted on shaking hands several times withElmer, and then did the same thing with himself, bubbling over withdelight.
"Oh! tell me I'm not dreaming, Elmer, and that I have really and trulyshot a fine deer, just when we needed it the worst kind?"
"There's no mistake about it, old fellow, because here's your deer asplain as anything," Elmer assured him, not a little pleased himself atthe great success that had accompanied their hunt.
"Think how the other fellows will yell when they see it!" Lil Arthacontinued, "and Toby needn't be afraid he's going to starve yet a while,need he?"
"I should think not," the scout master admitted; "when there's all thisfresh venison to be cooked. The country is saved, Lil Artha, and you'rethe lucky one to be our George Washington. The boys will be wanting tokneel down and kiss the back of your hand."
"If they try any of that softy business they'll take a back seat in ahurry, let me tell you," was what the matter-of-fact scout remarked."But, Elmer, ain't it queer that somehow the snow woods don't look quiteso dreary to me now? Fact is, I kind of think this is as pretty a sightas I've seen for a long time."
Elmer laughed at hearing that.
"They always say circumstances alter cases, Lil Artha, and when I hearyou talking that way I know it's true. When a man's as hungry as he canbe and yet live, the world looks different to him from what it does anhour later after some kind friend has filled him up. This deer gives youthe magic spectacles through which you view things in an altogetherdifferent light."
"I guess you're right, Elmer," admitted the other; "I was feeling blue,and so I looked at everything through blue glasses. Now I'm seeing rosy.But say, however will we manage?"
"You mean about getting the game back to camp, I reckon, Lil Artha?"
"That's what I'm striking at, Elmer. We must be some distance off, and Ishould think the deer would weigh between a hundred-and-fifty and twohundred pounds; a pretty hefty load for two boys, with all this snowaround. And yet to have to stop so as to cut the deer up would delay uslike fun."
"Wait, and let's look around for a strong pole," suggested Elmer, whohad seen heavier game than this carried for miles by two husky cowpunchers or hunters. "I have some good stout cord along, which we'll useto tie his forelegs together, and then the hind ones ditto. The polewill pass through, and is carried on a shoulder of each. That's the wayhunters always get their shoot to camp, if there are a pair of them."
The necessary pole was soon discovered, and they managed by means ofjumping on the same to reduce it to the required length. Then the scoutmaster made good use of his cord in order to secure the legs of thedeer in such a way as to afford a hold when the pole was shoved through.Nothing now remained but to lift the game, and start over the backtrail.
As long as the light held they would find no difficulty whatever inkeeping on the track; and should twilight rapidly change into darknessElmer had his bearings so that he could lead aright.
Lil Artha had considered that he was "dog-tired" up to the time hestarted that deer from where it had been lying in some brush; but thiswas forgotten in the excitement of the hour. When glorious successrewards the efforts of the hunter he seems to have been granted a newlease of life; and weariness is forgotten.
All the same the load was no light one, and the going very bad. Manytimes they staggered, and once both of them fell down. But the snowprevented any injury, and they were in too satisfied a frame of mind tocomplain.
"We'll have our revenge all right later on, Lil Artha!" the scout mastertold his comrade as they got up and dug the snow out of their ears, aswell as shook another accumulation free from their collars.
"That's right, we will," assented the other, "and for every tumble likethat I promise myself an additional chunk of deer meat for supper.Another thing, Elmer, we ought to remember; the heavier the game themore grub we'll have."
"You know how to see the bright side of things, Lil Artha," Elmer toldhim.
"Oh! anybody can when success comes along. It takes fellows like you tokeep smiling when things are going wrong all around. But I've learned alesson, Elmer, and after this I won't despa
ir, no matter how dark theclouds look."
"If one deer can reform a scout, what would big game like an elephantdo?" asked Elmer, "but then again I'm a little sorry too, Lil Artha."
"What for?" demanded the panting hunter who held up the other end of thepole that bent under the weight of the suspended game.
"We won't have that chance to settle whether the Indians knew a goodthing when they said musquash was better than 'coon or 'possum, or evenrabbit stew!"
"Gosh! don't waste a tear over that, Elmer. Besides, while we're up herewith Uncle Caleb, like as not we'll have plenty of chances to give thatdish a try. But honest to goodness, it doesn't seem to strike me just asmuch as it did before I cracked over this bully young buck for you saidit was a fairly young one, and ought to eat tender enough."
"I guess that's only natural," the scout master told him. "While we werefacing starvation, why stewed musquash sounded right good to us; butwith a whole carcass of venison on our hands it's plain muskrat again;and there you are, Lil Artha."
"How d'ye think we're getting along by now?" asked the tall scout with alittle vein of entreaty in his voice.
"Oh! perhaps half-way there, more or less," came the reply.
"Whew! think we can make the riffle with this mountain of a deer,Elmer?"
"Seems to weigh about three hundred now, don't it? That's because we'regetting more tired all the time. But since we've started it would be ashame to stop. And think of the joy we'll be bringing Toby, and poorhungry George."
"That does seem to help out some," admitted Lil Artha, taking occasionto change his end of the pole from the right shoulder to the left.
"Keep in step with me as much as you can," advised the leader; "thatdoes more than you'd think to make the going easier. It's a pointeverybody learns who has to carry heavy burdens this way. Coolies overin China know it. Horses running together pull easier if they happen togo in step. You've watched a pair trying to start, with a stalledwagonload of freight. When first one bucks hard, and then the other,there's nothing doing; but once get them to combine, and away she goeson the jump."
There was little that escaped the observation of Elmer Chenowith; and henever failed to try and impart some of the information he picked up tothose of his chums who did not happen to be so keen-eyed.
"It's getting dark; and I can hardly see our old tracks now!" announcedthe tall scout, presently.
"Well, we're near enough to camp to have them hear us if we chose togive out a yell," he was told, reassuringly, "but for my part I thinkwe'd better keep right along as we have been doing, and surprise theboys."
"Oh! I thought I glimpsed a star through the trees ahead just then,Elmer, but that couldn't be so."
"It's the fire, and I've seen it several times, but didn't want to sayanything until you had a chance to make the discovery for yourself!"Elmer declared.
"Bully for that!" exclaimed Lil Artha, "and now we've just got to buckledown to our load, for I'd be ashamed to have to call for help when we'reon the home stretch."
He watched for that welcome glow all the while, and whenever it came itseemed to give Lil Artha renewed strength. In this manner, then, didthey finally approach the camp under the pine tree. Presently they couldsee the moving figures of their comrades, and then Elmer announced:
"They must be getting a little worried about us, because there's Tobystanding up and looking this way as hard as he can. I think you'd bettergive a whoop, so as to let them know we're coming."
That was just like Elmer; he wanted Lil Artha to have the first say,because the honors should be fitted to his brow. And when the luckyhunter did give a shout no doubt there was enough of joy in it to tellthose in camp their comrades were not returning quite empty handed.
When they saw what the two Nimrods were carrying slung on that bendingpole that rested on their sore shoulders Toby and George gave a seriesof shouts themselves:
"Lo! the conquering hero comes; get the laurel wreath ready," cried thedancing Toby, and then adding: "A deer! Tell me about that, would you?Oh! what great luck. Who shot it? Elmer, was it you? What, Lil Artha gothis buck after all, did he? Well, well, well, if that doesn't beatanything I've heard this long while. And won't we have the grandestfeast to-night ever heard of? Oh! say, I'm just trembling all over, I'mso crazy with joy, and p'raps weak, too, because I haven't had enough toeat. Lil Artha, shake hands with me, won't you; and later on you've gotto tell us just however you managed to knock such noble game over."
Meanwhile George, who had not said a single word, went over to where thetired hunters had dropped their burden. He was seen to bend down andfeel of the animal, first about its antlered head, and then even downits hind quarters to its pretty little hoofs. After that he turned toLil Artha, and said in a relieved tone:
"Why, it is a deer, sure enough! I was beginning to think hunger hadmade us see things that didn't have any foundation. But after I'veproved my sight by my sense of feeling I can believe it. And you shothim, did you, Lil Artha? Well, I want to congratulate you, old fellow."
It was just like Lil Artha, bubbling over with mischief, and feelingever so happy because good fortune had come his way, to look meaninglyat George, poke him suggestively in the ribs as he had done once before,and with a wink say:
"That's all right, George, and I'm sure I thank you; but between usdon't you think after all you're the one to be congratulated? Considerwhat you've p'raps escaped by my lucky shot. But it's all right, George,and no reason for you to lie awake nights after this, worrying. You cankeep on getting fatter and fatter, now, because the danger is past," andthen he watched Elmer getting ready to exercise his skill in cutting upthe deer, so they could have a supply of meat for supper.
Storm-Bound; or, A Vacation Among the Snow Drifts Page 9
