“I say, perfessor, what in creation brung that thar brother of yours out to this country, and throwed him into the company of such a varmint as that Lish?” asked Big Thompson, as Oscar joined him at the woodpile the next morning, where he stood taking an observation of the weather.
“Oh, he came out here to make his fortune; and, like a good many others who have tried it, he spent all his money, and had to take up with the first thing that came in his way.”
With this introduction, Oscar went on to tell as much of Tom’s history as he was willing the guide should know. He went more into the particulars of the matter than he would have done under almost any other circumstances, for he saw very plainly that his companion was not at all pleased to have Tom there.
390He very naturally supposed that anyone who could willingly associate with such a fellow as the wolfer must of necessity be as bad and worthless as he was, and Oscar’s first task was to free his mind from this impression. His next was to awaken2 sympathy for the unfortunate Tom, and in both these efforts he succeeded beyond his expectations.
He had the gratification of seeing that, after his conversation with him, Big Thompson was as friendly toward Tom as he was toward himself.
“He is not going home with me,” said Oscar in conclusion. “He came out here with a good deal of money in his pocket, and I don’t blame him for wanting to stay until that money is all replaced. When we get to the fort I am going to see what I can do for him.”
Oscar felt better after this talk with his guide, and urged him to hurry up the breakfast, as he was impatient to see that fine hunting dog at work.
He made all sorts of sport of the shaggy, ill-looking little fellow, who must have understood some of his disparaging3 remarks, for he 391promptly and fiercely resented every attempt that Oscar made to scrape an acquaintance with him. Big Thompson only grinned and nodded his head, as if to say, “Wait and see,” and so confident was he of success during the coming hunt that he told Tom to follow about a mile in their rear with the mule4, and come up to them when he heard them shoot.
Breakfast over, the two hunters set out on foot, Big Thompson carrying his dog under his arm; and, after three hours’ rapid walking through the willows5 that lined the banks of the brook6, they came within sight of the grove7 at the upper end of the valley. When they had approached within a quarter of a mile of it, the boy’s heart bounded with hope, for he saw a large elk8—the very one he wanted most—walk out of the timber, take a look about him, and then walk back again.
The guide now took the lead, moving with noiseless steps, and Oscar followed close behind.
They approached within less than two hundred yards of the grove without alarming the game, and there they halted. It was evident that a number of elk were browsing9 in the 392grove, for the bushes could be heard crashing in every direction.
“Now, then,” whispered the guide, lifting the dog in the air, so that he could look over the thicket10 behind which they had crept for concealment11, “do you hear ’em in thar? If yer sartin ye do, go in and fetch ’em out.”
He placed the dog upon the ground, and the little animal was off like a shot. He ran with surprising swiftness across the intervening space, and disappeared in the grove, which presently began to echo with his shrill12 bark.
This was followed by an increased commotion13 in the bushes, and Oscar’s first thought was that the insignificant14 little beast was driving the elk away; but Big Thompson must have had a different opinion, for just then he laid his hand on the boy’s arm, and said, in a very low tone:
“He’s found ’em. Get yer we’pon ready, kase he’ll fetch ’em out in plain sight afore long.”
And so it proved. The lordly elk, finding themselves pursued by so small an animal—the like of which they had never seen before—stopped 393and stared at him with great curiosity; and finally, becoming annoyed by his constant yelping16, they began to show their displeasure by stamping their fore15 feet on the ground and making short dashes at him.
As fast as they advanced, the dog retreated in the direction of the willows in which the hunters were concealed17; and a few minutes later he came pell-mell out of the bushes, closely pursued by one of the does.
Then Oscar saw, for the first time, what the dog’s tactics were. As soon as the doe stopped, he wheeled about and began barking at her again, keeping just far enough away to be out of reach of her dangerous hoofs18, and close enough to annoy her.
The rest of the herd19 came out, one after the other—there must have been twenty-five or thirty of them in all—and the last one that appeared was the big elk.
He took up a position between the doe and his companions; and, after making one or two unsuccessful efforts to strike him with his hoofs, stood still and shook his horns at him. The animals were all so much interested in 394Pink and his movements that they did not seem to think of anything else.
“What do ye think of that mis’able leetle cur dorg now, perfessor?” whispered the guide, as Oscar cocked his rifle and raised it slowly and cautiously to his shoulder. “Take all the time ye want, and don’t shoot till yer hands is stiddy and ye kin1 git a fair squint20. If they don’t wind us, Pink’ll fetch ’em right into—— I say, ye done it, didn’t ye?”
While the guide was uttering these words of caution and advice, Oscar’s rifle spoke21; and the big elk, pierced through the spine22, fell to his knees and rolled over dead.
The rest of the herd fled in the greatest confusion; and Pink, alarmed by the noise of the hoofs, and believing, no doubt, that they were about to charge him in a body, took to his heels and made all haste to get into the willows; but, finding that he was not pursued, he quickly mustered23 up courage sufficient to run back to the prostrate24 elk, which he was the first of the party to examine.
“I’ve got him at last, thanks to you, Thompson,” said Oscar, as he leaned on his 395rifle and looked down at the fallen monarch25. “In all my collection there is but one specimen26 that I value more highly than this one, and that is the grizzly27. Pink, you’re a brick, and I’ll never make sport of you again.”
The dog evidently did not appreciate the compliment, or else he did not put any faith in the promise; for, when Oscar attempted to lay his hand on his head, the little animal backed away and growled28 savagely29 at him.
Tom presently came up with the mule, and, in two hours more, the new specimen had been carried to the cabin and Oscar was hard at work upon it.
This was Oscar’s last notable exploit among the foot-hills. Of course the sport did not end with the shooting of the monarch elk, for there were still many animals in the valley that were not represented in his collection, and Oscar’s efforts to secure them were not always unattended by danger.
He kept on adding to his specimens30, and now and then he did something in a quiet way that made him feel good for a week.
One of these achievements was the bagging 396of the wolverine which had so often robbed his traps. The animal was fairly outdone in cunning, and knocked over when he did not know that there was an enemy near him.
The rest of the winter was passed in much the same way as were the days whose incidents we have so minutely described. The hunters devoted31 a good deal of their time to trapping, and their pile of skins grew larger every day.
The traditional January thaw32 came at last, and set the eaves to dropping and the brook to running for a few days; and then Jack33 Frost reasserted his power, and shut everything up tight again.
Many a hard storm roared through the valley after that, but the weather gradually grew warmer, the snow melted slowly away, and finally the grass began to appear in the sunniest places, and the drifts to look as though the wind had scattered34 dust over them.
It was no longer necessary to cut down trees for the pony35 and mule to feed upon. They preferred the withered36 grass to the innutritious buds and twigs37 of the cottonwood, and the 397change in their diet soon began to make a change in their appearance and spirits.
Spring was coming, but so slowly that Oscar grew tired of waiting for it. It seemed as though the deep drifts in the gorge38 would never melt away; and when they did, a roaring torrent39, which showed no indications of drying up, took their place. The grass in the valley was seen before the gorge was passable.
The day of their deliverance was close at hand, however, and one bright morning the guide aroused the slumbering40 boys by shouting out the order to “catch up.”
This meant to cook and eat the breakfast, saddle the pony, and hitch41 the mule to the wagon42, which had for days been loaded and ready for the start.
These duties consumed but little of their time, for all three worked as if they were in a great hurry.
In less than an hour the wagon, with Tom and the guide on the seat, was on its way down the valley, while Oscar lingered behind for a moment to make sure that nothing had been forgotten.
398It was not without a feeling of sadness that he took his last look about the cabin in which he had spent so many happy hours.
The journey to the fort was safely and quickly accomplished43.
They found Ike Barker in his dug-out, and the greeting he extended to them was cordial, indeed.
He kept Oscar busy until midnight relating the incidents of his life in the foot-hills; but there were some things that happened there which he did not hear from the boy’s lips, for his modesty44 compelled him to leave them out.
He heard them from the lips of Big Thompson, who finished the story after Oscar had gone to sleep. The ranchman was delighted at what the guide told him, and took his own way to show it.
“Mr. Barker,” said Oscar the next morning at breakfast, “I am greatly indebted to you for your kindness, and I am sorry that I can return you nothing but my hearty46 thanks. There are your mule and wagon, and if——”
“Don’t want ’em!” exclaimed the ranchman. “I’ve got better. Take ’em up to the post 399an’ sell ’em for what you can get. Look here, professor,” he added hastily, seeing that the boy was about to speak, “I know I don’t live like one of the royal blood, but I’ve got money for all that; and, if you think you are in danger of running short of funds, say the word and I’ll lend you all you want. You saved Thompson’s life, and whipped Lish the Wolfer in a fair fight; and that shows that you are a boy after my own heart.”
Oscar, who was greatly surprised at this kind offer, could only stammer47 out his thanks and reply that he did not stand in any need of pecuniary48 assistance.
“Then perhaps I can help you in another way,” continued the ranchman, who was bent49 on showing his regard for Oscar. “I can give your brother something to do. I have been unfortunate myself, and I know how it seems to have a helping50 hand extended in time of trouble. Tom, how would you like to herd sheep?”
“I don’t know. I never tried it. But I am willing to do anything that will bring me an honest living.”
400“That’s the sort of spirit I like. I’ll give you forty dollars a month and board, and a pony to ride. Yes or no?”
Tom said “Yes,” of course; and, after a short consultation51, it was decided52 that he should go to the post to sell his furs and see his brother off, and then come back to the ranch45 on foot, and assume his duties as sheep-herder.
Oscar afterward53 had a private interview with the ranchman, and left him with the feeling that Tom could not have fallen into better hands.
Oscar spent but two days at the fort—pleasant days they were, too, and everybody seemed glad to see him—for he was impatient to be on his way home.
Their furs, and the mule and wagon, were disposed of without the least trouble; and, out of the money he received, Tom gave Oscar two hundred dollars to be handed to Mr. Smith.
It wasn’t much, Tom said, but still it would show the grocer that he intended to make all the amends54 in his power.
401Tom and the guide assisted him to pack his specimens, which were put into boxes and addressed to himself at Yarmouth, and placed in the freight wagon that was to convey them to the nearest railroad station.
There was one thing that Oscar could not take back with him, greatly to his disappointment, and that was the fawn55 he had captured with the lasso.
These little animals never live long in confinement56, especially if they have been driven hard previous to their capture; and it had died during his absence.
Lieutenant57 Warwick had seen to it that the skin was carefully preserved; but, as it had been taken off in the same manner that a butcher would remove the hide from a slaughtered58 ox, and was afterward tanned with the hair on, it was not of much value as a specimen. But then, somebody could make a rug of it, and so it was packed up to be taken to Eaton.
At last, when everything was ready for the start, and the farewells had all been said, Tom set out for Ike Barker’s ranch, and Oscar stepped into the stage-coach.
402His heart was by no means as light as he had supposed it would be, for the pleasure he anticipated in once more shaking hands with his friends in Eaton was marred59 by the sorrow he felt at parting from those with whom he had so long been associated.
But one thing was certain: the last few months of his life had not been wasted. He had earned money enough to lift the mortgage from the roof that sheltered his mother, and he had been able to assist Tom in his extremity60. The latter was on the right track now, and Oscar fervently61 hoped that he would allow no temptations to switch him off.
Sam Hynes, warned by a telegram which Oscar sent from Albany, met the returned hunter at the depot62, and stuck to him night and day during the week he spent in Eaton, where everybody made a lion of him.
His mother, of course, was overjoyed to meet him, and listened with a beating heart to what he had to say in regard to Tom, who, during the rest of his life on the plains, was the regular recipient63 of something that did 403much to sustain and encourage him in his efforts to reform—a mother’s letters.
That week passed all too quickly for Oscar, who, at the end of it, was once more obliged to tear himself away from home and go to work.
He had months of it before him, too, for the specimens he had secured were all to be stuffed and mounted. He was almost overwhelmed by the attentions he received on every hand.
It was not long before everybody in the city knew who he was and what he had done; at least it seemed so, for everybody stared at him on the streets, and Oscar finally began to wish that he was back in the foot-hills, out of sight.
The committee were more than pleased with his success, and with the appearance of his specimens; and the first year he spent in their employ was only the beginning of a long and profitable engagement with them.
THE END.
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1
kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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3
disparaging
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| adj.轻蔑的，毁谤的v.轻视( disparage的现在分词 )；贬低；批评；非难 | |
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mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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5
willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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7
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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elk
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| n.麋鹿 | |
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browsing
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| v.吃草( browse的现在分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息 | |
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10
thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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11
concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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12
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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13
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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14
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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15
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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16
yelping
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| v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的现在分词 ) | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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18
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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19
herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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20
squint
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| v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的 | |
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21
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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22
spine
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| n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊 | |
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23
mustered
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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25
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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26
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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27
grizzly
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| adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊 | |
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28
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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29
savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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31
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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32
thaw
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| v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和 | |
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33
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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34
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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35
pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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36
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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37
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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38
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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39
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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40
slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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41
hitch
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| v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉 | |
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42
wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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43
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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44
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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45
ranch
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| n.大牧场，大农场 | |
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46
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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47
stammer
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| n.结巴，口吃；v.结结巴巴地说 | |
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48
pecuniary
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| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
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49
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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50
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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51
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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52
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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53
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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54
amends
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| n. 赔偿 | |
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55
fawn
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| n.未满周岁的小鹿；v.巴结，奉承 | |
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56
confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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57
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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58
slaughtered
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59
marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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60
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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61
fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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62
depot
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| n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站 | |
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63
recipient
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| a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器 | |
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