Frank Allen at Old Moose Lake;

“Scatter away out!” yelled Frank. “Get away from him and get to those trees! Keep your guns ready!”

The boys had stopped at the first evidence of the moose’s charge, but now they scattered still further, so that the big fellow could charge on but one of them at a time.

The one he chose for his first victim was Frank, who was at the center of this string of boys.

As he came straight for Frank, the boy started moving in a circle off to the right, the moose changing his own path so that he would meet Frank. His red eyes, flashing fire, his head tossed back, snorting, he made directly for the boy!

As the big bull came bearing down on Frank at full speed, the young fellow stopped like a dead weight, changed his path and darted past the moose to his left as the big animal threw out its forefeet to strike Frank down.

It was a close call, and Frank realized that he was facing an enemy that was not only angry, determined to put down this man-enemy, but was also wily and had a body which, though large, could be handled with agility.

“Don’t shoot yet!” Frank yelled. “Get to the trees!”

The boys went on a burst of speed, though their feet dragged heavily through snow that was almost up to the knees. Frank turned and saw the moose coming at them again with his eyes wider and more fiery, coming to protect his charges, the cows, from the hands of men. This time the animal was headed straight for Lanky.

Frank stopped, raised his rifle, took aim, and let go.

A loud snarl and a snort came from the big animal as the moose reared high in the air on his hind legs and lashed out furiously with its forelegs. In the meanwhile Lanky got away farther from it.

The animal now turned its attention to the direction from which the shot had come, and bore straight for Frank again, but Frank was close to a tree, so he ducked behind it before the moose could charge him.

As the animal passed the tree, Jack Eastwick raised his rifle and fired. Two of the other boys did the same with their shotguns. A wild snorting told them that something was hurting the big fellow or that the shooting was making him angrier.

The cows were huddled together in the little grove.

The moose bull wheeled, stood on his hind legs, and brought down his forefeet to the ground with a terrific clicking sound.

He stood near the cows, sniffing, snorting, snarling, his right forepaw stamping the ground, his body quivering.

Of a sudden he made a lunge forward, his head down, his great spread of antlers looking as if they were many yards wide, dashing straight at Buster Billings!

Buster became frightened for the moment. He darted from behind the tree and made for another, yelling loudly as he went.

Frank’s rifle spoke, the bullet went true to the hind flank of the moose. It reared high in pain and turned back toward Frank. Buster for the moment was out of danger.

Angrier than ever, fighting mad, red eyes dancing, head swinging from side to side, nostrils fairly blowing fire out into the cold air, the King of the lake country made a lunge at Jack Eastwick, whose position was to the right of Frank.

Jack, behind a tree, calmly took bead on the great beast and pulled the trigger just as the moose threw his head downward. The shot missed the point at which it was aimed, and, instead, struck the moose in the shoulder.

Into the air he reared, again that loud bellow of anger or of pain, perhaps both, and the big body came down against the tree with such mighty force that the trunk broke off, the tree falling sharply away.

Frank gasped, for it seemed that Jack Eastwick was caught behind it. But Jack, as he saw the animal throw its entire weight at the tree, had leaped away quickly enough to be out of reach.

As the tree went over, the animal went with it, falling to its knees.

In that instant three of the boys had their guns on it, and each one fired. But the shots must have missed in the hurry, for there came no cry of pain as there had been before. Instead, the snarl was strictly one of anger as the moose came quickly back to his feet, wheeling to attack.

Straight at Buster once more he went, full head on, his antlers close to the ground, his effort being to toss the boy as he had tossed that moose a few days before.

Buster lost his nerve again, but this time was not to get away so easily. Two big trees stood back of him. He turned to run, and dashed headlong into the trees which stood close together.

Back he bounced, stunned by the force of the impact, just as the great moose lifted his forefeet high in air to strike.

Frank’s position was only twenty feet away.

Crack! His rifle spoke as he drew bead on the eye of this big animal, getting center just at the moment when the body was still, poised high in air.

Buster staggered to one side and fell to the ground.

The moose dropped his forefeet with a clack to the ground, not missing Buster’s body more than a foot, and staggered blindly against the trees.

The boys stood as if rooted.

For a moment the great animal wavered in his struggle to stand, then the front legs seemed to crumble beneath the weight, the body settled forward, the head dropped to one side, and then the entire body toppled against the trees!

Frank watched it all with wonderful interest.

“I believe we got it!” he called. “Don’t go too close! Let’s be sure!”

With that he walked in a wide circle around the trees to see what the animal looked like from the front.

At sight of Frank the bull moose tried to raise his body, but could not, and the eye closed. From the other eye a stream of blood was flowing. His aim had been true.

The cows, huddled together some distance away, looked at the scene as if they expected their great protector to rise and fight again. But his fighting days were over. A younger hunter than he had ever attacked had brought him down. The King had bowed his head at last in defeat.

“How are we going to get him back to camp?” asked Lanky. “We’ve got to take him, you know.”

“The sled! Sure!” yelled Jack Eastwick.

A cry of joy went up from all the boys at this suggestion. They had built just the means of transportation for getting this big fellow out of the woods.

Slowly the struggle for life was giving up. Frank’s bullet must have gone to the brain. The body showed convulsive movements for a while, and then slowly, very slowly, first one leg, then the other reached out, and the entire body sank to the ground.

The King was no more.

Frank suggested that four of the boys go back immediately for the sled, which was still over at the cabin, fully two hours away, while the others remained to take care of the body, fearing that some animal might get it.

Their protector did not rise. These man-enemies stayed around. Quietly the cows edged away from the scene, and when the boys turned, thinking of them, to see what had happened to them, they were far down the alley of trees, disappearing in a break in the hills behind the grove.

Several hours it took the four boys to get the sled back to this point, and several hours more were consumed in getting the big carcass loaded and moved across to the cabin, the boys having to stop at their temporary camp to pick up things there, loading these, too, on top of the sled.

Eight husky boys pulled the sled across the lake, coming up to the shoreline at dusk, weary yet enthusiastic. They had done what many other huntsmen had failed to do.

That evening saw them making plans to break camp early in the morning, using the sled to take their moose back to Todds, but not knowing how they could get it down to Columbia.

“Why, the Harrapin is frozen over, sure!” said Tom Budd. “We’ll just drag the sled all the way. No chance for you fellows to get your motor boat out until the thaw comes.”

Early the next morning, things having been packed the previous evening, these eight boys started trekking back the long trail to Todds, elated over their expedition, with tales aplenty to tell their friends, for the bringing down of this moose bull had filled them with excitement.

At Todds they found the keeper of the hotel waiting for them to come. He said he had been expecting them because he had heard of the trouble between them and Jeek, Jeek having told him the boys would leave his hunting paraphernalia there.

Frank was not certain what he should do, but finally decided that the hotel-keeper could be trusted, and left Jeek’s belongings, thus lightening their load very considerably.

When the hotel-keeper heard of the manner in which they had brought down the great moose bull, he heartily congratulated the boys, and refused to take pay for the meal he placed before them as a noon-day help.

“Can we make it by to-night to Columbia?” Frank asked him.

“Sure my boy,” came the big-throated reply. “You can skate down the Harrapin pulling your sled faster than you motored up, eh? What? Can’t you?”

“Sounds reasonable,” Frank replied, smiling pleasantly.

Immediately after the noon-day meal the boys rested for fifteen minutes, then pulled out along the frozen river for Columbia. Eight strong boys pulling on the rope, skating evenly, regularly, soon brought the sled and its precious load within sight of their home town.

Up to the boatlanding they came, unheralded, just at the close of the day, dragged their sled up the incline, and started through the streets of Columbia for the home of Frank Allen. This was to be their goal.

The attention they attracted was so great that they were halted before they turned off Main Street to the street on which Frank lived, and questions were fired at them and explanations demanded.

Friends gathered around to congratulate the boys, while one of the newspaper men got alongside and asked questions so that he could write the story of their prowess.

Arriving home at last, they stormed the Allen house, Helen and her mother hurrying to the door as the heavy tramp and loud talking and laughing of the boys were heard. Mr. Allen sat in the front room as the boys trooped in. Mr. Van Kirk was paying a visit to the Allen family, and was there to greet the boys on their return.

Helen hurried to the telephone to call Minnie Cuthbert, but some one else had telephoned to Minnie from downtown, and she came hurrying into the house even while Helen was calling.

“Congratulations!” She rushed across the room to shake hands with Frank and welcome him, and all his friends, back. She had stopped long enough outside the house to see the moose on the sled.

Mr. Van Kirk went out, followed by the troop of boys, to identify the big animal.

“That’s the King, Frank! That’s the fellow! Now, tell me all about it,” he said excitedly.

Time after time, for each new visitor who came to the house, the boys told the story. Lanky laid stress on the fact that Frank had brought down the big moose at a critical moment, but Frank treated it all modestly.

“I’m going up first thing in the morning to thank Mrs. Parsons, and I want all you fellows to go along,” said Frank, when the party began to break up.

At once all the boys agreed. They were happy enough to thank her in the heartiest fashion for the great camping expedition which she had given them a chance to enjoy.

THE END

The New Western Series

Exciting, Thrilling Stories of the Old West

Garden City Publishing Company, Inc.

New York

Garden City

The Movie Boys Series

By VICTOR APPLETON

• THE MOVIE BOYS ON CALL,
• or Filming the Perils of A Great City.
• THE MOVIE BOYS IN THE WILD WEST,
• or Stirring Days Among the Cowboys and Indians.
• THE MOVIE BOYS AND THE WRECKERS,
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• or Filming Pictures and Strange Perils.
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• THE MOVIE BOYS IN PERIL,
• or Strenuous Days Along the Panama Canal.
• THE MOVIE BOYS UNDER THE SEA,
• or The Treasure of the Lost Ship.
• THE MOVIE BOYS UNDER FIRE,
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• THE MOVIE BOYS UNDER UNCLE SAM,
• or Taking Pictures for the Army.
• THE MOVIE BOYS’ FIRST SHOWHOUSE,
• or Fighting for a Foothold in Fairlands.
• THE MOVIE BOYS AT SEASIDE PARK,
• or The Rival Photo Houses of the Boardwalk.
• THE MOVIE BOYS ON BROADWAY,
• or The Mystery of the Missing Cash Box.
• THE MOVIE BOYS’ OUTDOOR EXHIBITION,
• or the Film that Solved the Mystery.
• THE MOVIE BOYS’ NEW IDEA,
• or Getting the Best of Their Enemies.
• THE MOVIE BOYS AT THE BIG FAIR,
• or The Greatest Film Ever Exhibited.
• THE MOVIE BOYS’ WAR SPECTACLE,
• or The Film that Won the Prize.

Garden City Publishing Co., Inc.

New York

Garden City

The Dave Fearless Series

By ROY ROCKWOOD

• DAVE FEARLESS AFTER A SUNKEN TREASURE,
• or The Rival Ocean Divers
• DAVE FEARLESS ON A FLOATING ISLAND,
• or The Cruise of the Treasure Ship
• DAVE FEARLESS AND THE CAVE OF MYSTERY,
• or Adrift on the Pacific
• DAVE FEARLSSS AMONG THE ICEBERGS,
• or The Secret of the Eskimo Igloo
• DAVE FEARLESS WRECKED AMONG SAVAGES,
• or The Captives of the Head Hunters
• DAVE FEARLESS AND HIS BIG RAFT,
• or Alone on the Broad Pacific
• DAVE FEARLESS ON VOLCANO ISLAND,
• or The Magic Cave of Blue Fire
• DAVE FEARLESS CAPTURED BY APES,
• or In Gorilla Land
• DAVE FEARLESS AND THE MUTINEERS,
• or Prisoners on the Ship of Death
• DAVE FEARLESS UNDER THE OCEAN,
• or The Treasure of the Lost Submarine
• DAVE FEARLESS IN THE BLACK JUNGLE,
• or Lost Among the Cannibals
• DAVE FEARLESS NEAR THE SOUTH POLE,
• or The Giant Whales of Snow Island
• DAVE FEARLESS CAUGHT BY MALAY PIRATES,
• or The Secret of Bamboo Island
• DAVE FEARLESS ON THE SHIP OF MYSTERY,
• or The Strange Hermit of Shark Cove
• DAVE FEARLESS ON THE LOST BRIG,
• or Abandoned in the Big Hurricane
• DAVE FEARLESS AT WHIRLPOOL POINT,
• or The Mystery of the Water Caves
• DAVE FEARLESS AMONG THE CANNIBALS,
• or The Defense of the Hut in the Swamp

Garden City Publishing Company, Inc.

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The Larry Dexter Series

By RAYMOND SPERRY

• LARRY DEXTER AT THE BIG FLOOD,
• or The Perils of a Reporter
• LARRY DEXTER AND THE LAND SWINDLERS,
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• LARRY DEXTER AND THE MISSING MILLIONAIRE,
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• LARRY DEXTER’S GREAT CHASE,
• or The Young Reporter Across the Continent

Garden City Publishing Company, Inc.

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