All of the other boys were much surprised by Spouter’s declaration that there was some sort of animal in the branches of the tree Andy had just ascended.
“What is it, Spouter?”
“Are you sure you saw it?”
“Was it a squirrel?”
“Couldn’t be a bear, could it?”
“No, it wasn’t a bear. It wasn’t large enough for a bear,” answered Spouter. “It was just about the size of a great big tomcat.”
“Maybe it was a wildcat!” exclaimed Gif. “Wildcats have been shot more than once around here.”
All of the boys rushed to pick up the firearms which had been dropped when they had boosted Andy up the tree. Then they began to circle the tree, looking up in all directions for a sight of the wild beast.
“What is it?” yelled Andy. And then he added quickly: “If you shoot, don’t shoot me!”
“We can’t see anything,” answered Jack.
The boys on the ground were alarmed, but this was as nothing compared to the alarm felt by Andy. His weapon had been left behind, and so he was practically defenseless.
“There he is! I see him!” came suddenly from Randy. “There!” And he pointed to a branch on one side of the tree. There was a flash of a hairy body, a quivering of some of the leaves, and then all became quiet again.
“It was a wildcat!”
“That’s just what it was!”
“Where did he go to?”
“Hi, you fellows!” cried Andy. “If it’s a wildcat don’t drive it up here!”
“Can’t you break off a tree limb and use it for a club, Andy?” called out Jack. “Maybe you can keep the wildcat from reaching you, anyway.”
The words had scarcely been uttered when with a catlike scream the wildcat suddenly sprang from one side of the tree to the other. As it passed through midair all of those below saw it plainly. It was full grown and had a pair of glaring greenish eyes and claws that looked exceedingly formidable.
Bang! It was Spouter’s weapon that spoke, but the charge of shot passed below the limb on which the wildcat now rested. The youth had been afraid to aim his weapon too high for fear of hitting Andy.
As the shotgun blazed forth the wildcat leaped to another branch of the tree. This brought the beast in full view of where Gif and Jack were standing. Simultaneously both boys raised their weapons and blazed away.
“He’s struck! He’s struck!” cried Randy, and as he uttered the words the wildcat came tumbling down out of the tree into some brushwood. Here the beast thrashed around for an instant and then crouched low as if for a leap at the boys.
“Look out!” yelled Jack. “He’s going to spring!”
Then with a spitting snarl the wildcat made a leap. But as it did so the small rifle Fred carried spoke up and a bullet went straight through its head, killing it almost instantly.
“Is he dead?” questioned Randy, after the wildcat had fallen quiveringly on the dead leaves of the forest.
“I guess so,” answered Fred. “But don’t go too near, he may be only wounded.”
All of the boys had been taught to load up immediately after firing, and now their first attention was given to their weapons.
“How about it? Did you hit him?” questioned Andy.
“Yes. He’s as dead as a doornail,” announced Gif, after a gingerly examination.
“Any more wildcats in the trees?”
“I don’t know. But you keep your eyes open.”
In a few minutes Andy was on the ground beside the others, and all surveyed the wildcat with interest. It was a full grown creature and had it had the chance might have done great damage.
“What shall we do with it?” questioned Fred. “I don’t know that I care for it particularly.”
“We might take it to the bungalow, anyway,” answered Gif. “If we could take it down to Beldane we could get a bounty on it.”
“A bounty?” queried Andy.
“Sure! They pay five or ten dollars a head for wildcats in this state. And they pay a bounty on bears, too,” he added.
“Would we have to take the whole animal to Beldane?” questioned Spouter.
“I don’t think so. I think the head and skin would be plenty. In some places all they ask for is the ears or the tail, or something like that.”
The boys had learned how to take care of the game brought down, and now, after taking several pictures of the animal, they speedily skinned the wildcat, bringing the head with the pelt. The carcass they threw into the bushes.
“Well, we got something, anyhow,” said Fred with satisfaction, as they continued to follow the watercourse toward the lake.
“One fine shot you made, Fred,” answered Randy.
“Fred, I don’t know what I should have done if you hadn’t brought him down,” put in Andy. “He might have come to the top of the tree after me.”
“Oh, I guess he was more scared than we were,” answered the stout Rover boy modestly. Yet, behind it all, he felt quite proud of the shot he had made. It had been at close range and he had had to think and act quickly.
The relaxation from the intensity of the situation was felt by all of the lads, and long before the bungalow was reached they were in a merry humor, singing, joking and whistling loudly.
“I’ll tell you what we might have done,” said Gif. “We might have set a bear trap and used that wildcat for a bait.”
“Would the bear go into such a trap?” questioned Jack. “I thought they didn’t care very much for meat, especially in the summer time. I thought they liked roots and things like that better.”
“We might have put some maple sugar in the trap with the meat,” answered Gif. “Bears like sweets, you know.”
The boys arrived at the bungalow about sundown. All were too tired for a while to do more than sit around and rest. Finally, however, they prepared themselves a simple evening meal, and almost as soon as this was disposed of one after another shoved off to bed.
“This is the ideal life,” said Jack, as he was undressing. “A fellow doesn’t have to have any appetizing sauce for what he eats and he doesn’t have to be rocked to sleep.”
“My dad always said that it made a new man of him to spend a week or two up here in the woods,” answered Gif.
In the morning the boys took their usual plunge in the lake and after breakfast decided to take one of the rowboats and go up to Big Bear Cove and try their hand at fishing. Fred had noted a certain hole under some large overhanging trees where he was certain they would be able to get some pickerel of good size.
As they had done the day before, they took a lunch with them so that there would be no hurry about getting back. And this was just as well, because once they were at the fishing they found the sport so fine that they hated to think of giving it up. Each one of them caught both perch and pickerel, and one of the finny tribe landed by Jack weighed at least two pounds and a half, while another, caught by Spouter, weighed almost as much.
“We’ll have fish enough for several days,” said Gif.
“If only we can keep some of them alive,” answered Randy.
“Oh, I think we can. I’ve been fixing up that pound in the brook, you know.”
The day was not without its surprises. Once Randy was standing on a small point of rocks and had what he thought was a magnificent catch. Suddenly the fish whisked around and before the lad could save himself he lost his balance and went into the lake with a big splash.
“Hurrah! Randy’s gone in swimming with all his clothes on!” cried Andy.
“Don’t let the fish pull you away,” called out Fred gayly.
“Catch the pole! Catch the pole!” called Randy, as he came up to his feet and scrambled out on the rocks. “There goes the fish with my pole!”
Jack handed his own pole to Spouter and made a leap for the rowboat. Getting in, he sculled rapidly after the pole, which was being jerked along the surface of the lake. As he caught the pole there was a snap, and the empty line came flying toward him. What became of the fish they never learned.
After that things went along quietly for half an hour. Then, of a sudden, Spouter let out a yell.
“Hannibal’s ghost!” he called out. “I’ve got the biggest fish yet! Gee, I can hardly budge him!”
“Play him, Spouter! Play him!” called out Gif. “Don’t let him get away from you.”
“I knew some whopping big fish were down in that hole,” cried Fred. “Play him for all you’re worth, Spouter!”
“I can’t budge him,” gasped Spouter. “Gee, what a catch!”
Spouter was so excited that all the others pulled in their lines and ran to where he stood close to the bent-over trees which lined the edge of that side of the cove. Spouter was trying his best to haul in, but without avail.
“Maybe your line is caught,” suggested Gif.
“No, it’s a fish. I’m sure of it,” answered Spouter. “I felt it pull.”
All crowded closer to give Spouter whatever advice and assistance they could. Even Gif tried to pull in on the line, but without avail. Finally, however, Spouter twisted the line a little to one side, and then up came the hook and attached to it what looked like the remains of an old hunting boot.
“Well, what do you know about that!” cried Spouter, in disgust. “Nothing but an old boot!”
“And I’ll bet it was caught in between the loose roots of the trees,” said Jack. And then there was a general laugh, in which even Spouter joined.
It was nearly five o’clock before the boys got into the rowboat again and started to return to the bungalow. They had fifteen perch and seven pickerel to their credit, and of this catch they were justly proud.
“We’ll have one dandy fish supper to-night,” said Randy, smacking his lips. “And we won’t have Jeff here to burn it up for us, either.”
“Yum, yum! I can smell the frying fish already,” murmured Gif.
The boys took turns at rowing and soon reached the lake proper and then sent the craft flying in the direction of the bungalow. As they came close to the dock Spouter, who was looking ahead, set up a sudden shout of wonder.
“Hello! what do you know about this? The other boats are gone!”
“The boats gone!” cried Gif. “Are you sure?”
“Look for yourself, Gif. We left them tied to the dock, didn’t we?”
“We sure did.”
The two boats that had been left at the bungalow dock were certainly missing, and much mystified the six boys landed, to gaze around in bewilderment. But gaze as hard as they might, they could see nothing of the missing craft.
“Do you suppose Tommy Flanders and his crowd took them away?” questioned Jack.
“I wouldn’t put it past them,” answered Gif.
Fred and Randy had turned toward the front door of the bungalow. The key to this was hanging on a nail, and taking it down they unlocked the door and threw it open. As they passed into the house a cry of astonishment broke from them.
“Did you ever see anything like it before?”
“Who did this?”
“What’s the matter in there?” called out Gif.
“Matter? Everything’s the matter,” answered Fred.
“They’ve smashed up the whole house!” added Randy.