Rob Harlow's Adventures Part 31

"I don't care where we are," said Rob, who was growing cool and confident; "this must be a tame one. I shall go forward."

"No, no--don't! He'll claw you down."

"He'd better not. I've got my finger on the trigger. Here! Hallo, old chap! puss! puss! whose cat are you?"

"He's mad," whispered Joe as Rob advanced, and the puma stood firm watching him, till they were so close together that, in full confidence that they had met with a tame beast, the property of some settler or Indian, he laid his gun in the hollow of his left arm, and stretched out his right hand.

The puma winced slightly, and its eyes grew more dilate; but, as Rob stood still, the wild look pa.s.sed slowly away, and it remained motionless.

"Don't! pray don't!" cried Joe in a hoa.r.s.e whisper; "it will seize your hand in its jaws."

"Nonsense! It's as tame as an old tom-cat," said Rob coolly. "Poor old puss, then!" he continued, reaching out a little farther, so that he could just softly touch the animal's cheek, pa.s.sing his fingers along toward its left ear.

"There, I told you so," he said, with a laugh, for the puma pressed its head against his hand, giving it a rub in regular cat fashion, while as, to Joe's horror, Rob continued his caress and began gently rubbing the animal's head, it emitted a soft, purring noise, rolled its head about, and ended by closing up and leaning against the lad's leg, pa.s.sing itself along from nose to tail, turning and repeating the performance, and again on the other side.

"I am glad I didn't shoot," said Rob, bending down to stroke the animal's back. "I say, isn't he a beauty! Come and make friends. He's a bit afraid of us yet."

Joe stood fast, with the loaded gun presented, ready to fire and save his friend's life the moment the creature seized him, when, to his astonishment, the puma so thoroughly approved of the first human caress it had ever received that it lay down, rolled over, wriggling its spine when all four legs were in the air, rolled back again, scratching the ground, and finally crouched and looked up as much as to say, "Go on."

Rob answered the appeal he read in the puma's eyes, and going down on one knee, he patted and stroked it, when, quick as the movement of a serpent, it threw itself over on its back, seized the lad's hand between its bent paws, patted it from one to the other, and then held it tightly as it brought down its mouth as if to bite, but only began to lick the palm with its rough tongue.

"There!" said Rob; "what do you say now? Isn't it a tame one?"

"I--I don't know yet. Hadn't I better fire and kill it?"

"You'd better not," cried Rob. "That'll do, old chap; you'll have the skin off. I say, his tongue is rough. Why, what beautiful fur he has, and how soft and clean! I wonder whose he is."

In the most domestic cat-like fashion the puma now curled itself round, with its forepaws doubled under, and kept up its soft purr as it watched the lad by its side. But as he rose the animal sprang up too, b.u.t.ted its head affectionately against his leg, and then looked up as if to say,--

"What next?"

"Why don't you come and stroke it?" cried Rob. "Because I'm sure it's wild and fierce," was the reply. "Well, it isn't now."

"Ahoy!" came from a distance, and the puma looked sharply about, with ears erect and an intense look, as if it were listening.

"Ahoy!" shouted back Rob. "Let's go to them. Come along, puss."

He took a few steps forward, the puma staring at him and twisting its tail from side to side; but it did not stir. "There, I told you so. It is wild."

"Well, it may be, but it's quite ready to make friends, and it will not hurt us. Come along."

Joe did not possess his companion's faith, and keeping his face to the puma as much as he could, he advanced toward where they could see Brazier waving his hand to them to come on.

As they advanced Rob kept on stopping and looking back at the puma, calling it loudly; but the animal made no response. It stood there with its eyes dilating again, waving and twisting its tail, till they were thirty or forty yards distant, when, with a sudden movement, it half turned away, crouched, its hind legs seemed to act like a spring, and it was shot forward into the low growth and disappeared.

"Gone!" said Joe, with a sigh of relief.

"Why, you're actually afraid of a cat," said Rob mockingly.

"I am--of cats like that," replied his companion. "I've heard my father say that some of them are friendly. That must be a friendly one, but I'm sure they are not fit to be trusted. Let's make haste."

Rob did not feel so disposed, and he looked back from time to time as they forced their way through the gra.s.s and low growth, but there was no puma visible, and finally, taking it for granted that the animal was gone, but making up his mind to try and find it again if they stayed, he stepped out more quickly to catch up to Joe, who was pressing on toward where he could now see both of their companions and a hundred yards beyond the boatmen coming to meet them.

"Hi! What have you shot, Mr Brazier?" cried Rob as he drew nearer.

"Deer! Very fine one!" came back the reply.

"Venison for dinner, then, and not 'only fish,'" said Rob as he changed shoulders with his gun. "Shouldn't care to be always tied down to fresh-water fish, Joe. They're not like turbot and soles."

"I say, don't talk about eating," said the young Italian testily.

"Why not?"

"Makes me so hungry."

"Well, so much the better. Proves that you enjoy your meals. I say, I wish that great cat had followed us."

"Nonsense! What could you have done with it?"

"Kept it as a pet. Taught it to catch birds for us, and to fetch those we shot like a dog. Oh, what a beauty!"

This was on seeing the fine large fat deer which had fallen to Brazier's gun.

"Yes," said Brazier, with a satisfied smile; "it was a piece of good fortune, and it will relieve me of some anxiety about provisions."

"But it will not keep," said Rob.

"Yes; cut in strips and dried in the sun, it will last as long as we want it. You see, we have no means of making up waste in our stores, Rob, and the more we get our guns to help us the longer our expedition can be."

The boatmen and the two lads reached the deer just about the same time, and the latter stood looking on with rather an air of disgust upon their countenances as the crew set to work and deftly removed the animal's skin, which was carried off to the boat to be stretched over the awning to dry, while those left rapidly went to work cutting the flesh in strips and bearing it off to the boat.

"I say, Mr Brazier," said Rob after watching the proceedings for some time, "hadn't those strips of flesh better be dried on sh.o.r.e somewhere?"

"Why?"

"Because they'll smell dreadfully."

"I hope not," said Brazier, smiling.

"Not they, sir," put in Shaddy. "Sun soon coats 'em over and takes the juice out of them. They won't trouble your nose, Master Rob, sir, trust me; and as to drying 'em on sh.o.r.e, that would be a very good plan in every way but one."

"What do you mean?"

"Why, that it would be very convenient, sir, and the meat would dry nicely; but when we wanted it you may take my word it wouldn't be there."

"Would some one steal it?" cried Rob. "No; you told me there were no Indians about."

"So I did, sir; but there are hundreds of other things would take it."