Rocky Mountain Boys Part 19

"Oh! well, that makes it easier for me, I suppose," said the reluctant Felix; "but all the same it galls some."

"I don't see why it should," remarked Tom. "Just look back a little, and you'll see me taking a mean and cowardly advantage of that black I got, stepping up when he was sliding down that tree, and shooting him while his back was turned, so to speak."

Then Felix laughed a little, as though he might be convinced.

"I guess you're right, Tom," he observed. "It just occurred to me that when the wounded buck had me held up in the tree a prisoner, I was only too glad to fish up my Marlin, and give him his dose. Of course I didn't climb that tree in the beginning; he tossed me up there."

"Well, I don't suppose you could induce the grizzly to try that same thing; but if he did, you'd think it all right then to plug him, would you? I rather guess it don't amount to much difference after all, Felix, whether you climb first, or get pushed up a tree. The whole fact of the matter is, that a man isn't in the same cla.s.s as a big buck or a wounded grizzly, when it comes to muscle; and he's just got to fall back on guns, and trees, and such, to even things up."

"Consider it settled then, Tom; I'll climb," concluded the Eastern boy; and with this his chum seemed content.

They were getting deeper into the mountains all the while, and Felix could even see where they had started to climb when heading upwards on that other occasion at the time they went after bighorns.

And Tom led the way over some of the same ground. It was more familiar to them now, and they did not have the same difficulty as before.

Indeed, Felix remembered in many instances just where to place his foot; or to reach up and seize on a projecting k.n.o.b in order to pull himself upward.

He began to look curiously ahead, wondering just where it could be that Tom had sighted the head of the grizzly thrust out, as the animal surveyed the descending hunters, who were bearing fresh meat. Indeed, he really wondered why Bruin had not seen fit to follow after the scent, and make them drop their packs, or else fight for the spoils on the spot. Tom, upon being asked declared that ordinarily such might have been the programme of a grizzly, that fears nothing under the sun, in either the human or the animal kingdom; but that possibly His Majesty, as he called the beast, may have recently dined; and when one has no appet.i.te, it seems the part of folly to go to any extraordinary exertion to secure food.

"But he may be on edge today, just the same," he added, after giving this information in answer to the question of his cousin.

"I hope so," replied Felix. "If I just do have to climb a tree, and ask a bear to step up and be shot, I want to see him at his worst. That's the only thing to give me an easy conscience."

Tom only smiled.

He had a pretty good idea some of these gallant notions would undergo a decided change in his chum before they were done with this business.

Five minutes later he remarked quietly:

"We're nearly there, Felix. Hold up a bit, and get your breath. Look up, and see if you can notice where that seam in the rocks has a black look."

"Oh! I get that, all right, Tom; is there where you saw his head sticking out?"

"That's the place; and chances are we'll find a regular trail leading up to the mouth of the den. What I'm going to look for the first thing is the tree. In hunting a grizzly that's an important part of the game; unless you happen to have a gully in front, that no bear could cross over. I've known of a good many hunters coming out here to get the hide of a grizzly; and they told my father that while the idea of doing such a thing struck them at first as cowardly, after they'd had a look at the monster they meant to tackle, the only thing that bothered them then was about the size of the tree. It seemed to them that they wanted one as tall as the redwoods in California."

Felix chuckled at this, but made no further remark. He had noticed that Tom no longer talked in his natural voice, but whispered. Even this circ.u.mstance seemed to add more or less to the gravity of the occasion.

It told of hovering danger, and the need of ordinary caution, if they did not want to arouse the sleeping dragon, and have him rushing wildly out to a.s.sail them, before they were good and ready to give him a warm reception.

Tom kept on looking carefully around him every chance he got, as they pushed on slowly. Felix knew the wisdom of this, and that he would be doing the right thing to also get his surroundings firmly fixed in his mind, before the grand circus began. There could be no telling how much need of this there might be before the little mountain drama closed in the death of the bear.

He discovered in the first place that there was an occasional tree in sight, not of any great size, but with a trunk that would baffle any ordinary animal to bend down, Felix thought.

As the grizzly could not climb, a perch in one of these would place the hunters out of danger, and they could proceed to accomplish their work as they felt inclined.

How the bear was to be coaxed out, and to the tree, Felix of course did not as yet know; but he was quite willing to leave this to his chum. Tom understood all about the ways of grizzlies; he had heard them discussed since childhood, and seen many of the species brought in by hunters; for since they are a serious menace to the raising of cattle, there is a price on the head of every grizzly known to have his haunt within miles of a ranch.

Tom was moving about now, and appeared to be scanning the rock at his feet eagerly. Undoubtedly he was looking for the well worn trail which, he had told his chum, he expected to discover, leading upward toward that dark spot in the rocky wall, where, according to his figuring, the animal's den had its yawning mouth, although as yet they had not actually looked into it.

So Felix stood there, waiting, and holding his gun in his hands, wondering what he might be expected to do should the grizzly appear unexpectedly from some other quarter, heading toward his den.

And possibly because Tom had impressed the necessity of a tree so strongly on his mind Felix even made sure that there was one of these growing close at hand which he believed might be scaled in a hurry if there arose any need.

He saw that his companion was now examining the ground more closely than ever; and there was that about his manner to tell that he must have made a discovery of some sort.

A few seconds later the Western lad arose to his feet, and his face shone with satisfaction as he turned toward his friend.

"It's here, just as I said, Felix," he whispered; "and from the signs I'm pretty sure the old fellow is right now squatted in his den. Things look all right to me, and the next thing is to coax him out. Like you, I only hope he's hungry; but no matter whether he is or not, he's just got to come, and that's all there is to it."

CHAPTER XVII

WHEN MUSIC WAS PLAYED OUT

Like a general arranging his plan of campaign, so Tom looked around him, up at the place where the den of the monster was believed to be, and then in search of the available tree.

"That's where we ought to perch," he remarked, pointing to a spot close by. "We can each have a tree, which is really better than both getting up in the same one; for while he's trying to get at me, you can pump him full of lead. I'm only going to dip in here in a case of necessity, because I want you to say you got him all by yourself."

"Up a tree," muttered Felix, disconsolately; but his chum paid no attention to the half protest, being satisfied that time would vindicate his course.

"Now, there are some trees up yonder, closer to the den, and they would answer in a pinch, if we had to run for it," Tom went on to remark.

"I don't just get on to what you mean," remarked the other; "I thought you expected to climb up, fix a comfortable seat, and then ask him to step out, and get acquainted."

"But perhaps he won't come," retorted Tom. "You never can tell about these grizzlies. Some days they're ready to just rush out, and tackle a whole army. Then again they have to be nearly dragged out, they're so full, and so lazy. But once you get 'em stirred up, they're always the fiercest ever."

"Do you expect to go up there, then, and have a look in?" asked Felix.

"We might have to, if he won't come when we start to shouting," answered the other. "Let us only get a peek at his nose, so you can touch him up, and I give you my word there won't be any trouble about coaxing him.

You'll hear a roar that'll just about make your blood run cold, and then we've got a fight on our hands you'll never forget."

"But see here, Tom," urged Felix, "suppose, now, we go up there poking around and just when we're in a fix where we can't back down, the old rascal heaves in sight down the trail. He'd have us in a lovely hole now, wouldn't he? Then I guess we'd have to make it a stand-up fight.

Trees wouldn't figure in it that time, eh?"

"But I'm dead sure he's in his den," declared the other.

"How d'ye make that out, Tom?"

"Why, see here, there's some dirt where he goes up and down. You can see that he's just worn a path with the many times he's gone in and out.

Now, look close, and I can show you several prints of his big feet, with the claw marks sticking out ahead. And they all point _toward_ the den, showing that the most recent tracks are the ones he made going in! Get that, Felix?"

"Sure I do; and I must say it looks just as you figure it all out, Tom; and if that's the case, our old chap is at home, all right."

"Then let's move up closer," said the other. "On the whole, I reckon we'll use the trees that lie up yonder. We can see into his hole from there, which we couldn't do down here."

They started to advance, slowly and cautiously, keeping a wary eye up in the quarter where danger lay. But nothing occurred to give them a start, and presently the boys had reached a point where they could see that Tom had hit the truth when he said the dark spot on the face of the cliff's base must be the entrance to the grizzly's den.

"That's where he enters, is it?" said Felix, looking closely at the aperture that simply yawned darkly before them, with the rock hanging overhead.