Chapter XX. Lost in the Woods - The Rover Boys on a Hunt by Edward Stratemeyer
There was no time wasted in shooting at the partridges which were flying along so close to the tree tops. The six cadets did their best but four of the charges went wild. The aim of Jack and Gif was effective, and one wounded partridge came fluttering down to the snow while another dropped dead on the branches of a nearby cedar.
"Hurrah! we've got two of them, anyhow," cried Gif, as he reached forward and quickly put the wounded bird out of its misery.
"We've got two provided we can reach that one up in the tree," answered Jack. "I'm afraid it's going to be some climb to get it down."
"That's so," said Randy.
"Oh, I can get up there in no time!" cried Andy gayly. "Here, take my gun," and with his usual agility he was soon mounting the branches of the big tree, taking particular delight in shaking down great masses of loose snow on the heads of those below.
As is usual with cedars, the branches were close together, and Andy soon found he would have his own troubles in reaching the point where the dead partridge rested. However, he kept on, worming his way upward as best he could, until he was within a few feet of the prize.
"Some climb, believe me!" he called out to those below. "This tree is almost as close-grown as a cedar bush."
Up went Andy, and presently managed to get hold of the dead partridge and drew the game toward him. Just as he did this he heard a peculiar sound a few feet below him on the other side of the tree.
"Hello! is somebody following me?" he questioned, looking down to see what the movement among the branches below meant.
There was no reply to his question, and Andy came to the conclusion that the branches must have become crossed in some way and then loosened themselves. He continued his descent, but just as he reached a branch two feet further down a peculiar cry came to his alert ears, a cry not unlike that of an angry cat.
"Hello! something is up in this tree, that is sure," he told himself.
He listened, and then heard another cry, this time less than two yards below him, coming from one of the larger branches of the big cedar. At once he sent up a shout.
"What's wanted?" questioned his twin. "Why don't you hurry up down so we can do some more hunting?"
"There is some wild animal in this tree!" answered Andy. "I don't know what it is, but it sounds like a wildcat."
"A wildcat!" burst out several of the others.
"And Andy hasn't any gun!" cried Gif. "Come on, let us see if we can't shoot the thing!"
"Go slow there," cautioned Jack. "Let us see if we can't locate it and find out what it is first. We don't want it to attack Andy while he is unarmed."
"Are you in any danger, Andy?" called out Fred.
"Where is the cat—or whatever it is?" asked Randy.
"It's just below me somewhere. I can't see it, but I can hear it plainly enough. It's moving around in those lower branches. I guess I had better stay up here for a while;" and as he spoke Andy mounted to a higher limb. With no weapon handy, he had no desire to face any wild animal.
Those below slowly circled the big cedar, keeping their eyes on the alert for a view of whatever might be prowling around among the branches. They had their guns ready for use, but realized that they must fire with great caution, or otherwise they might hit the lad who was in peril.
"I suppose the wildcat, or whatever it is, was up in the tree and didn't know what to do when Andy started to come up. The beast knew we were down here, or otherwise it would probably have jumped down and run off."
"Squirrels don't cry like a cat, and I heard that beast just cry," said Jack. "All squirrels do is to chatter."
"There's another danger," said Gif. "If we come too close to that tree we'll probably drive the wildcat, or whatever it is, up to where Andy is."
"Here's the bird!" shouted Andy from above, and threw the partridge down and away from the tree.
Jack and Andy's twin took a few steps closer to the big cedar, at the same time holding their guns ready for instant use. They peered upward among the snow-laden branches, and presently caught sight of a slinking form resting in a crotch of the tree.
"There it is!" exclaimed Randy, and was on the point of firing when the wildcat—for such it had proved to be—dropped out of sight and leaped to a branch on the other side of the tree trunk.
"Hi there! don't drive that beast up here," called out Andy.
"Andy," called back his twin suddenly, "weren't you carrying that flashlight?"
"No, I left it at the Lodge. I didn't think I would want it on the trip to Henryville."
"I've got my flashlight," remarked Gif. "Here it is," and he brought it forth.
The light was flashed up into the tree and around from branch to branch. As the rays traveled through the cedar there was a sudden wild cry from the animal, and then came a swish and a whirr as the wildcat sprang to the outer end of a limb and then down into the snow.
Bang! bang! bang! went the guns in the hands of Gif, Randy, and Spouter. But whether they hit the wildcat or not, they could not tell. There was a whirl in the snow, and then in a twinkling the beast had disappeared into the forest behind them.
"Well, it's gone, anyhow," declared Jack, in a tone of great relief. "You can come down, Andy."
Andy was soon out of the tree, and, having picked up the two partridges, the six young hunters continued on their way, as they supposed, in the direction of Cedar Lodge.
Presently they came to another clearing, and on the far side of this noted some animals hopping about which they felt certain must be rabbits.
"Let's go over there!" cried Fred excitedly. "Maybe we can make a good haul."
"It's a pretty good tramp around to the other side of this clearing," remarked Gif. "And it looks to me as if it might begin to snow again," he added, with a glance at the sky which was now heavily overcast.
But all of the others wanted a chance to get more game, so in the end the six cadets tramped around one edge of the clearing until they reached a point close to the spot where the rabbits had been seen. Here the bunnies were out in force, trying to find something to eat, and they had but little difficulty in bagging four of the creatures.
"Well, that's not so bad but what it might be worse," announced Jack.
"We should have had more than four," grumbled Randy. "There were at least fifteen or sixteen rabbits to be seen." He had missed what he had thought to be a comparatively easy shot.
"Well, we can't have everything," declared Spouter philosophically.
They trudged on once more, Gif, as before, taking the lead. But presently the tall cadet called a halt.
"What's the matter now?" questioned Randy. "See any more game ahead?"
"No." Gif was staring around first to the right and then to the left. "Hang it if I know whether we are on the right trail or not!"
"Do you mean to say, Gif, you don't know in what direction the Lodge is located?" questioned Spouter quickly.
"I think it's off in that direction, Spouter," was the reply, and Gif pointed with his hand, "but I'm not dead sure of it. Circling that clearing threw me off the track."
"Well, were you sure of the trail before we came over here?" questioned Jack. "If you were, we can go back you know, even though it is quite a tramp."
"I thought I was sure, Jack. But now I'm not sure of anything," answered Gif helplessly. "Someway or other, I seem to be completely turned around."
"Gee! then we're in a pretty pickle," groaned Fred, who was beginning to grow tired of tramping through the snow.
"If we could only get down to the river again we'd be all right," came from Randy.
"I wonder if I could locate the Lodge from the top of one of these trees," remarked Jack. "It would be quite a climb to get such a view, but it would be better than tramping around without knowing where one was going."
"I'll do the climbing," answered Gif quickly. "I got you fellows into this mess, and it's up to me to get you out."
"Oh, don't think I'm complaining," returned Spouter quickly.
"None of us is complaining, Gif. We all know it's the easiest thing in the world to get lost in a big woods like this—especially when there is snow on the ground to cover up the landmarks."
A tall pine was selected, and the others boosted Gif upward as far as they could. Then he mounted from branch to branch, and the others waited below as patiently as possible for what he might have to report. In the meantime a few flakes of snow came drifting downward, and soon it was snowing steadily.
"Well, what can you see?" called out Jack, after those below had waited quite a while for their chum to make a report.
"I can't see very much on account of the snow coming down," announced Gif. "I can see the edge of a clearing that might be the one where Cedar Lodge is located, but I am not certain of it."
"Well, take another good look," advised Spouter. "Wish we had field glasses," he added.
It was a full fifteen minutes before Gif rejoined the others. He had located but one place that looked like the clearing surrounding the Lodge, but, as he had said before, he was by no means certain that this was the right location.
"Well, we might as well try it anyway," announced Jack. "We can't stay here all night."
"It's too bad it began to snow so heavily just as I was climbing the tree," remarked Gif. "If it hadn't been for that I might have gotten quite a view and maybe located the bungalow without difficulty. However, this may prove to be the right trail after all. Come on, before it gets dark."
"Wish I had something more to eat," remarked Andy. The few sandwiches and doughnuts they had brought along had long since been eaten.
As they walked on the way seemed to grow more difficult. They soon found themselves at a point where there were a series of rocks backed up by low-hanging bushes thickly covered with snow. There was no wind, but the snow was now coming down more thickly than ever.
"Gee! it looks to me as if we were lost," remarked Fred.
All gazed around them, but saw little to give them satisfaction. Behind them lay the thick forest, and in front of them the rocks and bushes. It was now growing dark, and this added to their uneasiness.
"Well, what shall we do next?" questioned Gif.
Nobody answered that question. They were undoubtedly lost, and what was to be done about it was a serious problem.