“Who’s goin’ to tackle him?” demanded Step Hen. “Now, don’t you fellers all look at me, just because I said that little rifle of mine was good for any animal that walked these here Maine woods. I gave up first chance to Thad long ago, didn’t I, Thad? You see, a feller that hasn’t had great experience at such things don’t want to rush in too fast. I promised my maw to be careful, and I mean to. As for me, you see, I said that Thad had to try out my new gun. The man in the store told me not to think of standing up before any big game till I’d practiced how to use the pump part. You see, if a feller got rattled, and needed to send in a second shot, he might try to work the thing wrong, get it stuck, and then have a fine old time. So Thad for mine.”
“So say we all of us,” remarked Giraffe. “We’d like to see what Thad could do. He hasn’t never had a chance at a moose. You go with Sebattis, Thad. The rest of us’ll sit by the fire here, and wait for things to happen.”
“No fire,” remarked Sebattis. “Eli put um out. You come ’long with me, Tad!”
Somehow the Indian could never get the hang of Thad’s name, and called him Tad; but it was rather a curiosity to hear him talk at all, so nobody ever objected, least of all the patrol leader.
“This is mighty fine of you boys,” whispered Thad, as he watched Eli and Jim proceeding to scatter the fire, and trample on the embers; in which task the other members of the party only too willingly assisted.
In a minute, almost, they were in darkness under the pines. Meanwhile Sebattis had baited the moose with another of his wonderful calls, thrilling the lads just as much as on the first occasion.
“Ugh! make me shiver,” muttered Bumpus. “Seems like there just must be a great big critter, with horns ten feet high, ready to rush the camp. Hey! don’t get away from me, Jim; I want to squat alongside in the dark. After all that light it seems rough to be left in the gloom.”
“Mustn’t talk no more, or sneeze, or cough! Skeer moose right bad,” whispered the younger guide, as he threw an arm across the fat shoulders of Bumpus, for whom he seemed to have taken an especial fancy.
And so the balance of the campers crouched there, with every nerve on edge, listening eagerly for the slightest sound, which of course was magnified a dozen fold, owing to the tension under which they were laboring.
Meanwhile Thad had followed after the Indian guide.