“O, call the dogs—Yo he!—Yo ho!
Boone and Ranger, Wolf an’ Beau,
Little Bob-tail an’ Big Dew-claw,
Old Bloody-Mouth an’ Hanging Jaw.
Ye hear the hawns?—Yo he!—Yo ho!
They all are blowin’, so far they go,
With might an’ main, for the trail is fresh,
A big bear’s track in the aidge o’ the bresh!”
“Yo he! yo ho!” said the river faintly. “Yo he! yo ho!” said the rocks more faintly; and fainter still from the vague darkness came an echo so slight that it seemed as near akin to silence as to sound, barely impinging upon the air. “Yo he! yo ho!” it murmured.
But old Joel Ruggles, standing and listening, silently shook his head and said nothing.