“He weighs six pounds if he weighs an ounce,” Bruce asserted, “and he is over two feet long. Ray, these trout are too beautiful to take home. I declare, if this black foaming pool were a big glass tank, I should put them all back, just to watch a host of rainbows swimming around.”
Bruce was just about to shoulder the load of fish when something happened that made them forget for a short time the wonderful time they had had catching that unheard-of mess of trout.
Tawny, who had acted a little bored at the sport in which he could not partake, suddenly rushed down the trail. The lads heard him bark viciously, as if he had cornered some wild beast and the creature had turned at bay on him. The lads, who had not taken their guns along, ran down the trail, but they could not overtake the dog, who for a short time was out of hearing. As the lads walked more slowly along the trail, the dog, still mad with excitement, met them. His hair was wet, but still bristling [[111]]and he evidently wanted them to come with him, which the lads did with some hesitation, because they were not armed.
“I am afraid a bear turned on him,” Ray suggested, “and we couldn’t fight a bear with sticks.”
“I have an idea that it was a moose,” Bruce suggested. “The animal probably crossed the river and Tawny jumped in after him.”
But when on examining the trail and the river bank very carefully, they found neither tracks of moose nor bear, nor tracks of any kind, they were still more puzzled.
“Perhaps he only saw or smelled something on the other side of the river and got himself wet in trying to swim across. He is just fool enough to try that; but let us go home now, Bruce. Perhaps Ganawa can tell us what Tawny was after.”
They found Ganawa sitting in front of the tepee, as if deeply absorbed in thought. He was much pleased with the big catch of trout the lads brought to camp, but when they [[112]]told him of the strange behavior of Tawny, Ganawa’s eyes flashed and he asked, “Did you look for moccasin tracks? Moccasin tracks are hard to see on a trail where there are many stones.”
“We did not see any,” Bruce replied, “but we did not think of looking for them; we thought only of moose or bear.”
“We shall go and look for them in the morning,” said Ganawa. “It is getting too dark now.” [[113]]