Seeing that his victim had escaped, the bison looked up at him with an angry snuff, then turned slowly about and made his way back to the path, leaving his companions to do as they chose.
Jack wondered why, brief though the incident was, his friends had not fired at the bull, who charged him with such fury; but when from his perch he looked around for them, he understood very well why they held their peace.
Seeing the beast depart, the brothers stepped from behind the respective trees that had sheltered them. Both were still shaking with laughter to such an extent that they could hardly stand, and they could not have aimed a gun at the bison had he been within a rod of them.
Jack was inclined to lose his temper when, after scowling at them for a full minute, he saw no signs of a decrease in their mirth. But by-and-by he began to see the ludicrous side of the picture, and he too broke into laughter. Dropping lightly to the ground, he caught up his rifle, and joining his friends, said--
"I started out to scare that old bull, but it looks as though he scared me."
"I should say he did, and----"
But Will dropped back against the tree, his brother doing the same, and both unable to speak another word.
Jack coolly sat down on the ground, saying--
"When you have finished we'll go on."
There is nothing which does a person more good than a hearty fit of laughter. That being so, it is safe to say that the Burton brothers never before had so much good done them.