"Turk's struck it rich!" opined Caleb.
The old Dog's bawling was strong now, but not very regular, showing that the hunted animal's course was crooked. Then there was a long break in it, showing possibly that the creature had run a fence or swung from one tree to another.
[525] "That's a Coon," said Yan eagerly, for he had not forgotten any detail of the other lesson.
Caleb made no reply.
The Hound tongued a long way off, but came back to the pond and had one or two checks.
"It's a great running for a Coon," Yan remarked, at length in doubt. Then to Caleb, "What do you think?"
Caleb answered slowly: "I dunno what to think. It runs too far for a Coon, an' 'tain't treed yet; an' I kin tell by the Dog's voice he's mad. If you was near him now you'd see all his back hair stannin' up."
Another circle was announced by the Dog's baying, and then the long, continuous, high-pitched yelping told that the game was treed at last.
"Well, that puts Fox and Skunk out of it," said the Trapper, "but it certainly don't act like a Coon on the ground."
"First there gets the Coon!" shouted Blackhawk, and the boys skurried through the dark woods, getting many a scratch and fall. As it was, Yan and Wesley arrived together and touched the tree at the same moment. The rest came straggling up, with Char-less last and Guy a little ahead of him. Guy wanted to relate the full particulars of his latest glorious victory over Char-less, but all attention was now on old Turk, who was barking savagely up the tree.