“I forgot,” said Hinpoha meekly. “I was only thinking of the poor moose himself, not his antlers or his hide.”
“Have we a right to take him?” asked Gladys. “This isn’t the hunting season, you know.”
Mr. Evans smiled fondly at her. “Always wondering whether you have a right to do things, aren’t you, puss? Yes, of course we have a perfect right to take his antlers and his hide. We didn’t kill him out of season; he killed himself falling into the 62 ravine, so we haven’t broken any law. He just sort of dropped into our laps, and ‘finders is keepers,’ you know.”
“Well, your Calydonian Hunt was more successful than you expected,” said Uncle Teddy, “for now you will really have the antlers as a trophy instead of just seeing the moose. If only all big game hunting were so easy!”
The Argonautic Expedition seemed very argonautic, indeed, when Mrs. Evans welcomed it back into camp and heard the news about the moose. Of course, they could not bring it back with them in the war canoe, for it weighed twelve hundred pounds if it weighed an ounce. Uncle Teddy and Mr. Evans, with the Captain and a few more of the Sandwiches, went directly back in the big launch to bring in the carcass while the Winnebagos prepared a second supper to celebrate the triumphant outcome of the Calydonian Hunt.
CHAPTER IV
BY VOTE OF COUNCIL
“Oh, what a peaceful day!” said Hinpoha, rising from the depths like Undine and seating herself on a rock to dry her bright hair in the breeze before 63 she went up the hill. The Winnebagos and Sandwiches had been in swimming and were lying lazily about in the warm sand. Slim sat in the shade of Hinpoha’s rock and fanned himself. Even a dip in the cool water made him warm and breathless. Gladys and Migwan were out in a rowboat, washing middies in the lake.
“It is peaceful,” drawled Katherine, tracing designs in the sand with her forefinger. “One of those days when everything seems in tune and nothing happens to disturb the quiet. By the way, where’s Sahwah?”
“Gone to St. Pierre with Mr. Evans for the mail,” answered Hinpoha.