It now occurred to the hunters what an oversight they had made, in not cutting down the meat. Had they done so, the cougars would no doubt have devoured it, and moved off after satisfying their hunger. Alas! it was too late for such a thought.
For several minutes the animals continued to walk backward and forward, eagerly eyeing the tempting object above them. Several times they sprang up, as if to seize it; but their efforts fell far short, and they desisted. One of them now ran up the tree, to which the lasso was fastened. His claws could be heard rattling upon the bark as he sprang upward. He first climbed to the branch over which the bear-meat hung. This he shook with violence, looking downward, to see if the suspended object would fall. Disappointed, he left this after a time, and came down to the other branch, where the lasso was tied in a knot. Here he again seized the rope in his claws, and shook it with violence, but with a like result. Although he had the advantage of the wolves in being able to climb the tree, he had not their cunning, else he would soon have let the meat down, by cutting the rope with his teeth. This idea, however, belonged to a higher development of brain than his; and, after seizing the lasso several times, and shaking it as before, he returned to the ground to his mate, who had sat all the while watching his manoeuvres.
These efforts to reach the meat occupied nearly an hour. During all that time the boys stood within the circle of fire, in the most distressing situation. They were half-roasted by the heat, that had been all along increasing, as the black logs burned into red embers. They had made their circle too small; and they stood as in the midst of a fiery furnace!
The smoke had partially cleared away, and they could witness every movement of the cougars; but the terrible heat that oppressed them had almost conquered their fear of these animals; and little would now have tempted them to rush forth and battle with them. The perspiration ran from every pore, and their guns felt like bars of hot iron!
“I can stand it no longer,” cried Basil; “let us fire at them, rush out, and take our chance.”
“Patience, brother,” replied Lucien. “One moment longer. Perhaps they may go away.”
As Lucien spoke, the cougars, who had now given up the bear’s meat, stealthily approached the fire. They crept forward like cats, when stealing upon their prey. At intervals they uttered a strange sound, like the low cough of a person in consumption. They gave forth another sound, which fell equally strange upon the ears of the hunters. It resembled the purring of a cat when caressed; but was much louder, and, in the forest, now silent, could be heard at a considerable distance. It was too plainly heard by those who were near. Both uttered it, as if to encourage one another in their approach; and they kept crawling on, waving their tails as they advanced. When within a few feet of the fire, they stopped, and laid themselves almost flat along the ground—yet evidently prepared to spring forward at any moment. It was a terrible sight to look upon these fierce creatures as they lay. The light of the great fire made every part of them fearfully apparent. Their claws, their teeth, half uncovered, and even the bright irides of their shining eyes were seen distinctly. But they looked not half so fearful as at first. The young hunters now contemplated them from a different point of view. They were suffering where they stood, so fearfully, that there seemed no danger beyond that hot circle of fire—not even from the claws of a cougar!
“I shall stand it no longer,” cried Basil. “We’ll be roasted outright. You, brothers, take that one, I’ll aim at this—so—now—fear not—fire!”
As Basil ceased speaking, the three cracks sounded almost together; and, as soon as they had fired, all three leaped out of the blazing cordon. Whether Lucien and François had missed their aim was not known until afterwards; but Basil had not missed his. He had wounded the cougar; and scarcely had the young hunters got clear of the fiery circle, when the infuriated animal sprang into it, and was seen, now upon its feet, and now rolling over the ground in the throes of death. Marengo attacked it; but both got among the red cinders, and the dog was fain to make his escape out again. The cougar, left to itself, soon ceased its struggles, and lay upon the ground, to all appearance, dead.
But what of the other?