The elk having lost me retreated for a few paces, when again catching sight of me he dashed forward, rearing up on his hind feet.
With all the strength I possessed, I darted down my sharp-pointed spear towards the top of its head. I knew that the skull was thick, but that if my knife would penetrate it, I should certainly kill the elk. The blow was more effectual than I had dared to hope for. The moment the moose was struck, down it sank to the ground, without giving a single struggle. I could then for the first time look out to ascertain what had become of Pat, shouting as I did so, and presently I saw him rushing out of the larger wood towards me.
As he caught sight of the dead elk, he threw up his hat, exclaiming, “Hurrah! good luck to you, Masther David! Erin go bragh! We’ll not be afther starving at any rate.”
On seeing him coming I descended from my perch. We greeted each other with a hearty shake of the hands, as if we had been long absent. We lost no time in skinning our game, cutting out the tongue, and as large a portion of the haunch as we could carry.
Having prepared our loads, I was about to set off, when Pat exclaimed, “Stay, Masther David; before we are back, the wolves or vultures will have got hould of our mate. It’s more than they desarve, the varmints.”
Saying this, he carefully cut away the inside of the animal, and drew forth a large bladder, which he emptied of its contents, and then blew into it till it was inflated to the full. He then secured it by a thin line drawn from the intestines, which he fastened to a branch overhead, so that it hung vibrating in the breeze over the carcass, glittering brightly as it slowly moved to and fro.
“That will keep the bastes away till we come back,” he observed.
I rather doubted, however, the success of the experiment. We at once returned to our camp, where we left our pot and Pat’s useless gun, and the few other articles we had brought with us. We soon got a fire lighted, and our venison cooked, and a very hearty meal we made.
Having secured the meat inside the hut, before which we left the fire blazing, we returned for a further supply, as we intended to dry enough to last us for the time we should take to reach the fort.
As we approached the spot we saw numerous birds seated on the branches of the surrounding trees, and at a short distance a dozen at least of the smaller prairie-wolves. Both one and the other were evidently scared by the glittering balloon.