Left on Labrador Part 22

"Yes," said Kit. "Raed, you and Guard stay here and watch him. Wash and I will go for the powder."

We started off, and, on getting back to the beach, found Wade, with Weymouth and Donovan, standing near the boat.

"Where's your bear?" Kit demanded.

"You say," laughed Weymouth, "you were one of the two that shot at him."

"He showed too much speed for us," said Donovan.

"But where's your _new species_?" Wade inquired.

"Oh! he's all right,--up here in a hole."

"That so? Here's what he was eating when the bear drove him away,"

pointing down among the rocks, where a lot of large bones lay partly in the water.

"What kind of an animal was that?" Kit asked.

"A finback, I think," replied Weymouth. "Died or got killed among the ice, and the waves washed the carca.s.s up here. Been dead a good while."

"I should say so, by the smell. Putrid, isn't it? Why, that beast must have had a strong stomach!"

Weymouth and Donovan went off to the schooner after the powder in our places, and came back in about twenty minutes. Palmleaf was with them.

"You haven't come on another bear-hunt, I hope!" cried Wade.

"No, sar. Don't tink much of dem bars, sar. Got a voice jest like ole ma.s.sa down Souf. 'Spression very much like his when he used ter take at us cullered folks with his bowie-knife."

"Pity he hadn't overtaken you with it!" Wade exclaimed, to hector him.

"He would have saved the hangman a job--not far distant."

"Dere's a difference ob 'pinions as to where de noose ought ter come,"

muttered the affronted darky. "Some tinks it's in one place, some in anoder."

Securing the boat by the painter to a rock, we went up over the ledges to where Raed was doing sentinel duty before the fissure.

"Has he made any demonstrations?" Kit asked.

"Growls a little occasionally," said Raed. "I've been looking at the cracks under this top rock. This on the right is the one to mine, I think. I've cleared it out: it's all ready for the powder. What have you got for a slow match?"

Donovan had brought a bit of rope, which he picked to pieces, while Kit and Raed sifted in the powder. The _tow_ was then laid in a long trail, running back some two feet from the crack.

"Now be ready to shoot when the blast goes off," advised Raed. "He may jump out and run. Palmleaf, you keep Guard back."

The rest of us took our stand off thirty or forty yards, and, c.o.c.king our guns, stood ready to shoot. Raed then lighted a match, touched the tow, and retired with alacrity. It flamed up, and ran along the train; then suddenly went nearly out, but blazed again, and crept slowly up to the powder; when _whank!_ and the rock hopped out from between the others, and rolled spitefully along the ground. We stood with our guns to our shoulders, and our fingers on the triggers. But the beast didn't show himself.

"Possibly it killed him," said Kit.

Raed picked up some rough pebbles, and pitched one over between the rocks. Instantly there was a scramble, and our black-furred friend leaped out and ran.

_Crack-k-k-k!_--a running fire. Guard rushed after him. The creature fell at the reports, but scrambled up as the dog charged upon him, and tried to defend himself. But the bullets had riddled him. In an instant, Guard had him by the throat: he was dead. There were five shot-holes in the carca.s.s: one of them, at least, must have been received when we fired at him from the boat.

It was a very strong, muscular creature, with short stout legs and broad feet, with claws not so sharp and retractile as a lynx's; seemingly intermediate between a cat's claws and a dog's nails. The tail was quite long and bushy: indeed, the creature was rather s.h.a.ggy, than otherwise. The head and mouth were not large for the body. The teeth seemed to me much like those of a lynx. I have no doubt that it was a glutton (_Gulo luscus_), or wolverine, as they are indifferently called; though none of us had at that time previously seen one of these creatures. Donovan and Weymouth undertook to skin it; and, while they were thus employed, the rest of us, with Palmleaf and Guard, went off to shoot a dozen kittiwakes. We had gone nearly half a mile, I presume, and secured five birds, when Wade called out to us to see a large eagle, or hawk, which was wheeling slowly about a high crag off to the left.

"It's a white-headed eagle, isn't it?" said he.

Kit thought it might be. But Raed and I both thought not. It seemed scarcely so large; and, so far as we could see, the head was not white. It occurred to me that it might be the famous gerfalcon, or Icelandic eagle; and, on mentioning this supposition, Raed and Kit both agreed with me that it seemed likely. Wis.h.i.+ng, if possible, to secure it, I crept along under the crag, and, watching my chance as it came circling over, fired. 'Twas a very long shot. I had little expectation of hitting: yet my bullet must have struck it; for it flapped over, and came toppling down till within a hundred feet of the top of the crag, when it recovered itself, mounted a little, but gradually settled in the air till lost from sight behind the crag.

Thinking it barely possible that it might fall to the ground, I sent Palmleaf with Guard round where the acclivity was not so great, to look for it. The negro had seen the bird fall, and started off. I let him take my musket, and, with the rest of the boys, went down to the water, which was distant from where we then were not more than a hundred rods. Donovan and Weymouth had already finished skinning the glutton, and gone down to the boat. Knowing we had followed off to the left, they embarked, and came paddling along to pick us up. They came up; and we got in with our kittiwakes, and then stood off a few yards to wait for the negro. I had not expected he would be gone so long. We were looking for him every moment; when suddenly we heard the report of his musket, apparently a long way behind the crag.

"Confound the darky!" muttered Raed. "What could possess him to go so far?"

"Perhaps the eagle kept flying on," suggested Kit.

We waited fifteen or twenty minutes. No signs of him.

"You don't suppose the rascal's got lost, do you?" Wade said.

"No need of that, I should imagine," replied Raed.

We waited ten or fifteen minutes longer.

"We might as well go after him," Kit was saying; when, at a distance, a great shouting and uproar arose, accompanied by the barking of dogs and all the other accompaniments of a general row and rumpus.

"What the d.i.c.kens is up now?" exclaimed Kit.

"It's the Huskies!" cried Weymouth.

"You don't suppose they are after Palmleaf, do you?" Raed demanded.

We listened eagerly. The hubbub was increasing; and, a moment later, we espied the negro bursting over the ledges off to the left at a headlong run, with a whole crowd of Esquimaux only a few rods behind, brandis.h.i.+ng their harpoons and darts. There were dogs, too. Guard was running with Palmleaf, facing about every few leaps, and barking savagely. All the dogs were barking; all the Huskies were _ta-yar-r-r-ing_ and chasing on.

"They'll have him!" shouted Kit. "To the rescue!"

A smart pull of the oars sent the boat up to the rocks. Raed and Kit and Wade sprang out, c.o.c.king their muskets; Donovan followed with one of the oars; and I seized the boat-hook, and started after them.

Palmleaf was tearing down toward the water, running for his life. He had lost the musket. Seeing us, he set up a piteous howl of terror. He had distanced his pursuers a little. The savages were now six or eight rods behind; but the dogs were at his heels, and were only kept off him by the sudden facings and savage growls of Guard, who valiantly stemmed the canine avalanche. We met him about fifty yards from the boat, and raised a loud hurrah.

"Into the boat with you!" Raed sang out to him.

The dogs howled and snarled viciously at us. Donovan cut at them with his oar right and left; while Raed, Kit, and Wade levelled their muskets at the horde of rus.h.i.+ng, breathless savages, who seemed not to have seen us at all till that moment, so intent had they been after the negro. Discovering us, the front ones tried to pull up; and, those behind running up, they were all crowded together, shouting and screaming, and punching each other with their harpoons.

"Avast there!" shouted Donovan, flouris.h.i.+ng his oar.

"Halt!" ordered Wade.

While Kit, remembering a word of Esquimaux, bade them "_Twau-ve_"

("Begone") at the top of his voice.

I must say that they were a wicked-looking lot,--the front ones, at least,--comprising some of the largest Esquimaux we had yet seen.

There must have been thirty or forty in the front groups; and others were momentarily rus.h.i.+ng in from behind. The dogs, too, fifty or sixty at least calculation,--great, gaunt, wolfish, yellow curs,--looked almost as dangerous as their masters.