"i wonder how far off the lick is," said george, looking along the path, which the eye could trace for several rods.
"there is but one way of finding out," replied his brother; "and that is to follow the trail to the lick."
jack gazed in the other direction, where the trail could be seen for a greater distance before it wound out of sight.
"the path is so plain," he said, "that i don't believe the lick can be far off."
"if we should come here early in the morning we should be likely to find more of them."
"i don't think we shall have much trouble in finding enough to keep us busy, and to give you another trial with that fine gun of yours."
since there was reason for believing they would soon meet some of the animals of which they were talking, the boys were wise enough to act like the young hunters they claimed to be.
will took the lead, jack coming next, with george in the rear, all walking close together. of course the gun of each was loaded, and, though carried over the shoulder, was ready for instant service.
"keep your eyes open," was the unnecessary advice of jack to their leader, "for we don't want you to fall over some beast before we see him."
"you needn't fear for me," was the confident reply of will; "and don't you forget that some of them may be coming from the other way."
"george must attend to them," said jack, glancing over his shoulder at the youngest member of the party, who also looked behind him on hearing the remark.
"this blanket, strapped like a knapsack behind my shoulders, is handy," remarked george, with a laugh. "if a painter would only use his paws on it he wouldn't hurt me much."
"a painter ain't so foolish as that," said jack. "he knows too well how to get at a fellow of your size to waste any time in tearing up blankets."
"'sh! here comes something!" exclaimed will, in a hushed voice, stopping short, and motioning to the others to do the same.
a second later the leader stepped quickly from the path, and ran a few paces to a large tree, behind which he screened himself. the others quickly did the same, for, as you may well know, the large trunks were so handy that it was an easy thing to do.
brief as was the time taken, it was enough to bring into sight the animal whose approach will had learned by the sound of his feet upon the solid ground.
the huge bushy head of a bull bison loomed into sight, as he ambled along the trail at a leisurely gait, on his return from his dessert of salt. he looked frightful enough when viewed from the front, and it is probable that he would have charged upon the whole party of boys had they tried to stop him; but he is an animal little feared by the hunter, and not one of the three boys felt the least misgiving on the approach of the big beast.
his action showed that he had not observed the young hunters as they dodged from his path, and therefore they were the bolder in peeping from behind their shelter.
a moment after the bull came in sight, another was seen to be walking a short distance behind him. then another and another appeared, until seven were counted, walking along the trail in their lazy fashion.
nothing would have been easier for the boys than to have dropped three of the animals in their tracks. as each one reached his fore leg forward he exposed a portion of his body through which a bullet could have been sent directly into his heart.
not a shot, however, was fired. there was not enough danger in bringing down this kind of game to suit the boys, who wanted something of a more exciting nature. they therefore allowed the beasts to pass by unharmed, though jack resolved to give them a scare.
in darting among the trees to find a hiding-place, george ran in front of jack, so that the latter was thrown a few paces to the rear of the brothers. just as the fine-looking bull came opposite, jack, leaving his gun leaning against the tree, dashed out, threw up both hands, and shouted.
he expected that the startled animal would plunge away at the top of his speed, but he did not.
those who were following the leader flung up their heads each with a snort, and ran off among the trees; but the leader, stopping short, looked inquiringly at the youngster, as though trying to learn his species. then he, too, uttered a snort, and dropping his big head, charged straight at the boy.
it would be putting it very mildly to say that jack was surprised. when he saw his danger he was less than a dozen paces from the beast, which crashed like a steam-engine through the bushes, undergrowth, and among the trees.
"my gracious!" gasped the lad, wheeling about like a flash, and breaking for shelter; "shoot him, boys, or it's all up with me!"
jack, however, proved his readiness of resource by making a running leap at a large limb, a short distance away. seizing it with both hands, he pulled himself out of reach, just as the bull thundered past beneath him.
the brute was trammelled in his movements by the trees, else he would have been likely to overtake the boy before he could secure the refuge.
seeing that his victim had escaped, the bison looked up at him with an angry snuff, then turned slowly about and made his way back to the path, leaving his companions to do as they chose.
jack wondered why, brief though the incident was, his friends had not fired at the bull, who charged him with such fury; but when from his perch he looked around for them, he understood very well why they held their peace.
seeing the beast depart, the brothers stepped from behind the respective trees that had sheltered them. both were still shaking with laughter to such an extent that they could hardly stand, and they could not have aimed a gun at the bison had he been within a rod of them.
jack was inclined to lose his temper when, after scowling at them for a full minute, he saw no signs of a decrease in their mirth. but by-and-by he began to see the ludicrous side of the picture, and he too broke into laughter. dropping lightly to the ground, he caught up his rifle, and joining his friends, said--
"i started out to scare that old bull, but it looks as though he scared me."
"i should say he did, and----"
but will dropped back against the tree, his brother doing the same, and both unable to speak another word.
jack coolly sat down on the ground, saying--
"when you have finished we'll go on."
there is nothing which does a person more good than a hearty fit of laughter. that being so, it is safe to say that the burton brothers never before had so much good done them.
the end, however, soon came, and shaking themselves together, as may be said, the three came back to the trail, along which they continued their way towards the lick.
they took the same order as before, and all were on the alert. now and then jack noticed the shoulders of their leader shaking in a way that told him he was laughing again over the figure cut by jack when he set out to scare the bull. after a time this ceased altogether.
it was yet quite early in the day, and the boys expected when night came to be a long way from their friends. they would have felt themselves poor hunters if they did not spend a night in the woods, even though within easy reach of home; and since mr. burton had given his boys permission to stay a couple of nights in camp, it could be set down as a certainty that they would do so.
the experience of the young hunters on their jaunt through the kentucky woods proved not only of the most stirring kind, but it was marked by a number of adventures the like of which they had never known or heard of before. indeed, it may be said that this feature began with jack's fight with the panthers the night before, when, instead of meeting only one, he ran against two. of itself this was not so remarkable, but it was the first instance known to him.
the boys naturally felt confidence in themselves, for they were three in number, and each had a good gun. surely they ought to be more than enough for anything in the nature of a wild animal; and yet, when they least expected it, they ran into a peril of which none of them dreamed.
"my gracious!" suddenly exclaimed will, turning short around; "here comes a hundred bears!"
now it is not to be supposed that there was anything like the number which the lad in his excitement declared, but what he did see was enough to terrify any one.
lumbering along the trail, directly towards them, was a black bear of large size, and there were two at least behind him. these three were discovered at the same moment, and the unusual sight led will to believe that it was only the head of a procession coming from the salt lick a long distance away.
"let's take to the trees," said will, leading the way into the wood. "it won't do to fight all them."
"hold on," replied jack, standing his ground. "i didn't come out to hunt game, and then run away from it when found."
"you were the first one to do it, though," retorted will. "you can stay if you want to, but i don't."
george followed his brother, but jack, true to his word, stood his ground, ready to meet the bear.
