Chapter VII: Not to Be Bluffed

"I mean to have all, or none!" and as he said these words the red-faced hunter glowered at Phil as though he felt like eating him, X-Ray afterwards declared.

"Suit yourself, sir," remarked the boy, coolly drawing out his hunting knife.

The man looked a little startled; perhaps he thought Phil intended to attack him.

"Be careful what you mean to do, boy!" he stammered, some of the color leaving his fade; but he saw that X-Ray stood there with his gun under his arm, and finger playing with the lock, so he dared not try to elevate his own weapon in order to threaten Phil.

"I expect to cut this caribou up," said Phil, firmly. "Half of it is as much as we care to tote back to our camp with us. I shall leave the balance here. You can take it or leave it, as you choose, sir. It matters nothing to us."

He turned and said something in so low a tone to X-Ray that the sportsman could not catch its import. Since the other boy immediately drew back the hammer of his repeating rifle, and swung the weapon slightly around until it was pointing directly at the man he could easily guess what Phil had told his chum.

"Perhaps you do not know who I am," blustered the owner of the red face.

"Well, you haven't taken the trouble to introduce yourself yet, I believe, sir," Phil told him.

"My name is James Bodman, and I am interested in American railways!"

It was amusing to see the way the stout party drew himself up proudly as he said this. Of course Phil knew instantly that he was face to face with one of the best known millionaire railroad owners in the whole United States; and he also remembered reading that the same James Bodman was noted as a domineering financial despot.

Phil did not flinch. He gave no sign of being greatly impressed by the importance of the other's position in the world of finance. Instead he merely flirted his hand around to indicate his chum, and remarked with the greatest indifference possible:

"Oh! is that so? Well, let me introduce my friend, Raymond Tyson, Mr. Bodman. As for myself I'm Phil Bradley."

That was all Phil said.

He immediately started work on the fallen caribou, with an air of business that could not brook delay. There were some miles of snowy bush to be traversed before he and his comrade could expect to reach their camp, and he did not wish to be detained any more than was absolutely necessary.

Meanwhile X-Ray was having considerable fun in watching the expressions that chased each other across the florid countenance of the stout hunter. Mr. Bodman apparently found himself taken aback by the indifferent manner in which the news of his identity was received. He had possibly expected the boys to be dazed, and perhaps hasten to beg his august pardon.

"Huh! you'll be sorry for this, let me tell you!" he finally burst out with.

"So?" Phil simply said, as he continued with deft strokes to hack away at the part of the dead caribou's carcass he meant to carry off with him.

Unable to stay there and be defied so boldly, the sportsman turned his back on his tormentors. He looked as though he might be close on having a fit of some kind the last they saw of him.

Once he turned and shook his fist in their direction. X-Ray half raised his gun, as though to let him understand two could play at that game if he dreamed of firing at them; but apparently Mr. Bodman had no intention of risking a shot, for he moved away clumsily on his snow-shoes, with which he was no adept, it appeared.

X-Ray chuckled as though tremendously amused.

"Just hear him growling like a bear with a sore head, will you, Phil? My stars! but he does hate a fellow who has the gall to sass him to his face. I guess he's so swelled up with a sense of his importance, that he expects everybody to fall to trembling when he says so high and mighty like: 'I am James Bodman, huh!'"

"I feel that I did the right thing, X-Ray," said Phil, working away industriously.

"You were more than generous to offer him half, when he didn't deserve a pound of this meat," said the other, scornfully. "What if he did draw blood, that wound wouldn't have feazed the caribou even a little bit. But it seems that Mr. Bodman's policy has been rule or ruin all his life, and he can't get away from it. In plain language I'd call him the Great American Hog."

"I'd hate to have any dealings with that sort of a man," Phil continued. "He's the kind that always wants the best, and others can take the leavings."

"That's how he got his millions, I reckon," X-Ray suggested. "Seems that there's a glut in the market of hard cases up here in this Canadian bush while we're on our little hunt, what with this bully, and that other one to boot."

"Meaning Anson Baylay, the poacher, and all-round terror of the backwoods, eh, X-Ray?"

"Say, I'd give something to see those two run up against each other, and have it out. The free show would beat the old one you hear about, when

"'There once were two cats in Kilkenny,
And each thought there was one cat too many.
So they quarreled and fit; and they gouged and they bit,
Till save the tips of their nails and the ends of their tails,
There was naught left of the two cats of Kilkenny.'"

"It looks to me as if this Mr. Bodman might be a bad hater," mused Phil; "and all I hope is he doesn't get a chance to give us trouble while we're up here."

"Why, how could he do that, Phil; the woods are free to every one; and I'm sure we paid for our hunting licenses as he did, if he is worth his millions. In what way could he injure us?"

"Mind, I don't say he will try to do anything," urged Phil. "Fact is, I hope on second thought the man may come to the conclusion he made a fool of himself. Perhaps he'll hide until we go away, and then return to get his share of the meat. He may even keep it secret that he met his match in two American boys. That would end the matter, so far as we are concerned."

"I suppose he's got a pretty hard crowd over with him in his camp; that lumber-jack gave us to understand as much. They might take a notion to make it unpleasant for us up here, so we'd want to clear out. But they'd better go slow. The Mountain Boys can stand up for their rights."

"Let's forget all about the unpleasant experience, and talk of other things," was Phil's wise suggestion.

Later on, when he had secured all the meat they would care to carry, at least a fair half of the carcass remained untouched.

"If he cares to come back and cut it up he's welcome," said Phil, as they prepared to leave the scene of the killing; "if not, I warrant you there will be only clean-picked bones here by to-morrow morning."

"Yes, with so many hungry wolves hanging around," added X-Ray; "if they're all like that one we bagged at our camp they could clean up a mess like this in half a jiffy."

Nothing occurred on the way home, and in good time the two weary snow-shoe trampers came in sight of the lake and the camp.

When it was learned that they had been successful in their search for a caribou the other two expressed considerable delight; Lub because it would be a new kind of food for them to experiment on, and Ethan regarding the exploit with the interest of a born hunter.

"And, Phil?" the latter immediately broke out with, "to-morrow I hope you'll take another little trip with me. I kind of think I know where we can get a moose; and you've been saying you want to shoot one in the snow forest with your camera."

"How is that?" demanded Phil, naturally interested at once.

"Why, I took a little turn around this afternoon, just to exercise my pins, and practice with my show-shoes, because I'm not as clever at it as you. And I just had a glimpse of a big moose scooting off through the brush."

"Did you fire at the beast?" asked Phil; "because if you wounded him the chances are he'd keep on going as long as he could move his hoofs, and we'd never get a sight of him again."

"Why, no, I hope I'm too good a sportsman to shoot recklessly when there isn't one chance in a hundred of my bringing the game down," said Ethan a little indignantly. "I want to be fairly sure when I throw lead; I don't believe in giving any animal unnecessary pain."

"Excuse me, Ethan, I ought to have known you better than to ask that. And if the day is anyway decent I'll promise to take a wide turn with you."

"Thank you, Phil, for saying that; and I hope on my part we get close enough up for you to snap off the old bull moose before we drop him."

"Did you see that it was a bull?" asked the other, curiously.

"Well, no, I didn't for a fact," replied Ethan; "I just caught sight of the big beast; then the brush closed behind him, and left me staring, with my gun half way up to my shoulder. But it was a good-sized one, let me tell you, even making allowances for any little excitement on my part."

The caribou had chanced to be a young one, which Phil considered fortunate indeed. Lub did his very best at cooking the steaks cut from the joint, but for all that none of the boys seemed to be wildly pleased with the meat. The fact probably was they had too many good things along with them; had their larder been empty, and their stomachs craving food, that meal would have been a real hunters' feast without a doubt.

"I think we're doing remarkably well, so far," Lub was saying, after they were through with supper, and sat around in lazy attitudes, enjoying the sparkle and glow of the comfortable fire; "what with getting a real savage wolf, a walking bear, and now a caribou, the last a species of deer which none of us have ever seen before."

"Yes, all we need now to complete the string of big game to be found up here is a moose, together with a lynx that has tassels on its ears," laughed Ethan; "and to-morrow may bring that list down to the cat tribe, if Phil and myself have any luck on our tramp."

"I'm wondering how I can set my usual flashlight trap up here of nights, so as to get a few pictures of Canadian wild animals in their native haunts," Phil remarked. "If any of you happen to glimpse the tracks of a fox, or a mink, or any sort of little beast, be sure and let me know. I want to follow the trail up and learn where he has his haunt, so I can lay for him."

"How about the beaver houses Mr. McNab told us we might find up that stream, unless some sportsmen or fur-gatherers have cleaned the colony out?" Ethan asked.

"I was thinking of that," replied Phil, "and there may be a chance for us to hit that same stream on our way to-morrow. So I think I'll carry my camera along, and be ready."

"I've seen their houses behind a dam they'd made," remarked Ethan; "but it was in the early fall. A place like that must look picturesque when the snow is everywhere around."

"I hope we can find the colony pond, and that the hard working beaver haven't been cleaned out," Phil continued; after which the conversation drifted into other channels, though Ethan would not be apt to forget when the morrow came, for he was always a great hand to recollect things.

The night had closed in as cold as ever, and it was easy to be seen that winter was getting a good firm grip up here in the far northern wilderness of Canada, and in the famous Saguenay River region.

With all the comforts they had at hand the boys did not dream of complaining; in fact they were thoroughly enjoying every minute of their stay. Even X-Ray, who a year back had been rather inclined to seem sickly, was showing a remarkable improvement in his physique, partly due no doubt to these days and nights, spent in the open air, when on excursions with his three chums.

Long they sat there before the cheery camp fire, laughing, singing some of their school songs, telling stories, and having the time of their lives, as Lub declared.

The stout chum insisted on having the skin of "his" bear close to him most of the time, and he was very fond of running his hand down the long shaggy hair in a caressing way. He hoped he would be able to impress those fellows at home in Brewster with the wonderful value of being smart enough to lure a bear within gunshot of his comrades. And surely none of them would be so mean as to sneer at his claim to the quarry on that score.

At any rate trials so far in the future could not give happy-go-lucky Lub any harassing care. He was in fine spirits on this particular night, and kept the others in roars of laughter with his comical sayings, and his songs.

Later on they sought their blankets. The program of the previous night was duplicated, and the fire kept burning through the long hours when darkness held sway over the primeval wilderness.

Morning showed no important change in the weather conditions, for which Ethan at least was glad. X-Ray grumbled a little, because he had hoped a short thaw might set in, so they could have a glaze of thin ice on top of that deep blanket of snow, for he wanted now to try his hand at gliding swiftly over the levels, climbing ascents after a fashion, and spinning down the slopes beyond like the wind.

Ethan was ready soon after breakfast, and Phil did not detain him long, waiting only to make sure that as on the previous day they carried such things along with them as would come in handy in case they found themselves detained longer than they figured on.

Lub and X-Ray gave them a parting cheer.

"Make it moose for supper to-night, fellows!" called the latter.

"Variety is the spice of life, you know!" Lub told them; "and since I've got my hand in so well at cooking, nothing scares me these days. Why, I'd as soon try a steak of elephant meat, a piece of a giraffe, or perhaps a monkey roast. So-long, boys, and good-luck to you all!"