Fantasy literature; Hunting stories; Runaway children -- Juvenile fiction
Presently the dog came to the bear-pit, and began to bark again.
"He's got him!" cried the men, much relieved; and rushing on soon saw
the good beast looking down at a little white object in one corner of
the dark hole.
It was Tommy's face in the moonlight, for the rest of him was covered up
with leaves. The little round face seemed very quiet; and for a moment
the men stood quite still, fearing that the fall might have done the boy
some harm. Then the hunter leaped down, and gently touched the brown
cheek. It was warm, and a soft snore from the pug nose made the man call
out, much relieved,--
"He's all right. Wake up here, little chap; you are wanted at home. Had
hunting enough for this time?"
As he spoke, Tommy opened his eyes, gave a stretch, and said, "Hollo,
Billy," as calmly as if in his own bed at home. Then the rustle of the
leaves, the moonlight in his face, and the sight of several men staring
down at him startled him wide awake.
"Did you shoot the big bear?" he asked, looking up at the hunter with a
grin.
"No; but I caught a little one, and here he is," answered the man,
giving Tommy a roll in the leaves, much pleased because he did not whine
or make a fuss.
"Got lost, didn't we? Oh, I say, where's Billy? I left him up a tree
like a coon, and he wouldn't come down," laughed Tommy, kicking off his
brown bed-clothes, and quite ready to get up now.
They all laughed with him; and presently, when the story was told, they
pulled the boy out of the pit, and went back to join the other wanderer,
who was now sitting up eating the bread and butter Mrs. Mullin sent for
their very late supper.
The men roared again, as the two boys told their various tribulations;
and when they had been refreshed, the party started for home, blowing
the tin horns, and firing shot after shot to let the scattered searchers
know that the lost children were found. Billy was very quiet, and gladly
rode on the various broad backs offered for his use; but Tommy stoutly
refused to be carried, and with an occasional "boost" over a very rough
place, walked all the way down on his own sturdy legs. He was the hero
of the adventure, and was never tired of relating how he caught the
woodchuck, cooked the fish, slid down the big rock, and went to bed in
the old bear-pit. But in his own little mind he resolved to wait till he
was older before he tried to be a hunter; and though he caught several
woodchucks that summer, he never shot another harmless little bird.
[Illustration]
* * * * *
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Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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