The Trail Boys of the Plains; Or, The Hunt for the Big BuffaloFoster, W. Bert (Walter Bertram)
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The Trail Boys of the Plains; Or, The Hunt for the Big Buffalo
Foster, W. Bert (Walter Bertram)
American bison -- Juvenile fiction; Mine accidents -- Juvenile fiction; West (U.S.) -- Juvenile fiction
This was a steep hillside they looked down, and the valley between it
and the next rise was narrow. It was, indeed, like a pocket in the
hills, and the opposite wall of the pocket was even steeper than this
one.
It was an ideal grazing ground for the herd, however. There was abundant
grass, a limpid stream ran through the valley, and there was plenty of
shade. Chet knew enough about the habits of the huge animals to know
that they would not move from such a feeding ground before morning, at
least, unless they were frightened.
“By all the hoptoads that were chased out of Ireland!” quoth Dig, in
awe, “isn’t that bull a huge one? Did you ever dream of anything like
him, Chet?”
“No. He’s the biggest thing I ever saw,” acknowledged his chum.
“We didn’t see him to such advantage before,” murmured Dig. “Oh cricky!
how I’d like to catch him!”
“_ Catch_ him!” exclaimed Chet. “_Shoot_ him, you mean.”
“U-h-huh!” grunted Dig. “Maybe.” Then, with a grin: “But I roped that
little maverick—why not that buster down there?”
Chet took this as one of Dig’s jokes. He swerved a little toward the men
and when he was near enough he spoke:
“It’s too near dark to stalk those fellows to-night. If they’re not
startled they’ll be right there in the morning. Better chance to shoot
one then.”
“All right, Chet,” said Tony easily. “You’re the doctor. We ain’t got
guns that are re’lly fit to put up against them beasts. But you’ve got
the rifles all right. You’ve killed one o’ them already.”
“Yes. And give us half a chance and we’ll kill another,” the boy said.
“Where you going to camp? That stream either rises back in that timber,
or some springs that feed it have their rise there.”
“It’s a good place—and gives us shelter, too,” Tony said.
Steve would not even look at the boys, but he headed his tired horse for
the grove in question. Dig rode close to Chet and whispered:
“You give them the choice of camps. What’ll we do?”
“We’ll put up with what we can get. I don’t propose to let them get
situated where they can look down on us.”
“Oh! I see,” returned his chum, marvelling.
The men had the grace to camp some ways down the hill beside a clear
rill. That gave the chums a chance to establish themselves at the head
of the run, where the spring bubbled out from under the roots of a
gigantic tree. It was a beautiful spot, and, had the boys not been so
worried, and so doubtful of their neighbours, they would have considered
this an ideal camping place.
Just as they had the horses picketed and their own fire burning, Dig saw
Tony ascending the hill. “Here comes that big oaf,” he muttered to Chet.
“Look out for him.”
But Tony’s hands were empty and he came along with a foolish kind of
grin on his face.
“Don’t you boys git too previous and shoot at me,” he called. “I ain’t
aimin’ to hurt you none. I’m jest comin’ a-borryin’.”
“Borrowing what?” asked Chet.
“Say! you’ve borrowed enough from us, I should think!” ejaculated Dig,
with disgust.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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