THE MOOSE 89 



hesitation. If he could sec horns, well and good. 

 There was a plunging dash of something big and 

 black, whose outline 1 could only dimly discover 

 through the thick smoke — for it was before I had be- 

 gun to use nitro-powder — and the rush of the big body 

 across the stream, and I could feel the canoe driven aft 

 under William's powerful strokes as he shouted : ' Give 

 him another ! ' Then the black mass seemed to rise 

 out of the water, swing round, and come plunging 

 straight at the jack at my elbow. The stream was only 

 about five feet deep with a pebbly bottom, which gave 

 the moose a firm foot-hold, and it came on, rearing, 

 plunging, and striking with its forefeet like a fighting 

 stallion. I could feel William straining his powerful 

 muscles to snub and turn the canoe, while his warning 

 shout came sharp and strenuous, ' Shoot ! Shoot ! ' 



" But the fog of mist and smoke was too thick to 

 risk a random shot, and somehow I managed to hold 

 my fire until the animal came into the light of the jack 

 and almost into the boat. Even as it was, I had to 

 fling the rifle into my elbow and pull the trigger as we 

 rolled over, jumping back to get away from the jack, 

 and kicking the canoe forward between me and the 

 moose. There was a very pronounced mix-up of canoe, 

 moose, William, and me. I scrambled ashore to climb 

 a tree and get our bearings, but changed my mind and 

 came back. Rifle, axe, and jack had gone to the bot- 

 tom and the boat was upside down. But nobody was 

 hurt and the moose had disappeared." 



The next day Mr. Green returned with William, and 

 they found the moose lying dead near the place where 

 he had charged them. 



