i68 



RECREATION 



strode majestically over to our supper 

 table (which was a blanket spread on 

 the ground), surveyed it thoughtfully 

 for a few minutes, and then, with a dis- 

 gusted grunt, he walked away, fol- 

 lowed by his brothers. We watched 

 them as they slowly wended their way 

 along the moon-lit shore of the lake, 

 until they disappeared in the woods 

 beyond. 



We climbed from the trees as fast 

 as our stiffened limbs would allow us, 

 and re-kindled the fire. The bacon 

 was cold and hard, the coffee was like 

 ice water, and we were shivering. John 

 warmed his hands over the blaze, then 

 looked at his watch ; it was nearly 

 twenty minutes to eleven. Two hours 

 up in a tree, with no protection from 

 the cold but thin flannel shirts ! 



We thawed out the bacon, heated the 

 coffee, and were about to resume our 

 meal when the bulls returned. Rather 

 than spend the remainder of the night 

 up in a tree, we tried to drive them 

 away with stones. Our scheme partly 

 succeeded ; that is, we drove them 

 away but they always came back. This 

 is how we spent the next hour : mouth- 

 ful of supper, then get up and shy a 

 stone. That might have been the pro- 

 gram for the night had not John 

 thought of a scheme. 



He opened several cartridges on a 

 piece of dry paper, and set it in the 

 place where our friends usually stopped 

 when they called. Then, cutting the 

 corner fromi his blanket, he soaked it 

 in grease and tied it on a long pole. 



When the bulls appeared, we waited 

 until the leader, who was several yards 

 in advance of the others, was near the 

 powder. While I attracted his atten- 

 tion and at the same time maneuvered 

 so as to get him over our "infernal 

 machine" without stepping on it, John 

 circled to the rear, lit his torch, thrust 

 it far forward and ignited the powder. 

 There was a blinding flash, followed 

 immediately by a hoarse bellow, and 

 the sound of. a heavy body crashing 

 through the underbrush. 



A second before my companion 

 touched off the powder, I sprang be- 

 hind a large tree, and so escaped being 

 run down by the maddened beast. 

 "Guess that'll hold him for awhile," 

 observed John, delightedly. "His 

 friends have gone, too." I looked out 

 into the moonlight; not a bull was in 

 sight. 



"Now, that our guests have de- 

 parted, we may as well go into our 

 cabin and go to bed," said I. 



John eyed me quizzically. "Do you 

 mean that for sarcasm?" he asked, 

 slowly. 



"I don't see how you can think my 

 remark sarcastic, when I heard you 

 back in the woods, chopping, while I 

 was getting supper ready." 



"Come and take a look," said he, 

 seizing a burning stick from the fire, 

 and preceding me into the darkness. 

 Out of respect for my friend, I will 

 simply state that his cabin reminded me 

 of a cabbage-crate that had been struck 

 by a bomb shell. 



Taking our blankets a short distance 

 from the fire, in the hope that, should 

 the bulls return, they would not see 

 us, we laid on the ground and tried to 

 sleep. We might as well have been 

 in cold-storage. Back to the fire we 

 went, threw on a few sticks, and made 

 a second attempt to sleep. It was use- 

 less. As soon as one of us would get 

 in a doze, the other would call to him 

 that there were sparks on his blanket. 

 To sleep near the fire meant to be cre- 

 mated ; to sleep away from it meant to 

 freeze. The only safe course was to 

 stay awake and wait for daylight. We 

 waited. 



O, the joys of camp life ; the musical 

 hoot of the owl, the sweet intonations 

 of the wild-cat ; ah, me ! all that was 

 lacking to make it a paradise was the 

 croak of the frogs and the buzzing of 

 affectionate mosquitoes. 



Finally, a faint streak of white ap- 

 peared along the top of the ridge to 

 our left ; it was the coming of day — and 

 with it came the bulls. What followed 



