AMOS 



THE MIGHTY HUNTER 



By TAPPAN ADNEY 



Illustrated by the Author 



a 



I 



together 



F I had only known enough to ketch 

 beaver when I first came on the 

 river !" 



There was distinctly a trace of sad- 

 ness in the voice of the speaker, a 

 man of perhaps fifty years of age, as 

 he sat upon the floor with back to the 

 wall, legs drawn up, and hands clasped 

 around them for support. It was his 

 favorite position when he wanted to be 

 really comfortable. His legs were 

 short, "jist a mite short for his body," 

 to use one of his own quaint expres- 

 sions, and no human being I ever saw 

 could draw himself up closer 

 and occupy less 

 space on the 

 ground or floor. 

 A generous al- 

 lowance of 

 beard nest 1 e d 

 among his 

 knees, for Na- 

 ture here had 

 not been spar- 

 ing. 



A few mo- 

 rn e n t s before, 

 supper over, the 

 tall, kindly 

 faced wife had 

 cast an indulg- 

 ent glance a t 

 her hus band 

 and then re- 

 marked, with a 

 laugh, "Now, 

 Amos is hap- 

 py ; • he's got 

 some one to talk 

 to!" Even yet I 

 recall the 

 browned, lean- 

 featured face of 

 Amos, and his . 

 dark eyes 

 sparkling with 



AMOS. 

 217 



animation, as he began upon his favor- 

 ite subject. 



It was the end of a fine, northern 

 autumn day, and I had followed the 

 example of my host. The spot where 

 we were that evening was estimated 

 to be some fifty-five miles from the near- 

 est railway connecting it with "civiliza- 

 tion." As Amos had explained, he had 

 come to this out-of-the-way place 

 when quite a small lad, and had so far 

 succeeded in dispossessing the bears 

 that he now had one of the best farms 

 on the Riley Brook "Intervale," and, be- 

 sides, had the neatest woman in that 



end of the set- 

 tlement. Amos 

 was well 

 thought of by 

 h i s neighbors, 

 and no one 

 could command 

 more dignity, 

 especially when 

 leading his lit- 

 tle flock of six 

 boys and girls 

 to church up- 

 on the rare oc- 

 casions when a 

 minister vent- 

 ured that far 

 out into the 

 woods. The 

 aforesaid legs 

 more than made 

 .up for their lack 

 of length by 

 their amazing 

 ability to get 

 over fallen logs 

 and up and 

 down hill when 

 their owner was 

 in the woods. 

 Only three rods 

 from the lit- 



