Mabch 16, 1893.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



229 



^dtti^ md 



"O-ame Laws in Brief," United States and Canada, 

 illustrated, So cents. "^Bodk of tM Game Laws" {fnll 

 text), 50 cents. 



KELLUP'S DREAM.-II. 



The next evening, upstairs in the farmhouse, Kellup 

 was sitting on the edge of the bed gazing at the fire on 

 the hearth, with an expression somewhat doubtful. And 

 yet this was the day of the hunt. This was the day he 

 iiad long been looking for. Tlie events were all before 

 him in the fire, but he passed them over quickly. Some 

 of them he tried not to see. They were not all pleasant. 



In the first place they got away all right in the pung 

 with an old bay horse, sure-footed and short-gaited like 

 a goat. In the second place, the dog worked well — he 

 worked first rate, bnt every individual rabbit put right for 

 a hole. It was one of those days when they would. So it 

 got to be along toward noon-time when Jake said they 

 would cross the road and head for a big ledge over on the 

 hillside, looking south. He said a big rock hung over 

 and made a nice place to have dinner. 

 As they drew near the place, a little 

 smoke was curling up over the rock 

 and soon they made out a gun leaning _ 

 there. Jake said he knew whose gun 

 it was. A moment later, the occupant 

 looked up in grinning recognition. 



'•Well." said Jake, "how's this, 

 EichieV You've got one gun and no 

 dog and five rabbits, and here we 

 are with two guns 'n a goed dog and, 

 well—" 



Jake held up two rabbits and i 

 glanced at Kehup. Kellup gave a 

 shrug and laid his hand fondly on the 

 game pocket where it bulged a little. 

 There was just about one rabbit in 

 there. Moore laughed out hearlily 

 on a small scale. He was not a A^ery f , 



big man anyhow, and the tones of his ! 

 laughter were sometliing repressed in 

 the manner he had learned in the old 

 countr5\ His laugh was sort of ''Heh, 

 heh, heh! " "A telld 'im thet dog was 

 no goode yet. 'E's too young. But 

 no, 'e tliinks it's a. great dog, that." 



As a rule that handsome liound 

 made gracious acknowledgment with i 

 his tail on finding himself the center 

 of observation, but now he detected a 

 note of criticism in tlie air. He 

 glanced at Jake, he glanced at Kellup 

 and lowered his head and shook out 

 those long ears with tlie brier marks 

 on them and took on sucli a dejected 

 aspect that Jake stooped and slapped 

 him hard on the ribs and half raised 

 liim so he could slobber all over his i 

 face and told liiin he was just the best 

 dog in South county, if he was young 

 yet, and whispered when he started 

 another in the afternoon not to drive 

 him quite so hard. There was some 

 chafling as to how Richie got his 

 game, there were no gun marlis on 

 them. He could track them easily to j 

 hole, but what then? Finally he ac- ! 

 knowledged how he got them out. i 

 He told them just how he did it. 

 He fetched along a "crooked stick." i 

 After much persuasion from Jake, I 

 Kellup consented to have Moore come | 

 along, with tlae strict understanding : 

 that the 'ferret should only be used j 

 after the dog had put the quarry to 

 hole, and then merely to start him" out 

 to be shot ahead of the dog. Very i 

 well. So they started. Jake said that | 



for once he wanted the old man to 



get a big bunch to bring home and 



show the boys. In fifteen minutes 



the hound was clamoring at a bur- Third Pr 



row. A little later Moorp was down 



beside it on all fours. The look of 



grinning complaisance was gone. He 



gave orders. He told Jake to hold the 



dog. Crouching there, he seemed a ferret of a larger 



growth, sharp, hungry, converging toward that hole. In 



a moment he flung aside a rabbit with a broken neck and 



got up. The ferret was in the bag. His hard face was 



relaxing when he met the look on Kellup's countenance, 



as if a murder had been done, and turned away to let 



them fight it out. 



At this point in his musings before the fire Kellup got 

 up. He would go no further. His conscience was stiU 

 painful. He tried extenuation, but it wouldn't extenu- 

 ate. He reasoned that in a State where rabbits were 

 plentiful and obnoxious it might have done, but here 

 comparatively scarce and recognized as good clean game, 

 under protection, it was dift'erent. He wondered whether 

 he ought to go and pay his fine. He Avondered in Avhat 

 class of felons he belonged He reflected that a man who 

 AA-oiUd ferret rabbits w^ould shoot a deer in mid-summer. 

 He Avas sure that the man Avho shot a deer in Elaine in 

 July Avould poach a bufiialo on the edge of the Park any 

 time he got a chance. And this man probably had a 

 place of trust. Then what was it kept that trust in- 

 violate, since he couldn't go off to the woods and bring 

 back whole his moral obligations? It must be the busi- 

 ness laws and associations that hedged him round so 

 close. Eemove these, so he could be alone with his trust 

 as he was Avith his gun in the wilderness and the trust 

 would suffer. KeUup felt glad on the Avhole that his 

 business life was humble, of small responsibility, in view 

 of this weakness he had just discoA^ered, this path he had 

 set foot on so late in life. He resolved to carry home just 

 one rabbit, and that was the one he shot fair and open on 

 the jump. 



Tlie room was full of tlie odor of kerosene. He ble\A* 

 out the lamp. He glanced at the charred remains of the 

 fire and went to sleep. It might have been that his 

 brain Mm ply kept the train of thnugiit in option; it 



might have been that his digestion refused to nourish a 

 diet that his conscience disapproved fof, or it might be 

 that he ate altogether too much of that rabbit stew for 

 supper. The fact is he had a dream. He had a long, bad 

 dream. 



Of course he never could tell just how long he slept, or 

 when the dream commenced. He remembered blowing 

 out the lamp and glancing at the dead fire, and then he 

 seemed to be in unknown woods Avith Richie Moore. Jake 

 had disappeared. The gim had gone too, unaccountably, 

 but it was evident they hadn't needed that— not when 

 Richie Moore was on hand with his OAvn peculiar methods 

 of rabbit getting— for when they parted in late afternoon 

 Kellup found himself tramping down the road heading 

 north with rabbits hung -all over him. There Avere 

 twenty-seven bunnies Avith their legs tied together and 

 strung on a rope. So he trudged along musing in glee, as he 

 saw the look on Susan's face when he should fling doAvn that 

 burden on the kitchen floor. She would no longer say it 

 with sarcasm Avhen she called him "Nimrod." ' But first 

 he thought he Avould tramp down the principal street in the 

 town, past the post-office, where his friends, the scoffers, 

 worked, and they would stand in the doorway. He 

 smiled right out when he thought howthe children would 



^' BAR'S HE!" 



ze, Forest and Stream Amateur Photography Competition. 



Photo by Clarence B. Mooke. Philadelphia, Pa. 



point and cry "Old Rabbit Man." Tire rope hurt his 

 fingers here, so he stopped and unslung the load. Then 

 he took a look over the A^ast, desolate landscape and real- 

 ized he AA-as lost. He was miles and miles from everj"- 

 where. He had passed no farms, there Avas none insight. 

 The woods were not Avith him now, but tumbling walls 

 gave occasional hints that a field had once been planted 

 and abandoned. On the west the sunset, in the north a 

 sort of Aiolet liaze, in the east the sombre woods, all else 

 the snow-whitened landscape. The effect Avas glori- 

 ous — like a iiictm-e. He looked down and discovered 

 the print of a bare foot in the snow. At first he said , ' 'It's 

 a boy's foot; but no, that foot Avas tough and hard, with 

 seams of age. At any rate it must lead to human habita- 

 tion and a place for the night." It Avas easy tracking in 

 the snow, and by and hj the prints left the main road 

 and followed the turn to the right. Kellu]3 stopped. Pro- 

 bably in summer, long ago, grass grew and cows wandered 

 there, but there Avere no tracks now but the footprints in 

 the white solitude with broAvn grass tufts shoAving 

 through. At the foot of the lane stood a post with a 

 weather-beaten board, 'Keep off'." Had it been a well- 

 painted sign with a politer admonition he M'ould liaA^e 

 gone on, confident of making peace with the owner, but 

 tills was forbidding, uncouth. The gory, paint-like stuff" 

 had been daubed on with a brash picked up in the yard 

 and hung in dried blisters on the letters. He paused and 

 then went on. He passed a climip of bushes that might 

 be lilacs in the spring. A glare of light here made him 

 stop and wince. At the right a little way the ruins of an 

 old house had tumbled into the cellar except a portion 

 less ancient, but black-stained. This clung to the stead- 

 fast cliimney. A slant from the westein sun had 

 touched the Avindows, and that made him stop and 

 wince. TJie next moment he encountered the author 

 of tine fiiotprintp. The Dwarf was sea.ted on 



the edge of the wall with his legs danghng. 

 HLs entire clothing consisted of a hunting coat, 

 man's size, with the sleeves roUed up and the 

 length reaching his ankles. The head and feet were 

 bare. The terra cotta face was all drawn out of shape, 

 supporting a hideous gaze bearing intently on the in- 

 truder. Kellup stood shivering in his tracks. Then the* 

 Pixie took another look. His face was plastic, like putty. 

 He could rearrange his features with his fingers, and he 

 did so in fearsome combinations. He had a repertoire of 

 bad looks, and he tried them all for his visitor's benefit. 

 And with good effect, for the old man stood paralyzed. 

 A tree or a fence was no obstacle to his vision. Then he 

 got gracious and motioned Kellup to advance. When he 

 spoke you would think a guinea fowl had learned to talk. 

 He said : 



' 'I wa,nt to see those rabbits. I'm the game warden here 

 and I'm strict. Aha! just as I thought; there's not a shot 

 mark on one of them, not a shot. How did you get those 

 game?" 



"I tracked them in the snoAv." 



"Yes; but hoAV did you get them out?" 



Kellup was nonplussed. He hesitated. He pondered, 

 Happy thought: "I fetched along a crooked stick and so 

 I got them out, " 



' ' Ah-h-h-h. " He said it like a music 

 lesson, beginning on a high note and 

 running doAvn the scale, ending on a 

 low tone, with a furtive look from 

 under his eyebrows and a non-com- 

 mittal "Hm'm'h?" He jumped down 

 from the wall and then it appeared he 

 w^as someAvhat lame, one leg being 

 drawn up, leaving only the toes on the 

 ground. 



' 'A crooked stick ! Was it anything 

 like this?" ^ 

 The staff was about 2ft. long and 2in. 

 tliick, of light wood somewhat Avarped, 

 "Yes, it was like that something. 

 Very much. 



Just then something happened, 

 something disturbing; something that 

 started the blood from his heart with 

 a rush. The Dwarf threw the stick on 

 the ground. It fell from his hand a 

 staff, but touched the ground a ferret 

 and sprang for Kellup's throaj. The 

 Dwarf seized it by the neck, shook it 

 out like a whip and again leaned calmly 

 on his crooked staff. "You'll have to 

 go to Town House with me to-morrow. 

 To-niglit you can stay here. We'll 

 have some supper." 



So he built a fire and stripped a rab- 

 bit and had him roasted in a jiffy. He 

 laid the pieces on a shingle. In spite 

 of all his troubles Kellup feltlmngry, 

 so he selected a meaty chunk and put 

 it to his lips. It was nothing but well- 

 picked bones. He looked surprised 

 and tried again, and over and over 

 with no other result. 



In the meantime the Warden was 

 making a hearty meal in great amuse- 

 ment, and soon there was nothing left 

 but the bones and the shingle to go on 

 the fire. 



Then he Aviped Ms mouth on liis 

 sleeve and said, "Have some water?" 



So Kellup turned to a httle spring 

 that welled up beside the road. The 

 snow- WAS melted here. There was 

 grass groAving in the current. There 

 Avas moss under the rock. There was 

 fine golden sand bubbling in the pool. 

 As Kellup .stooped on bands and knees, 

 Avith bis lips approaching the brink, 

 the water suddenly receded, down, 

 down a deepening well, till at last he 

 could just see a glimmer in the depth 

 and the trickling sound seemed chil- 

 dren's voices floating up: 



"Come down, come down. There's 

 water here. Come down." 



He had no desire to go in that posi- 

 tion head first, but there seemed no 

 alternative till the voice of the Dwarf 

 aroused him. He was cackling and 

 shrieking in glee. He was rohing on 

 the ground. He was more repulsive in 

 mirth than in anger. The next instant Kellup was flying 

 doAvn the road devoid of extra baggage. A panic of fear 

 Avas in his feet. He was making good time. Bye and 

 bye he began to lag. He was making the motion of run- 

 ning, but his most strenuous efforts Avere not taking him 

 faster than a walk. HoAvever, he must haA'e gone a mile, 

 lie thought, and the Avarden Avould be far in the rear, no 

 doubt, on account of his game leg. Just then something 

 plucked his elboAv and said: "I can't go along any 

 fm-ther to-night. You'll haA'^e to excuse me." 



Kellup couldn't speak for a minute, he Avas panting so 

 and holding his sides. Then he said he was sorry. Such 

 a genial companion, he said, with graceful Avays — versa- 

 tility of expression, too. 



But the dAvarf said "No," on account of his flock. He 

 had to attend to his flock. 



Kellup said "Flock?" softly to himself and looked all 

 round. Then it was his gaze encountered the same old 

 house, and he knew with a shock he had gone in a circle. 

 He had run a mile for nothing. He didn't mention that, 

 though, but said out loud: 

 "Flock, wdiat flock?" 



So they stepped across the road and stood leaning on 

 the bars overlooking the pasture. The moon Avas up, and 

 under its influence the snow had disappeared— evapor- 

 ated. A moss and lichen-covered pasture, Avith clumps of 

 bushes and brambles and grass patches betAveen, that 

 might have been cropped out by sheep. But no sheep 

 Avere visible. The flock Avas there, though, and Kellup 

 counted them. There Avere tAvelve or fifteen heads— just 

 the heads— of old men, hopping about contentedly among 

 the bushes, nibbling bay berries. Some of the heads 

 looked prematurely old, and the Dwarf explained they 

 were taken yoimg, mere boys, and the hair and beard had 

 grown out long and gray. He said they were aU his, 

 though, all legitimate game, Poachers caught in the act', 



