THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 " Harry started back toward the gap."- p a - e 207.
 
 THE 
 
 SEARCH FOR THE STAR 
 
 ffalt of life m % WM 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWARD WILLETT 
 
 NEW YORK 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. 
 
 No. 13 ASTOR PLAGE
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1888, BY 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL & Co. 
 
 ELECTROTYPED BY 
 C. J. PETERS AND SON, BOSTON.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. THE STAR AND THE SEARCHERS 5 
 
 II. HARRY AND THE WILD-CAT 17 
 
 III. A TERRIBLE TORNADO 30 
 
 IV. BURIED IN A WINDFALL 42 
 
 V. FISHING SPORT SPOILED 53 
 
 VI. TREED BY A BEAR 65 
 
 VII. THE HUNTERS HUNTED 77 
 
 VIII. AN UNINVITED GUEST 88 
 
 IX. BRIGHT EYES AND BIG ANTLERS 100 
 
 X. HARRY'S BIG PRIZE in 
 
 XI. "FUN WITH THE BEARS" 122 
 
 XII. A MIDNIGHT MARAUDER 137 
 
 XIII. A FOREST FIRE 147 
 
 XIV. SAVED BY A CLOUDBURST 158 
 
 XV. A JOURNEY ON SKATES 170 
 
 XVI. CHASED BY WOLVES 179 
 
 XVII. IN THE BIG BASIN 189 
 
 XVIII. BEN'S MOOSE AN "INDIAN DEVIL". . . 200 
 
 XIX. FINDING THE STAR 211 
 
 XX. FAREWELL TO THE WOODS 219' 
 
 XXI. HOME AGAIN 227 
 
 484112 
 
 LIBRARY
 
 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE STAR AND THE SEARCHERS. 
 
 " YES, Harry, it is settled. We shall go and 
 search for the Star." 
 
 " That's so, Ben ; and wouldn't it be funny if 
 we should find it ! " 
 
 " Funny would be no name for that, my boy. 
 It would be wonderful. and it shall be wonder- 
 ful. We will make the search for the Star 
 something to talk about." 
 
 " It is not settled that you are to go," broke 
 in a matronly young woman, in a corner of the 
 room a bright and handsome young woman, 
 who did not look old enough to be the mother 
 of Ben Halstead, though she was, and Ben had 
 turned his sixteenth year. 
 5
 
 6 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 " Come, now, mother," mildly pleaded Ben. 
 
 " I say that it is not settled that you are to 
 go. I have not given my consent." 
 
 " Conditionally, you have." 
 
 " But not positively ; and the more I think 
 of it, the more I object to the plan." 
 
 Harry Russell, Ben's cousin, an orphan, and 
 a year younger than Ben, put in his word. 
 
 " I don't see what you have to say about it, 
 aunt Kate, anyhow. This is the business of 
 Her Royal Sweetness. It is her errand that 
 we are going on, and she sends us. Isn't that 
 so, Little Sweet ? " 
 
 "That is just so, Harry," answered a curly- 
 haired and blue-eyed girl of six, who spoke 
 quite as plainly as any of her elders, and 
 with a positiveness that announced her as a 
 home despot. 
 
 " That is just so, Harry. You and Ben are 
 going to find the Star and bring it back to 
 me, and I shall be ever and ever so much 
 obliged to you."
 
 THE STAR AND THE SEARCHERS. 7 
 
 "Dear me!" exclaimed Mrs. Halstead. "Do 
 you happen to know, Miss Hettie, where those 
 two boys propose to go to, and what they 
 expect to do? How would you like to hear 
 that your brother Ben and your cousin Harry 
 had been eaten up by bears in the big 
 woods ? " 
 
 " I think they are big enough to eat the 
 bears now," calmly replied Little Sweet. 
 
 This remark was received with roars of 
 laughter, and no person laughed louder than 
 a tall and brown-bearded man, who had just 
 come to the room, and stood in the door-way 
 with his arms folded. 
 
 He was Hiram Halstead, the father of Ben 
 and Hettie, whom everybody in that house 
 loved and looked up to. 
 
 "Those are brave and big words to come 
 from young lips, Little Sweet," said he ; " but 
 I don't see why they should not be true words. 
 I killed and helped to eat a bear before I 
 was as old as either of those youngsters, and
 
 8 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 I can tell you all that fresh bear-meat is very 
 good eating. If the boys come across nothing 
 worse than bears in the woods, I shall think 
 they are in fine luck." 
 
 " Mercy on us ! " cried Mrs. Halstead. 
 " What can be worse than bears ? " 
 
 "Why, Kate, a bear would rather run from 
 a man than run after him ; and a bear 
 can be killed with a rifle if he tries to be- 
 come too familiar. But those woods are filled 
 with ferocious creatures that will never run 
 from a man, and that are proof against rifle- 
 shots." 
 
 " That is terrible. What are they, Hiram ? " 
 "Mosquitoes, black gnats, and bed-bugs." 
 " Now you are making fun of me. How do 
 bed-bugs get into the big woods ? " 
 
 "Born there. Those pests originate in the 
 pine-woods, and they move into the towns, like 
 other rural residents, to keep the city stock 
 from dying out. Seriously, Kate, I supposed 
 that you had consented to the expedition, and
 
 THE STAR AND THE SEARCHERS. 9 
 
 I had not expected any objection from you at 
 this late hour, when the boys have nearly com- 
 pleted their preparations." 
 
 " But they are to go so far, Hiram, and are 
 to be away such a long time ; and there are 
 so many dangers." 
 
 " It is the best and biggest thing that 
 could happen to them, in my opinion. They 
 will lay in a stock of health that ought to last 
 a life-time. As for danger, I really believe 
 that they will be as safe as if they were 
 knocking about the streets and wharves of 
 Bangor." 
 
 " You ought to know more about it than 
 I do, Mr. Halstead ; but I can't help feeling 
 uneasy. Do you suppose there is any chance 
 for the boys to find the Star ? " 
 
 " Oh, as to that, my dear, I am not giving 
 it any thought. I should say that the chance 
 is so faint as to be scarcely imaginary. In 
 fact, that there is no chance at all." 
 
 "How can you say that, papa?" imperi-
 
 IO THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 ously demanded Hettie. "You know that 
 Ben and Harry are going to get the Star, 
 and they must bring it back to me." 
 
 " Of course they must, Little Sweet, and 
 you may be sure that they will, if it is to 
 be had. If you wanted one of the stars up 
 yonder in the sky, they would jump for it as 
 high as they could. I only want to warn 
 you, my darling, that the search for the Star 
 is like hunting a needle in a hay-stack, and 
 that I don't count on that as much as I count 
 on some other things." 
 
 In this statement Mr. Halstead displayed 
 his usual soundness of judgment, and he was 
 counted one of the most level-headed men 
 in Bangor, where he controlled a large lumber- 
 business. 
 
 His home, where the conversation that has 
 been narrated occurred, was a handsome house, 
 in lovely grounds, in the outskirts of the city, 
 and it was from that house that the Star had 
 disappeared.
 
 THE STAR AND THE SEARCHERS. \\ 
 
 What, then, was the Star? 
 
 It was a diamond ornament, of rare beauty 
 and value, which had been an heirloom in 
 the Halstead family for nobody knew how 
 many generations, having been brought from 
 England not long after the landing of the 
 Mayflower, by a Puritan Halstead, who de- 
 spised all such gauds, but not to the extent 
 of throwing them away. 
 
 Subsequent Halsteads had easily got over 
 their ancestor's aversion to fripperies, and the 
 Star had been prized among them, and passed 
 down from one to another, mainly in the 
 regular line of heirship. 
 
 Hiram Halstead, however, had made a slight 
 change in the order of descent. 
 
 On the third birthday of Miss Hettie Hal- 
 stead, otherwise known as Little Sweet, the 
 Star had been formally made over to her in the 
 Captain Cuttle style, and it became her prop- 
 erty not that she was to use it as a play- 
 thing, or to have the control or care of it ;
 
 12 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 but it was her property, and she was duly 
 proud of its ownership. 
 
 It was, as has been said, an ornament of 
 rare beauty and value, the centre being a stone 
 of unusual size and lustre, and the points com- 
 posed of small diamonds. 
 
 The Star should have been, with due con- 
 sideration for its safety, deposited in some fire * 
 and burglar proof receptacle, out of the sight 
 and reach of everybody ; but it was the " show- 
 piece " of the Halsteads, and they were fond of 
 taking it out of its case to admire and show it, 
 and thus it was finally lost. 
 
 There had been in the Halstead family a 
 servant, known as "the hired man," who had 
 disappeared when the Star disappeared, and 
 who was believed to be responsible for its 
 loss. 
 
 He was a young French Canadian, Baptiste 
 Lafonce by name, whom Hiram Halstead had 
 got hold of in the lumber-business, and to 
 whom he had taken a great fancy, installing
 
 THE STAR AND THE SEARCHERS. \^ 
 
 him as the companion and general guardian 
 of Ben Halstead and Harry Russell. 
 
 Though not remarkably industrious, Baptiste 
 was a very ingenious fellow, capable of mak- 
 ing anything that the boys wanted made, and 
 of teaching them anything (outside of the 
 schools) that they wanted to know. 
 
 Consequently he was admired and believed 
 in, and became a great pet in the family. 
 
 Baptiste, however, was very fond of strong 
 drink, and the prohibition law, as it worked 
 or failed to work in Bangor, did not prevent 
 him from getting what he wanted. 
 
 He was frequently warned and frequently 
 forgiven ; but at last, after an outrageous 
 spree, Mr. Halstead lost patience with him, 
 and discharged him from his service. 
 
 Baptiste left the house two days before the 
 time appointed for him to go, and disappeared 
 very mysteriously, without a word to any 
 member of the family. 
 
 This saddened them, and they were sadder
 
 I4 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 yet when they learned that the Star had dis- 
 appeared at the same time. 
 
 There could be no doubt that Baptiste, 
 out of revenge for his discharge, or prompted 
 by avarice that had not hitherto been sus- 
 pected, had stolen the Halstead heirloom. 
 
 The police were put on his track immedi- 
 ately ; but not the slightest trace of him, 
 then or thereafter, had been found outside of 
 Bangor. 
 
 It was naturally supposed that he would 
 return to his friends in Canada, and men 
 were sent there to look for him ; but they 
 found nothing of Baptiste Lafonce. 
 
 In the "course of time, there came to the 
 Halstead family another French Canadian, 
 Louis Hameau by name, somewhat older 
 than Baptiste, quite as ingenious and handy, 
 and as sober and steady a man as one would 
 care to see. 
 
 When Louis had learned the facts con- 
 nected with the disappearance of his prede-
 
 THE STAR AND THE SEARCHERS. 15 
 
 cessor and the Star, he did not hesitate to 
 say that he was sure that Baptiste Lafonce 
 was alive, and that he believed the man 
 could be found. 
 
 After that there was no rest for Ben and 
 Harry, until they secured permission to take 
 Louis and go into the woods, to begin what 
 they called the search for the Star. 
 
 In consenting to this expedition, Mr. Hal- 
 stead had an idea of his own, outside of the 
 physical benefits and the pleasure he ex- 
 pected the boys to derive from it, and his 
 thought took this shape : 
 
 "To seek the Star through the north 
 woods of Maine, or possibly in Canada, 
 might be worse than looking for a needle 
 in a hay-stack ; but to seek a man is quite 
 another matter. If the man is alive, there 
 is a fair chance that he may be found, and 
 I do not believe Baptiste to be a thorough 
 scoundrel, though he has proved himself to 
 be a thief. I presume that he took the
 
 16 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 jewel when liquor had destroyed his reason 
 for a time, and when he came to his senses 
 he was afraid to come back and return it. 
 If he has not got rid of it, he might be glad 
 enough to give it up if he should be found. 
 Anyhow, I can depend on Louis, and the 
 boys ought to have a good time." 
 
 Mr. Halstead's only regret was that his 
 business affairs prevented him from going 
 with them.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HARRY AND THE WILD-CAT. 
 
 UP the Penobscot, a long distance above 
 Bangor, tbe party of searchers for the Star, 
 with their outfit of land and water equip- 
 ment, had camped at a point of land made 
 by a sharp bend of the river. 
 
 The main article of the outfit, which they 
 meant to rely on for the greater part of 
 their travel, was the canoe ; and it was so 
 precious to them that they had hauled it 
 upon the land, instead of merely making it 
 fast at the shore. 
 
 It was called a canoe because either end 
 might be the bow or the stern ; but in other 
 respects it partook of the qualities of a large 
 skiff, being broad and shallow, so that it 
 could carry a pretty heavy load with little 
 displacement of water. 
 17
 
 IS THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 She of course we must give the craft its 
 proper sex was lightly but strongly built 
 of cedar, so that she could be handily carried 
 by two men when she was relieved of her 
 loading. 
 
 At each end a little space was decked over, 
 the portions thus inclosed serving as lockers 
 to hold provisions and the like of which a 
 good supply was carried, though the searchers 
 expected to depend largely upon hunting and 
 fishing, as well as to get stores at depots on 
 the Penobscot and its tributaries. 
 
 The propelling instruments were paddles and 
 setting-poles, the paddles for smooth water, 
 and the setting-poles for rapids and swift cur- 
 rents, and one of the poles could be used 
 as a mast, as the canoe carried a water-proof 
 cloth that would serve as a sail as well as 
 a shelter-tent. 
 
 Louis Hameau might well have passed for 
 a logger on a prospecting tour, as he was clad 
 in a rough woollen shirt and trousers, with
 
 HARRY AND THE WILD-CAT. IC j 
 
 boots that reached to his knees, and a heavy 
 felt hat ; but the boys were more stylishly 
 " got up," Ben Halstead wearing what might 
 be called a hunting-suit, of tweed, while Harry 
 Russell's toggery was of corduroy ; but both 
 suits were of durable goods, impervious to 
 the attacks of insects. 
 
 They were also well provided with arms and 
 ammunition, Louis carrying a heavy hunting- 
 rifle, and the boys being supplied with double- 
 barrels, one barrel to serve as a rifle, and the 
 other as a shotgun. 
 
 The double-barrels were not fitted for such 
 accurate shooting as Louis' single-barrel ; but 
 they were useful weapons, and the boys had 
 not yet learned to pride themselves upon accu- 
 racy of aim. 
 
 They also carried hunting-knives, for many 
 uses, and revolvers for cases of emergency. 
 
 It was early autumn when they left Bangor, 
 and they had been journeying for many days 
 up the beautiful river, occasionally using their
 
 20 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 sail, frequently stopping to hunt, and at night 
 camping on the shore until the early morning. 
 
 Thus the expedition seemed to be a party 
 of pleasure, rather than of serious business 
 intentions, and it was certain that the boys 
 were getting plenty of fun out of the trip, 
 as well as the best of health and spirits, and 
 that their guide also enjoyed it highly. 
 
 After hauling their canoe up on the shore 
 just below where the river made an abrupt 
 sweep to the eastward, they proceeded to pre- 
 pare their camp in the usual way. 
 
 The first thing necessary was to build a fire 
 and hasten the cooking of supper, as the three 
 of them never failed to be famished when they 
 landed for the evening meal. 
 
 Being so mortally hungry, and knowing that 
 it depended upon their own exertions to sat- 
 isfy their appetites, there were no idle hands 
 among them. 
 
 As their duties had by that time become 
 settled, and each knew what he had to do,
 
 HARRY AND THE WILD-CAT. 2 I. 
 
 their supper was soon prepared, and we may 
 be sure that it was speedily eaten. 
 
 It was a very frugal meal, consisting only 
 of salt-pork, toasted at the fire, with the drip- 
 pings caught in a pan of hard bread, and a 
 tin cup of coffee for each of them. But they 
 were so gloriously hungry that it was a feast 
 fit for a king. 
 
 It was a democratic business all around, as 
 each had to take his turn at washing the 
 dishes. But there was something to be thank- 
 ful for in the thought that there were so 
 few of them to wash, and that they were so 
 easily got out of the way. 
 
 They covered the fire with boughs, to make 
 a " smudge " to drive away the winged insects 
 of the night, and seated themselves for a 
 general talk, while Louis Hameau lighted his 
 pipe to enjoy the smoke which was his one 
 dissipation and his great consolation. 
 
 " How much further are we going up this 
 river, Louis ? " inquired Ben Halstead.
 
 22 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 "Not so mighty much furder," answered 
 the guide. " If we was lookin' for nothin' 
 but fun, I'd ha' struck into the Piscataquis, as 
 there's plenty good fishin' an' huntin' up Sebec 
 way ; but that wouldn't bring us anywhere 
 nigh Baptiste Lafonce, and so we've gone 
 beyond the Piscataquis." 
 
 " I know that ; but this river will branch 
 soon, and what are we going to do then ? " 
 
 "It's more'n likely that we'll take the 
 East Branch, and the chances are that we 
 may go up the Sebois ; but I can't be sartin 
 of anythin' yet. We may pick up some 
 news that will change my notion." 
 
 "What kind of news?" 
 
 "News of Baptiste." 
 
 " How are we likely to get it ? " 
 
 " At this time o' the year there's plenty of 
 good men in the woods loggers that's lookin' 
 for likely lots o' timber for the winter's cuttin'. 
 We may run across some of 'em, and they may 
 be able to tell us somethin' about Baptiste."
 
 HARRY AND THE WILD-CAT. 2 $ 
 
 "Do you really believe that we have a 
 chance to find him ? " 
 
 "Oh, yes while he is alive there is a 
 chance." 
 
 " I wish the mosquitoes were in Guinea ! " 
 exclaimed Harry Russell. " The smudge 
 don't seem to worry them a bit, and it is 
 hard to get used to them." 
 
 " You may come across something worse 
 than they are, before we go much further," 
 observed Ben. 
 
 " I would gladly swap them off for anything 
 that runs on four legs. Say, Louis, what kind of 
 wild beasts are there in these woods, anyhow?" 
 
 " You mean the harmful ones ? There's 
 plenty of 'em. There's bears, you know." 
 
 "Yes, I know all about bears, and I want 
 to kill a bear ; but I would rather hunt a 
 moose. That is a noble animal." 
 
 " Noble to look at, but a terrible critter to 
 tackle," answered the guide. "There's times 
 o' the year when you can't be too keerful
 
 24 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 how you fool with a bull-moose, as he's a sav- 
 age fighter, and at all times he's apt to be 
 cantankerous. It's best to keep away from 
 him if you hain't got a sure thing on killin' 
 him, and you may fill him full o' lead without 
 knockin' the fight outen him." 
 
 " I am glad you told me of that. What 
 other savage beasts are there, Louis ? " 
 
 " Wolves is savage enough to satisfy any- 
 body that's got an appetite for that sort o' 
 thing. They run in packs, and are more apt 
 to hunt you than you are to hunt them. But 
 winter's the worst time for wolves. Then 
 there's wild-cats panthers, some folks call 
 'em and mighty p'ison critters is wild-cats. 
 They prowl about at night, mostly in the tree- 
 tops, and the fust thing you know- of 'em is 
 when they jump onto you, though they do 
 sometimes give a yell that sounds like the cry 
 of a baby." 
 
 "We must try to keep out of the way of 
 the wild-cats."
 
 HARRY AND THE WILD-CAT. 2 $ 
 
 "There's one thing that's wuss'n wild-cats 
 ever so much wuss'n wild-cats the terriblest 
 critter that roams the woods." 
 
 " Mercy on us ! What is that ? " 
 
 " The Injun devil." 
 
 "And what is an Injun devil?" 
 
 " Somethin' like a wild-cat, as near as I 
 can make it out, havin' never met one of 'em ; 
 but they tell me that it's sorter blue in color, 
 which a wild-cat never is. Anyhow, it's as 
 bad as a dozen wild-cats squeezed into one ; 
 all steel wire and grit and savagement, and 
 with its teeth and claws chock-full o' murder. 
 It can't be killed, and if it was killed it 
 wouldn't know it, but would rip around just 
 the same." 
 
 "You are drawing it a little too strong, 
 Louis," remarked Ben. " Is there really any 
 such creature, or have you been inventing it 
 to scare us ? " 
 
 " 'Tis no lie I'm tellin' you. I never saw 
 one of the critters, as I said ; but I've known
 
 2 6 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 men who have met 'em, and I once saw a man 
 who had been nearly chawed into giblets by 
 an Injun devil." 
 
 " Is that the only name it has ? " 
 
 "All the name I ever heerd for it. It's so 
 called, they say, because it's the only thing 
 the Injuns are afraid of, and the thought of 
 it nearly skeers the life out of 'em. The 
 critters are mighty sca'ce nowadays, and 
 that's the only good p'int about 'em." 
 
 "Let us hope that they will continue in 
 scarceness, as Scripture says. I am sleepy, 
 Louis, and am going to turn in." 
 
 The others were willing to follow his motion, 
 and axes were quickly set at work, and in a few 
 moments they had prepared an odorous and 
 really comfortable couch of fir and spruce 
 boughs, covering themselves with the tent- 
 cloth to keep off the insect pests which the 
 smudge would not drive away. 
 
 Even if they had not had such a strong appe- 
 tite for sleep, the resinous breath of the woods
 
 HARRY AND THE WILD-CAT. 2 / 
 
 and the boughs beneath them would have made 
 them drowsy, and they soon sank into slumber. 
 
 Harry Russell was the only one who did not 
 sleep soundly. 
 
 He was always easy to wake, and that night 
 he was restless, having been excited by Louis' 
 description of the denizens of the forest, which 
 had entered into his dreams. 
 
 In one of his dreams he fancied that he heard 
 a wailing cry, somewhat like that of a child in 
 pain, but at the same time catlike just such 
 a cry as he supposed might be uttered by a 
 prowling panther or wild-cat. 
 
 It awoke him, and as soon as he awoke he 
 heard it again distinctly, and at the instant 
 he was wide-awake. 
 
 He then realized the fact that it was a real 
 cry which he had thought he heard in his 
 dream, and that it came from one of the 
 trees near by. 
 
 It was surely a wild-cat, and he and his friends 
 were in the presence of a terrible danger.
 
 2 8 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 Should he awake them, and call upon them 
 to help him destroy the beast? 
 
 No ; for the possible noise and excitement 
 might draw the wild-cat's attention to them, 
 and precipitate its attack. 
 
 He would save the lives of his comrades 
 by killing the creature, and all the glory of 
 the exploit would be his. 
 
 Harry quietly slipped away from the couch, 
 reached for his gun, which he always kept 
 near his side, and stealthily stepped forward 
 to search for the prowling beast. 
 
 Again he heard that wailing cry, so wild 
 and unearthly that it fairly made him shiver ; 
 but he braced himself up to play his part as 
 the hero, and looked in the direction from 
 which the sound had come. 
 
 The night was quite dark, and it was the 
 darkness that rendered more fearfully distinct 
 and vivid a pair of large eyes that burned 
 like balls of fire, near the first fork of a pine- 
 tree at a little distance from him.
 
 HARRY AND THE WILD-CAT. 29 
 
 That was the wild-cat whose cry he had 
 heard, and it had evidently not yet discovered 
 him. 
 
 He slipped behind a tree, rested his gun 
 against the trunk, took a careful aim with his 
 rifle-barrel, right between the blazing eyes of 
 the beast, though he was almost trembling 
 with excitement and perhaps with apprehen- 
 sion, and fired.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A TERRIBLE TORNADO. 
 
 THE report of Harry Russell's rifle awoke 
 the echoes of the woods, and also awoke 
 Louis Hameau and Ben Halstead. 
 
 Louis was off the couch and on his feet 
 at the instant the shot was fired, and the 
 next second he grabbed his rifle and ran to 
 Harry. 
 
 " What's the matter ? " he cried. "What did 
 you shoot at ? " 
 
 " A wild-cat," eagerly answered the lad. " I 
 have killed a wild-cat." 
 
 " You have ? That's a big thing, if it is 
 a fact. Where is he ? Did he tumble ? " 
 
 "Not yet." 
 
 "That's queer. Mebbe you didn't finish 
 him." 
 
 " Here he comes, Louis ! " 
 3
 
 A TERRIBLE TORNADO. 31 
 
 Ben had reached the scene, and had heard 
 Harry's assertion that he had killed a wild-cat. 
 
 Something dropped to the ground as Harry 
 spoke ; but it did not come with a plunge, nor 
 was there a fall of any heavy body. 
 
 On the contrary, it came fluttering down, 
 and the fall was so light that it was scarcely 
 heard. 
 
 Louis Hameau raised it from the ground, 
 and held it up by one leg. 
 
 "This is the first wild-cat I ever saw that 
 wore feathers," said he, " and those I've met 
 ginerally went on four legs. But mebbe Harry 
 knows more about wild-cats than I do." 
 
 The lad was supremely disgusted, and well 
 he might be, as the wild-cat which he had 
 prided himself upon encountering and killing 
 proved to be an immense owl. 
 
 Ben shrieked with laughter, and Louis' grin, 
 though he did not say anything more, was 
 about as broad as his face. 
 
 " I don't think you have any right to laugh
 
 32 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 at me," protested Harry. " You told me about 
 the wild-cat's cry, Louis, and what I heard 
 was just such a scream as you described to 
 me." 
 
 " Somethin' like it, anyhow ; and when 
 you've been longer in the woods you may 1'arn 
 to tell the scream of a scritch-owl from the 
 yell of a wild-cat. But I can say that you 
 made a fine shot, Harry ; and when a feller 
 shoots as well as that, nobody has any call 
 to laugh at him." 
 
 " That's so," chimed in Ben. " It was a 
 splendid shot, and something to brag of. As 
 Harry really believed the creature to be a wild- 
 cat, he was wonderfully brave and cool." 
 
 Harry's injured feelings being mollified by 
 this judicious praise, which he considered well 
 deserved, the three comrades returned to their 
 camp and finished their sleep. 
 
 The next afternoon, as they were paddling 
 up the river, there was an extraordinary change 
 in the weather, and the condition of the sky
 
 A TERRIBLE TORNADO. 33 
 
 and the air soon became startling even to such 
 inexperienced observers as Ben and Harry. 
 
 The sky was a vault of bronze, which seemed 
 to be settling down upon the earth with the 
 purpose of crushing it, as the poor prisoner 
 was squeezed to death between the gradually 
 closing walls of his iron cell. 
 
 It was certain that every drop of moisture 
 had been drawn out of the atmosphere, and 
 there was not the faintest breath of air stirring. 
 
 Though the weather should have been rea- 
 sonably cool at that season and that hour, 
 the heat was like furnace-heat dry, oppres- 
 sive, almost intolerable, and perspiration oozed 
 from the pores of the paddlers, no matter how 
 slowly they paddled, until it dripped from their 
 clothing. 
 
 "We can't stand this much longer," grum- 
 bled Ben Halstead, as he mopped his reeking 
 and blazing face. 
 
 " What will we do about it ? " inquired 
 Harry.
 
 34 
 
 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 " Go ashore, pull up the canoe, and drop our 
 burning bodies into the cool water." 
 
 " That's a jolly good idea." 
 
 " Plenty wet afore long," observed Louis, 
 who was gazing gloomily at the south-eastern 
 sky. 
 
 There were lurid streaks then in the bronze 
 vault above them, with flashes of yellow and 
 green, angry and ominous-looking, and down 
 toward the horizon, or as near it as the tree- 
 tops would allow it to be seen, the streaks 
 were gathered to a focus of reddish light, as if 
 some invisible but awful force was striving to 
 bore a hole through the close mass of clouds. 
 
 " Yes, I suppose we are going to have the 
 biggest kind of a rain-storm pretty soon," as- 
 sented Ben. 
 
 "If it ain't nothin' wuss'n that, we'll be 
 mighty lucky," growled Louis. 
 
 " What is likely to be worse ? " 
 
 " A harrycane a wind-sweep, such as 
 tears up and knocks down everythin' in its
 
 A TERRIBLE TORNADO. 35 
 
 way. It's a thing that we can't fight or run 
 away from, too, and the only hope is that 
 the streak mayn't happen to strike us." 
 
 " All the more reason, then, why we should 
 go ashore." 
 
 " You are right about that, Ben, though 
 it's quite as bad to be caught in the woods 
 as on the water." 
 
 " Anyhow, if it should prove to be nothing 
 but a rain-storm, we can shelter ourselves 
 from that." 
 
 "Just so, and we'll go ashore." 
 
 The canoe was pulled up on the west bank, 
 well away from the water, and the sail-cloth 
 was arranged as a shelter-tent near the 
 shore, and fastened to the ground as securely 
 as possible, to guard it against a blow. 
 
 "I am hungry enough to eat an owl," said 
 Ben Halstead, "and I am going to pick up 
 a little dry wood before the rain comes." 
 
 " I am almost afraid to have you go," 
 observed the guide.
 
 36 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR, 
 
 " Oh, I will be careful enough, and I 
 won't go out of sight of the camp, as I 
 can easily pick up what I want right about 
 here." 
 
 Ben hastened away, and Louis and Harry 
 busied themselves with taking some articles 
 out of the canoe, and storing them in the 
 shelter-tent. 
 
 The lurid clouds at the south-east, with the 
 reddish light and the streaks of yellow and 
 green, seemed to have formed a funnel, the 
 edge of which was vividly bright, while the 
 hollow was intensely black. 
 
 Louis and Harry were gazing with wonder 
 and apprehension at the ominous sight when 
 the storm burst with startling suddenness. 
 
 It came with a rush and a roar and a cyclonic 
 fury that words would be quite inadequate to 
 describe, and its nature can only be judged by 
 a statement of its effects. 
 
 As Louis had said, it was something that 
 It M r as impossible to resist or avoid a force
 
 A TERRIBLE TORNADO. 37 
 
 before which the utmost efforts of man were 
 as nothing. 
 
 The two comrades at the shore could only 
 throw themselves on the ground, hoping that 
 it would pass over or by them. 
 
 As it left the other shore it seemed to 
 have seized a large portion of the forest in 
 its grip, snatching it up into the air, where 
 it was flung and whirled about in a blinding 
 confusion. 
 
 When it struck the water- it ploughed a 
 passage like that which opened for the Israel- 
 ites when they fled before the Egyptians, 
 throwing up on the opposite shore such a 
 wave of water as swamped Harry and the guide, 
 half drowning them. 
 
 Then there was nothing heard but the crack- 
 ing of timber, the rending of boughs, and the 
 falling of great trees, though none of those 
 sounds were clearly distinguishable in the 
 deafening roar of the tornado. 
 
 It seemed to the two who lay prostrate
 
 38 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 there that this lasted a long time, though it 
 was really over in a few seconds, as the 
 storm passed like a cannon-ball. 
 
 Then came the thunder and lightning, peal 
 upon peal, and flash after flash, until the hea- 
 vens and the earth seemed both to be full of 
 the noise and the light, and then followed a 
 drenching rain. 
 
 The water came neither by drops nor in a 
 pour, but fell down in a bunch, as if the bottom 
 had been knocked out of a huge tank up 
 yonder. 
 
 This was also quickly over, the rain taking 
 the track of the tornado, and Louis and Harry 
 arose with difficulty, shook their soaked gar- 
 ments like a pair of water-dogs, and looked 
 about them. 
 
 The darkness was still dense, as it was then 
 nightfall ; but it was possible to judge of the 
 nature of the damage, though quite impossible 
 to estimate its extent. 
 
 Over a space some twenty rods in width the
 
 A TERRIBLE TORNADO. 39 
 
 cyclone had made a clear track through the 
 forest, tearing up and overthrowing everything 
 in its way ; but outside of that limit there had 
 not been the faintest distuAance. 
 
 The mower that had gone through those 
 woods at such tremendous speed had cut a 
 clean swath, though the spoils of his scythe, 
 instead of being laid neatly at one side, were 
 tumbled and jumbled together like gigantic 
 jackstraws. 
 
 As for the tent, that had disappeared, leav- 
 ing no sign of its existence, and most of the 
 articles that had been so carefully stowed away 
 were missing or ruined. 
 
 The canoe, considerably to their surprise, 
 had not received any injury, except that it had 
 been filled with water, and had been carried a 
 little further inland by the great wave that 
 swept over the shore. 
 
 These things, however, mattered little to 
 Harry and the guide. 
 
 It was sad to find themselves drenched to
 
 40 TH E SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 the skin, sadder to know that they had lost 
 their tent and sail cloth, and yet sadder to 
 perceive that a large portion of their stores 
 had been destroyed ; but there was a deeper 
 and darker sadness behind all this. 
 
 What had become of Ben Halstead ? 
 
 He had gone out to gather some dry wood, 
 and his course had taken him right into the 
 track of the tornado. 
 
 When the storm struck, he must necessarily 
 have been in the thick of it, where the big 
 trees were falling, and where the destruction 
 was the most complete. 
 
 It was not possible that he could have lived 
 through such an experience. 
 
 As Louis and Harry thought of these 
 things, they looked at each other, but said 
 nothing. 
 
 Their hearts were too full for words. 
 
 The guide dropped on his knees, and cov- 
 ered his face with his hands. 
 
 He was responsible for Ben Halstead, and
 
 A TERRIBLE TORNADO. 41 
 
 how should he account for the lad to his father 
 and mother ? 
 
 Better the loss of a hundred diamond stars 
 than such a disaster. 
 
 Harry Russell stood and stared mournfully 
 at Louis, unable to make a move or offer a 
 suggestion.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 BURIED IN A WINDFALL. 
 
 THE guide was the first of the two to come 
 to his senses and look the trouble fairly in 
 the face. 
 
 Perhaps he had been praying as he knelt 
 there on the soggy ground. 
 
 It is certain that when he arose to his feet 
 he was calmer and stronger than he had been. 
 
 "We must find him," said he, "whether he 
 is alive or dead ; and I'm afraid, Harry, that 
 there ain't the least bit o' hope o' findin' him 
 alive." 
 
 Harry could only shudder and be silent. 
 
 " We must find him," continued the guide, 
 " and must set at work in the right way. 
 There ain't no use in hurryin' God help us ! 
 42
 
 BURIED IN A WINDFALL. 43 
 
 and so we may as well take plenty o' time, 
 and start a reg'lar search. The fust thing is 
 to build a fire, so's we can have a light here 
 and torches to help us out yonder." 
 
 This was what they proceeded to do ; Harry, 
 though he was half-dazed, doing good work 
 under the directions of the guide. 
 
 Everything was soaking wet, but Louis, 
 who was a master of wood-craft, soon had a 
 fire blazing, and then the green and wet 
 boughs burned readily enough, until there was 
 a big bonfire near the shore. 
 
 Both the sorrowful comrades took off their 
 wet garments, wrung out the water, and al- 
 lowed some more of the moisture to steam out 
 in front of the fire. 
 
 Then they lighted torches of pine-knots, of 
 which it was easy to find plenty among the 
 debris of the tornado, and began their sad 
 search for something not somebody which 
 they both hoped and feared to find. 
 
 The sky had cleared after that terrible
 
 44 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 storm, and the stars had come out, though the 
 big bonfire near at hand was more serviceable 
 than their light. 
 
 When the searchers came to the track of the 
 tornado, it was a most disheartening sight that 
 was spread before them. 
 
 Big and little timber was piled up there 
 in most inextricable confusion, mingled with 
 splintered boughs and a mass of debris that 
 rendered human progress impossible. 
 
 They might as well think of flying as of 
 trying to make their way through or over that 
 tangle of forest wreck and ruin. 
 
 To clear any part of it away with axes 
 would require a vast amount of labor, and it 
 would seem that nothing short of an extensive 
 conflagration could open a passage through it. 
 
 Louis walked as near to the thick of the 
 mass as he could get, and began to call the 
 missing comrade ; but the voice with which 
 he spoke was hardly his own voice. 
 
 The hopelessness of the quest made him
 
 BURIED IN A WINDFALL. 45 
 
 half-hearted, and his tone was nothing like as 
 bold and full as it ought to have been. 
 
 " You must call louder, Louis," suggested 
 Harry. 
 
 Neither of them believed that the loudest 
 cry that could be uttered would be heard by 
 their dead friend ; but the guide raised his 
 voice to a higher pitch, and shouted again. 
 
 "Hello!" came back a response, but faintly 
 and as if from a distance. 
 
 " Ben ! " shouted Louis again, and this time 
 the response was plainer than before. 
 
 " He is in there ! " cried Harry. " He is 
 alive ! Oh, Louis, I am so glad ! " 
 
 But the guide's countenance fell, and he 
 shook his head sadly. 
 
 " If you'd use your ears a little better," said 
 he, " you'd know that the voice came from the 
 river, and it ain't likely that Ben is there." 
 
 Again came the cry, nearer and clearer. 
 
 " Hello ! Hello on shore there ! " 
 
 It was even evident to Harry that the hail
 
 46 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 came from the river, and he and the guide 
 hastened in that direction. 
 
 "There'll be help for us, anyhow," said 
 Louis. 
 
 The party that had hailed from the river 
 had reached the shore when the two comrades 
 got there, and they proved to be four men in 
 a large skiff which was fairly loaded with 
 stores and other necessaries. 
 
 They appeared to be loggers or lumbermen, 
 and one of them was instantly recognized and 
 hailed by Louis Hameau. 
 
 " Hello, Hank Martin ! How did you hap- 
 pen to git here jest now ? " 
 
 " We saw a big fire burnin' on shore, and 
 guessed there must be somebody nigh it." 
 
 " Where did you come from ? " 
 
 "'Way up the river. We have been hun- 
 tin' timber for Halstead & Cranston, and 
 have located a likely place for the winter's 
 loggin', and now we are goin' home." 
 
 " You have been mighty smart to git
 
 BURIED IN A WINDFALL. 47 
 
 through so soon. Hiram Halstead's son is 
 here with me. That is, this is his nephew 
 with me now; but t'other one 
 
 "What's the matter with t'other one?" 
 
 "Fact is, Hank, that we had a wind-sweep 
 here last night." 
 
 "We thought that there must be some- 
 thin' of the kind goin' on down here. Do 
 you mean to say that you got caught in 
 it?" 
 
 " Harry Russell, here, and I jest missed 
 it by a hair's-breadth ; but Ben Halstead got 
 caught in it, and I'm afeard there's no doubt 
 that he was killed." 
 
 " Marciful Heavens ! Hiram Halstead's boy 
 killed in that way ! " 
 
 " Don't know how he could have missed 
 it. We was up at the windfall, lookin* for 
 him, when we heard your hail, and I'm 
 mighty glad that you've come, as we need 
 help badly." 
 
 "You shall have it, Louis. Step lively,
 
 48 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 boys, and we will help these folks find Mr. 
 Halstead's son." 
 
 The hardy loggers jumped ashore, pulled 
 up their heavy boat, and accompanied Louis 
 and Harry to the fire, where each took a 
 lighted pine-knot, and they began the search 
 with no delay. 
 
 When they reached the windfall, Hank 
 Martin took the direction of the operations. 
 
 As there was clearly no use in trying to 
 go through or over the tangle, he sent Louis 
 with two of the loggers on one side of the 
 mass of fallen timbers, while he took the 
 other side with another of his men and 
 Harry Russell. 
 
 It would be impossible to make any kind 
 of a search of the tangle at night, and the 
 only hope in this proceeding was the faint 
 one that the lad might be alive, or might 
 have been caught at an edge of the windfaH. 
 
 So they passed slowly along the edges of 
 the tangle, within the standing timber, wav-
 
 BURIED IN A WINDFALL. 49 
 
 ing their torches in the air to make them burn 
 freely, and calling the missing youth as Louis 
 Hameau had called him. 
 
 After a while, Hank Martin, who was a 
 little in advance of his party, stopped sud- 
 denly and held up his hand. 
 
 This meant that he had seen or heard some- 
 thing, and that he required silence and caution. 
 
 Harry and his companion crept toward 
 him and listened while he called again. 
 
 " Ben ! Ben Halstead ! " 
 
 Harry started as he heard a faint " Hello ! " 
 in reply, and was sure that it did not come this 
 time from the direction of the river. 
 
 He jumped on a log, and was hastening 
 to climb into the thick of the tangle when 
 he was pulled back by Hank Martin. 
 
 " None o' that, young gentleman, if you 
 please," ordered the sturdy logger. " You are 
 a leetle too hasty. If your friend is in there, 
 you would be more likely to pull somethin' 
 down on him than to find him. Suppose
 
 50 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 you call him, as he knows your voice, and 
 maybe we can place him then." 
 
 Harry eagerly called Ben, and the answer 
 was faint but clear. 
 
 "Hello, Harry!" 
 
 " Is that you, Ben ? " 
 
 "Of course it is." 
 
 "Are you much hurt?" 
 
 "Not a bit, but am pinned down here so 
 that I can't stir." 
 
 " Oh, Louis ! Ben's alive over here, and 
 all right!" 
 
 Louis Hameau did not clearly hear the lad's 
 words across the belt of fallen timber ; but Hank 
 Martin sent the good news on the wings of his 
 powerful voice, and the guide shouted for joy. 
 
 Axes were then wanted, and were speedily 
 procured, and the stout loggers began work 
 as soon as possible at a task which nobody 
 understood better than they. 
 
 It was their unanimous opinion that there 
 was only one plan to be pursued, and that was
 
 BURIED IN A WINDFALL. 5 t 
 
 to cut a passage through the tangle to the 
 spot where the boy was imprisoned. 
 
 Hank Martin had already located the spot 
 by Ben's voice, and the course was made cer- 
 tain by calling to him as the work proceeded. 
 
 A big fire was built to give light to the 
 workers, and two of the men began to chop 
 away the logs and branches, while the others 
 hauled off the timber and debris. 
 
 Though the loggers were first-class hands, 
 and all worked with a will, the job was so 
 tedious and difficult that the night was 
 nearly finished when the lad was reached. 
 
 Then it proceeded more slowly, as it was 
 necessary to be very careful in working near 
 him, lest a heavy log or branch should be let 
 down upon him and crush him. 
 
 He was found pinned to the earth in a man- 
 ner which showed that his escape from death 
 had been little short of miraculous. 
 
 He was lying on his face between the 
 trunks of two large trees, which had fallen on
 
 52 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 each side of him, so close that they almost 
 touched him ; and over the trunks was piled 
 a jumbled mass of splintered timber and 
 broken branches. 
 
 One of the big boughs had sent down a prong 
 between the trunks, grazing the boy's side, pass- 
 ing through his coat, and thus pinning him to 
 the ground so that he could not stir. 
 
 His long confinement in one position had 
 wearied and pained him ; but he soon got 
 over that after he was extricated. 
 
 Stretching and kicking about a little made 
 him quite himself again. 
 
 When he was pressed to tell his story, he 
 could only say that he was suddenly knocked 
 over by the tornado, and the next moment he 
 found himself fast in the position from which 
 he had just been released. 
 
 " I guess you won't want the wood that I 
 went after, Louis," he observed. 
 
 " No, Ben, I need nothin' but you, and I 
 won't want ever to lose sight o' you ag'in."
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FISHING SPORT SPOILED. 
 
 THE loggers, who were well acquainted with 
 Hiram Halstead, rejoiced at the safety of his 
 son, equally with Louis and Harry, and all 
 returned to the shore, where they were a jolly 
 party at an early morning camp. 
 
 The exciting events of the night had put 
 the thought of sleep out of their heads, and 
 daylight soon stirred them up to fresh duties, 
 the most important of which was the prepara- 
 tion of breakfast. 
 
 All were hungry enough, and the searchers 
 for the Star were especially so, as they had 
 eaten nothing since the noon meal of the pre- 
 vious day. 
 
 The loggers furnished the breakfast, as the 
 stores of the other party had been badly 
 53
 
 54 T HE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 demoralized by the tornado, and during the 
 meal they wanted to know what had brought 
 Louis Hameau and his young friends up into 
 the woods. 
 
 " We are lookin' for a Canadian man named 
 Baptiste," answered Louis. " Mebbe you 
 know him." 
 
 " We know a good many of him," remarked 
 Hank Martin. " Seems to me that nearly 
 every other Kanuck goes by the name of 
 Battees." 
 
 " This man is Baptiste Lafonce." 
 
 " I remember that name too. What does he 
 look like?" 
 
 With the assistance of Ben and Harry, 
 Louis gave a good description of the missing 
 Canadian, and it was recognized by more than 
 one of the skiff party. 
 
 " I know that chap well enough," said Hank. 
 " A sneakin,' prowlin' sort of a critter, who 
 kept to himself, and had mighty little to say 
 to anybody."
 
 FISHING SPORT SPOILED. 55 
 
 "Have you seen him lately?" eagerly in- 
 quired Ben. 
 
 "Not for sk months or so. He was loggin' 
 last winter with Whitby's gang, but didn't 
 start down the river with them. I believe he 
 went back to his home or his own folks." 
 
 " Do you know where he came from ? " 
 
 " Somewhere 'way up the Sebois. It runs in 
 my head that he had been livin' with the Injuns 
 up there." 
 
 This was all the information the loggers had 
 to give ; but it was quite satisfactory to Louis, 
 as it assured him that Baptiste had lately been 
 seen in the flesh, and was probably yet alive. 
 
 After breakfast, the skiff party helped their 
 friends to put the canoe in order and search for 
 the scattered items of their stores ; but a con- 
 siderable portion of these had been lost or 
 destroyed, and the loggers cheerfully supplied 
 the deficiency from their abundance. 
 
 The two parties separated with mutual good- 
 wishes, and Louis and his young comrades pad-
 
 56 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 died and sailed and poled their canoe without 
 any serious difficulty up into the East Branch of 
 the Penobscot. 
 
 The guide broke his companions to the work 
 
 of poling whenever he could find any reasona- 
 
 . ble excuse for setting them at it, as he wanted 
 
 them to be skilful, as well as muscular and 
 
 active, when they should reach difficult rapids. 
 
 Any of these could, of course, be got around 
 by unloading the canoe at the shore and carry- 
 ing it and its contents up the bank to the 
 smooth water above ; but Louis was greatly 
 averse to the tedious labor of portages, and 
 preferred to pass all but the worst of the rapids 
 by poling, an operation that required the exer- 
 cise of no little strength and skill. 
 
 At the junction of the rivers was a house of 
 call or backwoods tavern, as well as a depot for 
 supplies, which was then kept by an Irishman, 
 named Tim Haley. 
 
 Louis made a brief stop at Tim Haley's, 
 after cautioning his companions to say nothing
 
 FISHING SPORT SPOILED. 57 
 
 of the real object of the expedition, but to 
 speak of themselves as bound on a pleasure ex- 
 cursion only. 
 
 There were several guests at Haley's just 
 then ; a few freighters, usually styled drogers, 
 who had brought goods from below with ox- 
 teams, and two timber-prospectors, who had 
 come down to get supplies for their camp. 
 
 Louis easily fraternized with these men, and, 
 in the course of the talk that ensued, he asked 
 them if any Kanucks had been seen about those 
 parts lately. 
 
 " Why, more or less," answered one of the 
 loggers. " About the usual allowance of the 
 thievin' scamps, I guess. We've lost a lot of 
 traps lately, and I know that some Kanucks 
 have been prowlin' about our camps." 
 
 " I don't mean that kind," said Louis, with a 
 look of disgust. " There's plenty of 'em, as I 
 know, to give the country they came from a 
 bad name ; but there's plenty of decent Kan- 
 ucks too, as you know. I'm a Kanuck myself,
 
 58 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 and I claim to be as steady and honest as most 
 folks." 
 
 " I guess you're straight enough, mister. 
 There's plenty of good Kanucks, as you say, 
 and I've worked with some of 'em who were as 
 good men as I care to forgather with." 
 
 " Do you happen to know one of 'em named 
 Baptiste Lafonce ? " 
 
 " I don't seem to remember anybody of that 
 name." 
 
 "What do you want of Baptiste Lafonce, 
 mister?" demanded one of the loggers, a low- 
 browed and black-bearded man, who had been 
 listening to the conversation as he smoked. 
 
 " He's a sort o' relation o' mine," answered 
 Louis, "a cousin o' my wife's, and I 
 thought I'd look him up if I should hear of 
 his bein' in these parts. Do you know any- 
 thin' about him?" 
 
 " Not much. The last I heerd of him, he 
 had crawled into his hole, and had pulled the 
 hole in after him."
 
 FISHING SPORT SPOILED. 59 
 
 It was clear that the logger was not disposed 
 to give any information, and that he was sus- 
 picious of the man who wanted it. 
 
 Consequently it was to be presumed that he 
 knew more than he cared to tell. 
 
 Somewhat disappointed at their inability to 
 obtain any useful information in that quarter, 
 the searchers for the Star went up the East 
 Branch, and then the most arduous of their 
 labors began, as the river was low at that time 
 of the year, and they were obliged to pole up 
 some pretty severe rapids, the ascent of which 
 called for all their skill and strength. 
 
 After passing one of the worst of these ob- 
 structions to navigation, Ben Halstead declared 
 that his arms felt as big as barrels. 
 
 " You are pilin' up a muscle, my boy," said 
 Louis, " that you can brag of after a while." 
 
 " That is all right ; but I believe I would 
 rather pile it up a little more gradually." 
 
 Their consolation was found in the fact that 
 there was then comparatively little current in
 
 60 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 the river, and therefore navigation was easy 
 enough between the rapids. 
 
 Thus they reached the mouth of a stream 
 which was known as the Mattawaumpony River, 
 though Ben Halstead insisted on shortening 
 the name to Pony, and Louis told him that he 
 ought to show the river more respect. 
 
 "It is nothing but a pony stream, anyhow," 
 Ben retorted. " When it grows bigger, I may 
 apologize to it." 
 
 " If you should happen around here in the 
 spring, Ben, when all the creeks are howlin', 
 you'd give in that this river desarves every bit 
 of its name." 
 
 Here they stopped to rest, if hunting and 
 fishing can be called resting. It was at least 
 what the Yankees call resting by changing 
 work. Besides, they wanted something fresh 
 in the way of eatables. 
 
 " We haven't had a bit of game," said Ben, 
 " since Harry shot the jabberwock." 
 
 "All right," answered Harry, "you may
 
 FISHING SPORT SPOILED. 6j 
 
 laugh as you please ; but you haven't yet shot 
 anything as big as my jabberwock." 
 
 " That's so, my boy. It may be your turn to 
 laugh next, and I am not going to crow too 
 loud yet awhile." 
 
 When there was hunting to be done, it was 
 always necessary that one of the three should 
 remain at the camp or the boat to guard the 
 property of the party, and the one to stay 
 behind must be either Ben or Harry, as the 
 guide would not allow them to venture into the 
 woods without him. 
 
 They were at first inclined to think that this 
 was selfish in Louis ; but he believed that until 
 they were better versed in the ways of the 
 woods there was danger that they might get 
 lost, or fall into some other trouble. 
 
 For the first hunt after they camped at the 
 mouth of the Mattawaumpony the lads drew 
 lots, and fortune decided that Harry should go 
 with the guide. 
 
 It was lonesome for Ben when they had left
 
 6 2 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 him there ; but he managed to get rid of the 
 time by cleaning up things and putting the 
 camp in order, until noon, when he cooked and 
 ate his dinner. 
 
 After dinner, time hung heavy on his hands. 
 
 He could not go to sleep, as he was there to 
 guard the camp, and he did not know what to 
 do with himself, until it occurred to him that 
 there might be a chance to catch some fish. 
 
 The " Pony " was a quiet and sluggish stream 
 at that season, and at the mouth it formed a 
 rather broad bit of water, which might pass 
 for a pond, or at least for a pool. 
 
 As the water was clear and cool, there ought 
 to be fish there ; and if so, they would be easy 
 to catch. 
 
 No reel or flies or other special apparatus 
 was needed for the purpose only a rod that 
 was easily cut and trimmed on the spot, and 
 a line with a hook and sinker, and some pork 
 for bait. 
 
 These appliances were soon ready, and Ben
 
 FISHING SPORT SPOILED. 63 
 
 left his gun standing against a tree at the 
 camp, while he went to the river to fish. 
 
 Seating himself on a flat stone at the water's 
 edge, he threw out his line, and was pleased 
 by the speedy discovery that fish were there. 
 
 They were not very valuable fish at first, 
 as he caught nothing but chub ; but after a 
 while he hooked and landed a fine trout, and 
 occasionally more of them came along. 
 
 Ben threw the chub upon the grass as he 
 caught them, but the trout he strung on a 
 twig and kept in the water. 
 
 This was a real pleasure to him, and he 
 easily persuaded himself into the belief that 
 he was having a better time than the hunters. 
 
 In the full enjoyment of this belief, he was 
 devoting his entire attention to his fishing, 
 when he heard a heavy breathing behind him, 
 accompanied by a champing and grunting, 
 something like the noise made by a hog in 
 eating. 
 
 Looking around quickly, he saw something
 
 64 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 that made him drop his pole as if it had burned 
 his fingers. 
 
 At a little distance from him was a big 
 brown bear, seated on his haunches, busily 
 engaged in devouring the chub that had been 
 thrown up there.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 TREED BY A BEAR. 
 
 . BEN HALSTEAD had never before met a bear 
 in the flesh ; but he recognized the brown 
 beast as soon as he saw him. 
 
 He immediately lost interest in his fishing, 
 and could think of nothing but how to get out 
 of his unpleasant position. 
 
 It is an old saying that "two is company;" 
 but on this occasion the lad was clearly of 
 the opinion that there was one too many in 
 the company. 
 
 The bear had either not yet perceived the 
 boy, or was too busy with his present occu- 
 pation to pay any attention to him. 
 
 He would pick up a chub with his paw, carry 
 it to his mouth, and eat it with a curious 
 mixture of humanity and hoggishness. 
 65
 
 66 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 Evidently, he had happened on a good thing, 
 and knew how to enjoy it. 
 
 He was between the boy and the camp, and 
 necessarily between the boy and his gun. 
 
 Even if Ben could have got the gun, he was 
 not at all sure that he would have been much bet- 
 ter off, as it is no easy matter to kill a big bear. 
 
 There was nothing for him to do but get out 
 of the way, and it was a serious question 
 whether he would be able to do that. 
 
 It was not likely that he could do it unless 
 the bear was kind enough or blind enough to 
 let him, and it may be set down as a fact in 
 natural history that kindness and blindness are 
 not in the natures of bears. 
 
 If he should attempt to run up or down the 
 river, the bear, having the advantage of posi- 
 tion, could easily head him off. 
 
 There was no other way for him to run, 
 unless he should jump into the river, and he 
 was well aware of the fact that a bear could 
 swim as well as he could.
 
 TREED BY A BEAR. fy 
 
 His only chance seemed to be tc sneak off as 
 quietly as he could, hoping that he might not 
 attract the attention of the bear, but would be 
 able to get around him unperceived, and reach 
 what might be regarded as the safe side of 
 him. 
 
 He started to execute this manoeuvre ; but 
 his first movement aroused Master Bruin, who 
 dropped the chub 'he was eating, and walked 
 toward the boy. 
 
 Ben began to run, and then the bear came 
 after him at a lively rate. 
 
 The lad was quite sure that he was not the 
 equal of his four-footed pursuer in speed or 
 endurance, and a way of escape must be found 
 at once, if ever. 
 
 Before him rose a young tamarack-tree, tall 
 and with a slim trunk, and Ben hastened to it 
 and embraced the trunk as the only chance of 
 safety that was left to him. 
 
 He counted himself a good climber, but he 
 had never climbed anything as he shinned that
 
 68 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 tamarack-trT -', and, when he felt like slipping 
 down, the scratching of the bear below gave 
 new vigor to his body, and a better grip to his 
 hands and legs. 
 
 By dint of the greatest exertions of which he 
 was capable, he reached the first branch, threw 
 a leg over it, and hung there, so breathless and 
 exhausted that he could scarcely cling to the 
 tree. 
 
 After a while he secured a safer and easier 
 position, from which he surveyed the scene 
 below him. 
 
 The bear, who was not in the habit of climb- 
 ing saplings, and had not thought it worth 
 while to worry himself with the young tama- 
 rack, was seated near the foot of the tree, look- 
 ing upward expectantly. 
 
 9 His look seemed to say : " It's all right, 
 young fellow. I've got a sure thing. You 
 can't get away, and are bound to drop before 
 long." 
 
 This was so provoking to Ben, whose re-
 
 Taking good aim, he fired at the bear's head." Page 69.
 
 TREED BY A BEAR. 69 
 
 volver was safe in his hip-pocket, that he 
 determined to try what virtue there was in 
 a pistol-bullet. 
 
 Taking good aim, he fired at the bear's head, 
 and had the satisfaction of believing that he 
 had made a good shot. 
 
 Bruin brushed his head with his paw, as he 
 might have done if a gadfly had stung him, and 
 looked up reproachfully at Ben, as if to tell 
 him that he was trying to impose on good- 
 nature, and had better go slow. 
 
 Ben did not think it worth while to waste 
 any more shots in that way, as he had no 
 cartridges with him except those in the revol- 
 ver, and those might be serviceable to him at 
 close quarters. 
 
 The bear walked back to where the chub had 
 been thrown upon the grass, and proceeded to 
 finish his meal. 
 
 He was still too close to the tree to give Ben 
 a chance to escape, and when he had finished 
 the chub he came and took a squint at his
 
 70 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 victim, perhaps to see whether he was about 
 ready to drop. 
 
 Then he strolled to the camp, which was but 
 a little distance from the tree, and began to 
 inspect the articles that were lying about there. 
 
 The canned provisions puzzled him, and he 
 rolled them over with his paws, as if wondering 
 what they were there for ; but he found here 
 and there something that he could get at, and 
 tasted of everything impartially. 
 
 What he could not eat he tore to pieces, if 
 it was tearable, finishing with a woollen shirt 
 which Ben had hung up to dry, and which was 
 quickly rent in fragments. 
 
 This made Ben terribly angry ; but he was 
 helpless in his wrath, and could only talk, 
 discharging at the bear the harshest epithets 
 he could think of. 
 
 For this, Master Brum cared nothing at 
 all, as his mind was on mischief bent, and 
 no angry words could keep him from having 
 his fling.
 
 TREED BY A BEAR. ji 
 
 He returned to the tree, looked up at his 
 prisoner, as if wondering what kept him 
 there so long, seated himself on his haunches, 
 and licked his chops. 
 
 The prisoner, glad of a chance to vent 
 his spite on the shaggy brute, let fly at him 
 with another barrel of his revolver, and had 
 better luck this time, the bullet striking the 
 bear on the nose and penetrating the car- 
 tilage. 
 
 Bruin howled at this, as it was adding in- 
 jury to insult. 
 
 He howled with pain, rubbed his nose 
 with his paws, and stamped around and 
 around the tamarack-tree, grabbing it now and 
 then, as if he meant to shake the pestilent 
 young fellow out of it. 
 
 This performance gave Ben some satisfac- 
 tion ; but he was getting weary, as it was a 
 tiresome thing to keep his perch on the tree. 
 
 He changed his position now and then, and 
 this was a relief, but not a rest.
 
 72 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 As the day was drawing to a close, and 
 the sun had already gone out of sight be- 
 hind the trees, it was reasonable to suppose 
 that his comrades would soon be returning 
 to camp, and he could only hope that they 
 would come before he should be tired enough 
 to drop down to the waiting bear. 
 
 It was fully sunset when he heard their 
 welcome voices. 
 
 They were surprised at finding no camp- 
 fire burning, as it should have been lighted 
 before that hour, and they began calling 
 vigorously for Ben. 
 
 " Look out, there ! " shouted the lad from 
 his perch. "There is a bear here, and he 
 has got me treed." 
 
 Louis and Harry had not had very good 
 luck with their hunting, having shot only 
 two partridges and a duck; but they were 
 tired and hungry. 
 
 At the sound of Ben's warning voice, they 
 dropped their game, and prepared for action.
 
 TREED BY A BEAR. 73 
 
 "All risfht. Ben!" answered Louis. "We 
 
 o ' 
 
 two are enough for one bear." 
 
 The bear heard them, and got on his feet 
 to face his new antagonists, growling as he 
 walked slowly toward them. 
 
 "You may have the first shot, Harry," 
 said the guide, " and you want to hit him 
 in the breast, just above the leg. If you 
 shoot as well as you did when you killed 
 the owl, it will be bad for the bear." 
 
 This was highly encouraging to Harry, 
 who dropped on one knee in sportsman-like 
 style, so that he could get a good aim at 
 the big brute. 
 
 The bear seemed to be reluctant to leave 
 the boy in the tamarack-tree ; but he growled 
 and began to trot when he caught sight of 
 the others, doubtless believing that two birds 
 in the hand were worth one in the bush. 
 
 Harry kept his position so long, and the 
 beast got so close to him, that Louis was 
 apprehensive for him, and would have ordered
 
 74 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 him to fire but for the fear of disturbing 
 his aim. 
 
 At last he fired, and the bear dropped. 
 
 Harry's shot had broken his left fore-leg; 
 but he got up immediately, and came forward 
 on three legs about as fast as on four. 
 
 The lad, who had not stirred from his 
 position, gave him the contents of the other 
 barrel. 
 
 Though it was only loaded with duck-shot, 
 the charge seemed to go to the right place, 
 as Master Bruin tumbled over again, and 
 did not appear to be able to get up any 
 more. 
 
 Harry arose quickly and ran to the bear, 
 drawing his revolver. 
 
 Without giving the least heed to the snap- 
 ping and pawing of the beast, he fired a shot 
 into one of the bear's eyes, which settled the 
 case. 
 
 Bruin kicked and struggled a little longer ; 
 but his career in this world was closed.
 
 TREED BY A BEAR. 75 
 
 " Hurrah ! " shouted Ben, who had climbed 
 down from the tamarack-tree, and had run to 
 meet his friends. " Hurrah for Harry ! " 
 
 Louis Hameau, who had looked on admir- 
 ingly while he allowed Harry to finish his 
 work without interference, was loud in praise 
 of his young pupil. 
 
 " Indeed it's hurrah for Harry," said he. " I 
 don't want to see any better work done by the 
 oldest and smartest hunter that was ever in 
 these woods." 
 
 " That's so," assented Ben. " Harry has 
 killed the biggest kind of a jabberwock now, 
 and he did it all himself too, and he has got a 
 fine bear-skin and plenty of meat." 
 
 " Yes, he did it alone, and nobody could do 
 a cooler and nervier piece of work. I was here, 
 of course, and was expectin' to have the job to 
 finish ; but I saw that Harry was enough for 
 that bear, and all the credit is his." 
 
 Ben and Harry hastened to build a fire and 
 prepare supper, while Louis skinned the bear
 
 76 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 and cut off such portions of the meat as they 
 cared to keep. 
 
 The hide was salted until it could be prop- 
 erly prepared, and the meat was hung up out 
 of the reach of prowling animals, and the three 
 comrades sat down to a capital supper, as the 
 game and Ben's trout had given them a great 
 abundance. 
 
 Of course, the laugh was on Ben when he had 
 told how he was treed by the bear ; but he was 
 firmly of the opinion that all's well that ends 
 well, and insisted that the bear had got the 
 butt end of the joke. 
 
 The next morning, as Louis said that there 
 was a beautiful lake at the head of the " Pony," 
 they loaded their canoe and started up the 
 little river.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE HUNTERS HUNTED. 
 
 IT proved to be a rather difficult task to work 
 the canoe up the " Pony," as the stream was 
 so low that it was occasionally found necessary 
 to get out and lift her over the shallows and 
 "riffles." 
 
 " How are we going to get back, Louis ? " 
 inquired Ben. 
 
 " Oh, that will be easy enough. It is bound 
 to rain before long, and when there comes a 
 good shower, that swells the river, we'll jest 
 slip out." 
 
 The lads felt that they were more than repaid 
 for the toilsome and tedious trip by what they 
 found at the head of the river. 
 
 This was a large lake, nearly circular, 
 gemmed by two beautiful islands near the 
 
 77
 
 78 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 middle of the water, its banks low and heavily 
 timbered, and an abundance of lily-pads floating 
 on the surface near the shore. 
 
 "The moose and caribou come here," said 
 Louis, "to feed on the lily-pads, and we may 
 get a shot at one before long." 
 
 To get a chance at the big game of the forest 
 was, of course, the ambition of the boys ; but 
 there was more than that to put them in love 
 with the place, as it would be difficult to find 
 anywhere a better camping-ground for hunting 
 and fishing purposes. 
 
 It was easy to select a location, and in a 
 little while they were comfortably and pleas- 
 antly established and ready for business. 
 
 Louis had told them that there were plenty 
 of fish in the lake, and only a few glances at its 
 placid expanse were needed to convince them 
 that he had spoken truly. 
 
 By this time they had got well on into the 
 fall, and the nights were becoming cold and the 
 days cool ; but during several hours of the day,
 
 THE HUNTERS HUNTED. 79 
 
 when the sun was shining, big pickerel came 
 up to the surface, and lay there, motionless or 
 nearly so, with their dark backs out of the 
 water, basking in the sunshine, and supposed 
 to be asleep. 
 
 Louis went into the woods and cut long poles, 
 the tallest and slimmest young pines he could 
 find, peeled them, and attached lines to them. 
 
 To the lines he fastened slipnooses of small 
 brass wire, such as was used for wrapping pick- 
 erel-lines, and the tackle was complete. 
 
 He showed the boys how to snare the fish, 
 by dropping a slipnoose into the water just 
 ahead of a sleeping pickerel, gently insinuating 
 it over his nose until it reached the end of his 
 long body, and then jerking him up and land- 
 ing him on the shore. 
 
 At first the boys enjoyed this style of fishing, 
 which was novel to them ; but they soon tired 
 of it, because the poles, being unseasoned, 
 were too heavy for comfortable use. 
 
 What pleased them better was the night fish-
 
 80 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 ing, not only because it was a new wrinkle, but 
 because it was easier than the snaring scheme. 
 
 A fire of the "fattest" pine-knots that could 
 be procured was built in the camp-kettle, which 
 was set in an end of the canoe, and they pad- 
 dled out into the lake, where a stone was 
 dropped for an anchor. 
 
 By this time the fire was burning brightly, 
 sending its light far over the glassy surface of 
 the water. 
 
 " The light will draw the fish," explained 
 Louis, "and then we'll scoop 'em in." 
 
 The boys could not wonder at this, as they 
 were themselves strongly attracted by the 
 beauty and strangeness of the scene, no less 
 than by the promise of splendid sport. 
 
 With light rods they threw out long lines, 
 attached to which were guarded hooks, baited 
 with bear-meat, and skipped the hooks over the 
 surface of the water. 
 
 This was a species of trolling which proved 
 very effective.
 
 THE HUNTERS HUNTED. gl 
 
 The greedy fish, drawn to the spot by the 
 light, fairly jumped out of the water in their 
 eagerness to seize the bait, and sometimes no 
 little strength was required to pull them in 
 when they started off with the hooks. 
 
 Ben and Harry, when they had caught the 
 knack of properly skipping their bait, were 
 vastly pleased with this exciting sport, and the 
 guide was successful from the start. 
 
 It seemed to them that they might have 
 filled the canoe with the big and beautiful fish ; 
 but they considered it a sin to kill more than 
 they could use, and therefore they quitted 
 when they had secured plenty of fish, though 
 not enough fun. 
 
 When they got back to camp, although their 
 supper had been good and sufficient, they 
 insisted upon cooking some of the fresh fish 
 for a late supper, and proceeded to do so, one 
 of them frying a few, while the others cleaned 
 and cared for the rest. 
 
 They enjoyed the late meal greatly, declaring
 
 82 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 that they had never tasted sweeter fish, and 
 that they wanted nothing better than to spend 
 as much time as possible right there. 
 
 When they had finished eating, Louis filled 
 and lighted his beloved pipe, and Ben, whose 
 turn it was to do the drudgery, cleared up the 
 camp. 
 
 The moon had risen, and the beauty of the 
 night prompted them to sit up after their usual 
 hour for retiring. 
 
 While they were thus engaged, and Harry 
 was nearly ready to drop into a doze, a 
 shrill, wailing cry, almost terrifying in its 
 wildness and weirdness, came from the forest 
 near by. 
 
 " There's another jabberwock, Harry," said 
 Ben, as he punched his cousin in the ribs to 
 arouse him. 
 
 "All right," sleepily answered Harry; "but 
 I'm not hunting any more owls." 
 
 In a few moments the cry was repeated, this 
 time nearer at hand, and Louis jumped up.
 
 THE HUNTERS HUNTED. 83 
 
 " That's no owl ! " he exclaimed, as he seized 
 his rifle. 
 
 " What is it, then ? " demanded Ben. 
 
 "It's a wild-cat this time, sure enough, and 
 there's plenty o' difference between his yell 
 and the scream of a scritch-owl. I'm glad 
 the moon is shinin', so's we can have a chance 
 to see the critter afore he gits to us." 
 
 Wild-cats, like others of the feline species, 
 are very fond of fish, though they will not ven- 
 ture into the water to get them, and this beast 
 had probably been attracted by the smell of the 
 fish that were cooking, if not by that of the 
 uncooked fish. 
 
 Ben and Harry also grabbed their guns. 
 
 Louis took a position where there was an 
 open space in front of him toward the forest, 
 and made the boys stand behind him. 
 
 Again the yell was heard, much nearer than 
 before, and this time it was such a savage and 
 blood-curdling screech that Harry was ready 
 to declare that he would never again mis-
 
 84 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 take the scream of an owl for the cry of a 
 wild-cat. 
 
 But neither of the boys said anything, as 
 they believed that they were about to face a 
 real peril. 
 
 "Stand back a little," ordered Louis. 
 " Here he comes ! " 
 
 The boys fell back a few steps only, and 
 strained their eyes to see what it was that was 
 coming. 
 
 What they saw was a long and lithe body, 
 dark, and apparently tawny, approaching them 
 from the depths of the forest with long and 
 graceful bounds, accompanying its progress 
 with a peculiarly vicious snarl. 
 
 Louis brought his rifle to his shoulder, and 
 fired at the beast. 
 
 " Missed him, by the horn spoon ! " he 
 exclaimed, as he hastily began to recharge 
 his rifle. 
 
 But he had not missed him, as the cat was 
 rolling over on the ground, as if wondering
 
 THE HUNTERS HUNTED. 85 
 
 what had hurt it, and uttering a series of wild 
 and savage screeches. 
 
 Ben Halstead stepped forward promptly, and 
 sent into the writhing body a bullet that ended 
 its usefulness as a wild-cat, though it did not 
 put a stop to its struggles or screeches. 
 
 The next moment yell after yell came from 
 the forest, and a person of excitable imagina- 
 tion would have been ready to declare that the 
 woods were full of wild-cats. 
 
 There were enough of them, indeed. 
 
 Whether attracted by the scent of the fish, 
 or by the yells of their comrade, they seemed 
 bent upon holding a wild-cat convention at the 
 camp of the searchers for the Star. 
 
 Louis gave one quick but comprehensive 
 glance at the coming calamity, and turned to 
 fly. 
 
 " Into the water, boys ! " he shouted. " Into 
 the water ! That's our only chance." 
 
 It was, indeed, their only chance, as two of 
 the rifle-barrels were empty, and the beasts
 
 86 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 would have been too many for the party 
 to cope with if all their weapons had been 
 loaded. 
 
 It was fortunate that the guide was aware 
 of the fact that a wild-cat is extremely averse 
 to water. 
 
 Into the lake the three comrades ran, until 
 they were waist-deep in water, when they 
 turned and looked at the shore. 
 
 The congregation of wild-cats which they 
 had expected proved to be three yelling and 
 snarling brutes, which came into view one 
 after another, leaping swiftly forward, graceful 
 but dangerous. 
 
 They ran down to the edge of the lake, but 
 there they stopped, as the water presented an 
 effectual barrier to their progress, and snarled 
 at the human foes out of their reach. 
 
 Harry Russell coolly waded toward them, 
 took aim at the nearest of the brutes, and 
 fired. 
 
 Again he vindicated his skill as a marks-
 
 The Hunters Hunted. Page 86.
 
 THE HUNTERS HUNTED. 8/ 
 
 man, his bullet striking the wild-cat in the 
 ear, and stretching him out on the ground. 
 
 The others yelled with rage ; but nothing 
 could tempt them into the water. 
 
 It seemed that the boys were to have the 
 benefit of this affair, as it was a difficult mat- 
 ter for Louis to load his rifle where he stood, 
 while their weapons were breech-loaders, and 
 they carried cartridges out of the reach of the 
 wet. 
 
 So Ben advanced to where Harry had 
 stationed himself, and they loaded and fired 
 until another of the wild-cats was dead, and 
 the third, badly wounded, went off howling.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 AN UNINVITED GUEST. 
 
 THE three victors waded ashore to survey 
 their slaughtered foes and dry their dripping 
 garments. 
 
 " We know what wild-cats are like now," 
 said Harry. 
 
 "And we have made a hole in the cat popu- 
 lation of this region," observed Ben. 
 
 " You both did well," said Louis, " and you 
 had nearly all the fun to yourselves. I don't 
 believe you will see anything like it again, as 
 I never before met so many of the critters at 
 one time. So, you see, it is something to brag 
 about." 
 
 " I didn't feel a bit like bragging when they 
 came at us," remarked Ben. 
 
 " Well, no, nor did I, and it was lucky for 
 88
 
 AN UNINVITED GUEST. 89 
 
 us that the lake was there. A wild-cat won't 
 as much as put his paws in water if he can 
 help it." 
 
 " It was lucky for us that you knew that, 
 Louis, as neither Harry nor I should have 
 thought of such a thing." 
 
 The camp-fire was built up, to scare off 
 other prowling beasts, and the searchers lay 
 down to take the sleep that was so sweet 
 to them, in spite of mosquitoes and other 
 pests. 
 
 The next morning, while Louis and Ben 
 were getting the bodies of the wild-cats out 
 of the way, and generally attending to matters 
 about the camp, Harry went on a fishing ex- 
 cursion of his own. 
 
 There was no objection to this, as he was 
 not going far in fact, not out of sight of his 
 friends. 
 
 He paddled the canoe to a point of land at 
 a little distance from the camp, where, as 
 there was an absence of lily-pads, the water
 
 9 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 was supposed to be deep and suitable for 
 fishing. 
 
 Grounding one end of the canoe on the 
 shore, he seated himself in the other end, and 
 threw out his line. 
 
 His luck was fair at first, and he threw 
 several fine fish back into the boat as he 
 caught them. 
 
 After a while they quit biting, and he fell 
 into a meditative mood. 
 
 As his back was toward the shore, he failed 
 to see another party, not exactly a person, 
 who trotted down the beach and entered the 
 canoe. 
 
 The action of this party in stepping aboard 
 of the canoe detached it from the shore, and 
 set it afloat on the lake. 
 
 "What are you doing there?" sharply de- 
 manded Harry, naturally supposing that one 
 of his comrades had come to play a trick 
 on him. 
 
 As there was no answer, and there was evi-
 
 "He faced about, and saw the party who had entered." Page 91.
 
 AN UNINVITED GUEST. 9! 
 
 dently somebody or something in the boat, he 
 faced about, and saw the party who had en- 
 tered. 
 
 It was a brown bear, with a black face and a 
 decidedly open expression of countenance. 
 
 He had seated himself in his end of the boat, 
 and was eying first the fish and then the boy, 
 as if doubtful which of them would the better 
 suit his taste. 
 
 As he sat in the bottom of the boat, with his 
 big red tongue lolling out of his mouth, and a 
 hungry expression on his capacious features, he 
 was anything but an agreeable companion ; but 
 he was clearly the master of the situation, and 
 there was nobody to dispute his right to be 
 there. 
 
 " The dratted bears are getting the best of 
 us all along the line," muttered Harry. 
 
 He had not brought his gun, and if it had 
 been within reach he would not have cared for 
 a collision with his four-footed companion then 
 and there.
 
 92 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 He was willing to leave the canoe in the 
 possession of his uninvited guest, and the only 
 question was whether that individual would 
 allow him to get away quietly. 
 
 When the bear got up and moved to- 
 ward him, that question seemed to be settled 
 in the negative, and overboard went the 
 boy. 
 
 Master Bruin walked to the end of the canoe, 
 which Harry had just vacated, and looked over 
 the side after him, as if doubtful whether he 
 had better follow him ; but the fish proved a 
 stronger attraction, and he began to pick them 
 up and eat them. 
 
 The canoe, aided by a light land-breeze, had 
 by this time moved a couple of . rods from the 
 shore. 
 
 Fortunately, Harry was a good swimmer, and 
 could easily make his way through the water, 
 though encumbered by his clothes. 
 
 In a few minutes he reached the shore, 
 and ran to the camp, where his appearance,
 
 AN UNINVITED GUEST. 93 
 
 dripping with water, created a decided sen- 
 sation. 
 
 "What's the matter, Harry?" demanded 
 Ben. " Have you upset the canoe ? " 
 
 "No, I upset myself." 
 
 " How did that happen ? " 
 
 " Another gentleman got in a four-footed 
 gentleman, with a heavy brown coat. As there 
 didn't seem to be room enough for both of us, 
 and he was bigger than I, I invited myself to 
 leave." 
 
 "What do you mean, anyhow ? " 
 
 " There is the canoe, and he is in it. You 
 can see for yourself." 
 
 Ben saw the boat drifting out into the lake, 
 with a bear sitting up on the bottom, helping 
 himself to the fish that Harry had caught, and 
 he burst into a laugh. 
 
 " So you have had your turn, too, at being 
 treed by a bear," he cried. 
 
 " Yes, and it didn't seem a bit funny to me, 
 either," answered Harry.
 
 94 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 The bears and the wild-cats about here seem 
 to have a special spite against us ; but this is 
 the best joke we have struck yet." 
 
 " Seems to me, Ben, that it is a better joke 
 for the bear than for us. How are we going to 
 get our boat back ? " 
 
 This was a serious question, as they could 
 not think of swimming out to encounter the 
 bear, and they had no other means of getting 
 at him. 
 
 " Perhaps he will get tired of staying there 
 after a while, and will jump overboard," sug- 
 gested Ben. 
 
 "That ain't a bit likely," remarked the 
 guide. " The chances are that he'll stay there 
 until the canoe drifts ashore somewhere, unless 
 he gets a wrathy fit on and tears it to flinders. 
 That's what we've got to be afeard of." 
 
 " What can we do about our boat, then ?" 
 
 " There's only one thing to do. We must 
 build a raft as soon as we can, and hunt the 
 bear."
 
 AN UNINVITED GUEST. 95 
 
 " That's the ticket ! " exclaimed Ben. " Let's 
 get at it right away, and pretty soon we will 
 have a naval battle." 
 
 Axes and hatchets were quickly brought into 
 use, and Louis selected a couple of straight 
 and tall pine-trees, near the water's edge, both 
 of which he felled, and Harry trimmed off the 
 branches while the other two cut the trees into 
 lengths. 
 
 The larger lengths were rolled into the 
 water, and fastened together by the use of 
 withes. 
 
 Then another tier was similarly made of the 
 smaller lengths, and the raft was complete. 
 
 A couple of poles were cut and trimmed, and 
 the three comrades boarded the raft with their 
 guns and an axe. 
 
 They had been working as fast as possible, 
 being so closely occupied by their employment 
 that they had not given much attention to the 
 boat and the bear ; but they had a good view 
 of both when they shoved away from the shore.
 
 96 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 Master Bruin was still the captain of the 
 canoe, but was apparently not well pleased 
 with his situation and surroundings. 
 
 After drifting near to one of the islands, the 
 boat had encountered a breeze from the other 
 side, which sent it back toward the shore from 
 which it had come. 
 
 The bear finished Harry's fish, paced from 
 end to end of the canoe until he contracted 
 a disgust for the limited extent of the establish- 
 ment, and then turned his attention to an in- 
 vestigation of the craft. 
 
 Scarcely any animal besides a monkey is 
 more mischievous than a bear, and curiosity is 
 one of the strongest characteristics of his na- 
 ture. This is what causes him to make trouble 
 for two-legged people, and occasionally gets 
 himself into trouble. 
 
 Fortunately nothing had been left in the 
 canoe but the paddles and the seats, which the 
 bear examined at his leisure, pawing and biting 
 them, and finally tossing them overboard.
 
 AN UNINVITED GUEST. 97 
 
 He had finished this employment, and was 
 suspected of an intention to begin work on 
 the structure of the canoe, when the raft bore 
 down upon him. 
 
 As the lake was shallow, though there 
 were deep holes in some parts, it was easy 
 enough to pole the raft to the canoe, and the 
 polers made short work of the job. 
 
 When the bear caught sight of this cum- 
 brous ship-of-war, it distracted his attention 
 from the idea of demolishing the canoe, and 
 he put his paws on the little deck at one end 
 of his own vessel, and took a good look at. the 
 raft. 
 
 Of course, he did not know what to make of 
 it ; but the two-legged animals on it raised his 
 wrath, and he growled and showed his teeth, 
 looking over into the water now and then, as if 
 he would like to jump in and get at them. 
 
 "What would we do, Louis, if he should go 
 overboard and swim for us ? " inquired Ben. 
 
 " I wouldn't ask a better chance than that.
 
 g8 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR, 
 
 I could split his head open with an axe as soon 
 as he tried to climb up on the raft." 
 
 Before the bear could determine on any such 
 plan of action, the raft was within a few yards 
 of him, near enough for the engagement to 
 begin. 
 
 Louis thrust his pole down into the mud as 
 an anchor, and asked Harry to hold to it. 
 
 " This ought to be Ben's bear, Harry," said 
 he, " as you had the other, and we must give 
 him a chance at it. But we want to make a 
 sure thing of the critter, to keep him from 
 wreckin' the canoe, and so we will both fire 
 together." 
 
 Ben and the guide knelt on the side of the 
 raft next to the canoe, facing the bear, and 
 they could not have asked a better mark, as 
 the big brute raised his head and looked at 
 them savagely and longingly. 
 
 Louis gave his young comrade directions for 
 taking aim, and at the word they fired together. 
 
 The double discharge seemed to drive the
 
 AN UNINVITED GUEST. 99 
 
 beast backward, and he fell over into the 
 bottom of the boat, with his paws in the air. 
 
 "Pole up to the canoe quick, boys ! " shouted 
 the guide, as he seized the axe and made ready 
 to finish the work. 
 
 It did not need any finishing, as Bruin had 
 been struck in a vital part of his body, and he 
 was breathing his last when they reached him, 
 flooding the boat with his blood. 
 
 The canoe was attached to the raft, which 
 was poled about rnitil the paddles and seats 
 were picked up, and the whole outfit went 
 ashore, where the canoe was cleaned, and the 
 raft was made fast for further possible use. 
 
 Thus the searchers added another skin to 
 their trophies, and secured a plentiful supply 
 of bear-meat.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 BRIGHT EYES AND BIG ANTLERS. 
 
 THE day passed without any further events 
 worth noticing, and at night Louis found a new 
 use for the raft. 
 
 " We'H have a still-hunt at night," said he, 
 "a still-hunt on the water." 
 
 The boys knew what a still-hunt meant, but 
 they did not understand what the guide pro- 
 posed to do. 
 
 " I don't see how we can still-hunt anything 
 on the water," observed Ben, " unless it is 
 pickerel, and I gues^ we have had enough of 
 that." 
 
 "Didn't I tell you," replied" Louis, "that 
 moose and caribou come to this lake sometimes, 
 to feed on the lily-pads, and that we might get 
 a shot at 'em ? There's deer about the shores, 
 too."
 
 BRIGHT EYES AND BIG ANTLERS. IO I 
 
 "That's the scheme," put in Harry. "The 
 game is supposed to be on the shore or near 
 it, and we are to still-hunt it on the water." 
 
 " Jest so. You're a born hunter, Harry, and 
 no mistake." 
 
 " I have believed that ever since Harry shot 
 the jabberwock," observed Ben, who felt some 
 little touches of envy at the praise that had 
 been given his cousin. 
 
 His envy, however, was of small amount and 
 short duration, and he gladly accepted the idea 
 of the still-hunt. 
 
 The camp-kettle was filled with resinous 
 pine, as it had been when the pickerel were 
 caught at night, but was set on the raft instead 
 of the canoe, and the clumsy machine was 
 poled to the northern end of the lake, which 
 it had been agreed to call the upper end, the 
 raft being used because it gave the party better 
 room to " spread themselves," with an equal 
 chance for each when it came to shooting. 
 
 It was halted where there was an open-
 
 102 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 ing in the lily-pads, and a current of water 
 flowing into the lake gave token of a stream 
 that emptied there. 
 
 Harry mentioned this probability, and Louis 
 agreed with him. 
 
 " Yes, I guess there's a creek there," as- 
 sented the guide. "We can't see it, as it's 
 hid by the bushes ; but it's bound to be 
 there." 
 
 The raft was halted near the presumed 
 creek by thrusting the setting-poles between 
 the logs into the mud, and was quite firm 
 in that position. 
 
 At the same time the fire was brightened, 
 the idea being that the light would attract any 
 moose or deer that might be straying about, 
 and bring the inquisitive creatures within rifle- 
 range. 
 
 When they were ready there was a long 
 wait for business, and the boys began to grow 
 restless and uneasy, though Louis explained to 
 them that still-hunting was a matter of wait-
 
 BRIGHT EYES AND BIG ANTLERS. IC >3 
 
 ing, that hunters often passed hours in one 
 position, a-nd that the game was well worth 
 waiting for. 
 
 They waited an hour, which they counted as 
 more than two hours, and as by that time they 
 had sighted no game, they were thoroughly dis- 
 gusted with still-hunting. 
 
 Harry had just proposed that they should 
 " pull up stakes " and go back to camp when 
 Ben eagerly grasped and raised his gun. 
 
 " Be quiet," he whispered ; " I see a deer." 
 
 " Where ? " whispered Harry. 
 
 "Don't you see his bright eyes shining 
 through the bushes there ? Be quiet, and give 
 me a chance." 
 
 Ben had brought his gun to his shoulder 
 when his cousin suddenly jerked him back. 
 
 " For Heaven's sake, don't shoot ! " cried 
 Harry. "That is no deer." 
 
 " What is it, then ? " grumbled Ben. 
 
 What it was was quickly made evident when 
 a canoe came in sight, shooting out from under
 
 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 the bushes a real birch-bark canoe, of Indian 
 manufacture, such as the boys had not often 
 seen before. 
 
 In the canoe was seated a young woman, an 
 unquestionable Indian girl, whose paddle was 
 urging it forward, and whose bright eyes Ben 
 had mistaken for those of a deer. 
 
 " I told you that Harry is a born hunter," 
 exclaimed the guide. " I don't want anybody 
 to see better or shoot straighter than he 
 can." 
 
 " Don't tell her that I wanted to shoot her," 
 whispered Ben to Harry. 
 
 The Indian girl, who was quite unaware of 
 the fact that a gun had been aimed at her, pad- 
 dled her canoe to the raft, where she halted 
 and introduced herself in a friendly way. 
 
 She was neither good-looking nor bad-look- 
 ing, though her face was rather attractive, and 
 she was not attired in the traditional Indian 
 costume of fringed buckskin and feathers and 
 beads, but in an odd mixture of the styles of
 
 BRIGHT EYES AND BIG ANTLERS. IO t; 
 
 Indians and white people, which did not in 
 the least improve her appearance. 
 
 Her name was Seetuckey, which Ben Hal- 
 stead, being given to that kind of thing, immedi- 
 ately translated into Sweet Ducky, and she 
 lived near by, a little way up the creek, with 
 her father and brother. 
 
 She gave her father's Indian name, which not 
 even Ben could make anything out of, and she 
 added that he was known among the white peo- 
 ple as Red Jim, and that her brother was 
 named Santan. 
 
 The family was a relic of the nearly extinct 
 Sebois tribe of Indians, and the father and son 
 got their living by hunting and fishing, by act- 
 ing as guides for white hunters and excursion- 
 ists, and by working with loggers in winter. 
 
 They had become aware of the presence of 
 the white men's camp on the lake, and had 
 intended to visit them, but had as yet been 
 unable to do so. 
 
 The searchers sent them, through Seetuckey,
 
 IO 6 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 a cordial invitation to come to the camp, and 
 the girl paddled her canoe away and disap- 
 peared in the bushes that covered the creek. 
 
 Her new friends, having had enough of still- 
 hunting, poled the raft back to their camp, and 
 went to sleep. 
 
 Harry Russell had been so highly compli- 
 mented upon his marksmanship and his 
 general ability as a hunter that it must be 
 confessed that he had become a little vain 
 though he was careful to keep his vanity to 
 himself as well as he could. 
 
 The morning after the still-hunting expedi- 
 tion he took the canoe and his gun, and started 
 to make a tour of the lake on his own- account. 
 
 In spite of the bad luck of the night before, 
 he did not doubt Louis' statement that moose 
 occasionally came to the lake to feed on the 
 lily-pads, and if he could strike such game as 
 that he would ask nothing better. 
 
 Paddling around the lake in the early morn- 
 ing, when the fresh air was loaded with the
 
 BRIGHT EYES AND BIG ANTLERS. IO / 
 
 balmy odors of the pine-woods, was very pleas- 
 ant and exhilarating, even without the expecta- 
 tion of splendid game. 
 
 To the real hunter the uncertainty of his 
 pursuit and the anticipation of what he may 
 find are highly exciting, almost as much so as 
 the actual encounter with the winged or four- 
 footed prizes. 
 
 Harry urged the canoe forward slowly and 
 quietly, just at the edge of the lily-pads, keep- 
 ing a bright lookout for what he hoped to find, 
 and at the same time keeping his gun ready at 
 hand. 
 
 He passed the place where the creek 
 emptied into the lake, and saw the opening 
 more plainly than at night, though he would 
 scarcely have suspected its existence if he had 
 not known that it was there. 
 
 But he saw nothing else there, and heard 
 nothing there or elsewhere, except the singing 
 and chirping of the birds, until he reached a 
 point nearly opposite to the camp.
 
 I0 8 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 Then he heard a faint sound of breathing on 
 the land, accompanied by the breaking of 
 twigs, and he stopped the canoe and gazed 
 into the forest. 
 
 In a few moments there came into view, 
 breaking its way through a thicket, the largest 
 and noblest animal that he had ever seen. 
 
 Though he had never seen such a creature 
 except in pictures, he knew it at once to be a 
 moose, and a bull-moose at that, as it was 
 much too large for a deer, and its spreading 
 antlers were something immense. 
 
 Then it was that the boy had to take a firm 
 grip of himself to hold his nerves. 
 
 He had heard of the " buck fever," and was 
 afraid that he might be seized by it, and such a 
 seizure would render him incapable of shooting 
 straight, if he should be able to shoot at all. 
 
 Therefore he exerted his will to the utmost 
 to repress his eagerness and subdue his excite- 
 ment, endeavoring to imagine that a moose was 
 of no more consequence than any other game,
 
 "The moose had stepped into the water." Page 109.
 
 BRIGHT EYES AND BIG ANTLERS. 
 
 and that it mattered little whether he should 
 hit him or not. 
 
 Of course, he did not give any minutes to 
 these thoughts, as he had no time for thinking, 
 and the occasion demanded instant action. 
 
 They passed through his head like a flash, 
 and he was rejoiced to feel that he was rea- 
 sonably cool and calm. 
 
 The moose had stepped into the water ; but 
 he halted when he caught sight of the lad in 
 the canoe, gazing at him curiously at first, and 
 then acting as if he wanted to make fight. 
 
 As he stood there, with his head erect, and 
 shaking his branching antlers, he was a splen- 
 did sight, and offered as good a mark as the 
 poorest hunter could ask for. 
 
 Harry did not give him time to make up 
 his mind to fight or to fly, but raised his gun 
 at once, and sent the contents of his rifle- 
 barrel into the breast of the moose. 
 
 He saw the blood start, and knew that he 
 had hit where he meant to.
 
 HO THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 The moose looked as if he was surprised at 
 the noise and the hurt, but turned instantly, 
 and bounded back into the forest. 
 
 After a few leaps he fell over on his side. 
 
 Believing that he had made a fortunate shot, 
 and had killed or fatally wounded the animal, 
 Harry shoved another cartridge into his rifle- 
 barrel, paddled the canoe to the shore, hastily 
 beached it there, and ran to where his game 
 was lying under the trees. 
 
 The noble creature was so quiet that the 
 lad was sure that he had ended its existence. 
 
 Either he had been very lucky, or the 
 stories he had heard about the difficulty of 
 killing a moose were nothing but " yarns." 
 
 Wishing to finish his work in a sportsman- 
 like manner, he drew his knife, carrying his 
 gun in his left hand, and eagerly knelt down 
 to cut the throat of his game. 
 
 Hardly had he touched the hide when the 
 moose threw him off, struggled to its feet, 
 and attacked him savagely.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 HARRY'S BIG PRIZE. 
 
 HARRY was at first more surprised than 
 hurt at the sudden and vigorous action on 
 the part of the creature he supposed he had 
 killed, and was also at first not aware of the 
 extent of his peril. 
 
 His knife had been jerked from his hand 
 when the moose flung him off ; but he re- 
 tained his hold of his rifle. 
 
 He also retained, or quickly regained, his 
 presence of mind, jumping up instantly and 
 stepping back. 
 
 As the moose sprang toward him, striking 
 at him viciously with its fore-hoofs, he gave 
 it the contents of his rifle-barrel again ; but 
 this only had the effect of enraging it and 
 changing its tactics.
 
 H2 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 Lowering its head, the moose charged him 
 like a mad bull, and there was no chance to 
 escape its headlong rush. 
 
 At once it was upon him, and he could 
 only grab its antlers and cling to them, 
 drawing himself as close as possible, so that 
 he should not be overthrown and trampled 
 upon ; but he felt that his efforts must be 
 feeble and of short duration. 
 
 Twice the infuriated beast had flung him 
 up and down, shaking him violently, and he 
 was almost exhausted when a rifle-shot right 
 at hand gave him fresh courage and hope. 
 
 The moose, startled and stung again, turned 
 from the boy to face its new antagonist ; and 
 Harry, panting hard, but still steady on his 
 feet, also glanced in that direction. 
 
 He saw a young man, as evidently an 
 Indian as Seetuckey, dressed partly in civil- 
 ized garments as she had been, and at once 
 .jumped to the conclusion that he was her 
 brother, Santan.
 
 HARRY'S BIG PRIZE. u^ 
 
 At that moment the Indian held in his hand 
 a smoking rifle ; but it carried only one load, 
 and he had not time to get out of the way 
 when the bull-moose charged him. 
 
 He could only drop his rifle and grasp the 
 antlers, as Harry had done. 
 
 Harry hastened to pick up his gun and feed 
 it with a cartridge. Then he ran to the moose, 
 and sent a bullet into its side, just back of the 
 fore-shoulder, the muzzle of the weapon almost 
 touching the hide. 
 
 Even this had no effect but to enrage the 
 big beast, and the lad was compelled to revise 
 his recent opinion concerning the easy killing 
 of that kind of game. 
 
 Harry again hastened to reload ; but it 
 seemed that the Indian must surely be 
 overcome before anything more could be 
 done. 
 
 Then he witnessed a singular exploit. 
 
 When the moose's head was low, Santati 
 suddenly sprang between the spreading antlers,
 
 1 14 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 and landed on the big neck of the monarch of 
 the forest. 
 
 Turning quickly, he grasped the antlers with 
 both hands, clasped his legs around the neck, 
 and defied the efforts of his unruly steed to 
 shake him off. 
 
 With a snort and a bellow, the moose started 
 off, and ran through the forest, the Indian 
 clinging to his neck, and Harry following as 
 fast as his legs would carry him. 
 
 Under spreading branches, against big trees, 
 and through close thickets sped the wild steed, 
 but without dislodging its plucky rider, and 
 the hope was that it would become exhausted 
 and drop. 
 
 It was reasonable to suppose that, with four 
 bullets in its body, its career could not last 
 much longer. 
 
 After running about half a mile, it came to a 
 halt, and again began to plunge and shake its 
 head in violent but weakening efforts to rid 
 itself of its unwelcome load. .
 
 HARRY'S BIG PRIZE. n$ 
 
 Harry came up, tired and breathless, and 
 had just strength enough to thrust the muzzle 
 of his gun against the hide and send another 
 bullet into the big body. 
 
 This settled the question in favor of the two- 
 legged fighters. 
 
 The moose wavered, staggered, and fell over 
 on its side. 
 
 Santan jumped off as it fell, and instantly 
 severed its jugular vein with his sharp 
 knife. 
 
 The contest was ended, and Harry gazed 
 proudly at the noble game which he might 
 fairly claim to have slaughtered. 
 
 Then he held out his hand to the Indian, who 
 smiled as he took it. 
 
 "I know you," said Harry. "That is, I 
 know who you are. You are Seetuckey's 
 brother, and your name is Santan." 
 
 The Indian grinned. 
 
 " You have helped me out of a bad scrape, 
 and I want to thank you."
 
 H6 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 " You help me too," answered Santan. 
 " Good boy." 
 
 " But you are a real smart fellow, and a 
 plucky one, too. The beast would have killed 
 me if you hadn't come to my help." 
 
 " You kiil um moose," insisted Santan. 
 
 " I began it, and we killed him together. 
 He is as much yours as mine. What shall we 
 do with him ? I only want the head." 
 
 In fact, the first sight of those big and 
 branching antlers had inspired the lad with an 
 intense desire to possess them, and now he had 
 got them. 
 
 He could not have a better trophy to carry 
 home, and there would be a story to go with 
 them, too. 
 
 The Indian blew a whistle, loud and shrill 
 and long. 
 
 " Mebbe fader come now," he said. 
 
 Harry and his new friend sat down to rest, 
 and after a while there came to them another 
 Indian, who differed little from Santan except
 
 HARR Y 'S BIG PRIZE. i j 7 
 
 in age, and who would have been pronounced 
 a fine-looking man, of middle age, if it had not 
 been for his queer and unsuitable mixture of 
 clothing. 
 
 This was Red Jim, who was made acquainted 
 with Harry, and the story of the moose was 
 told to him. 
 
 He immediately set at work to skin the 
 moose, first cutting off the head, and with the 
 help of Santan and Harry he hung the game 
 up and cleaned it. 
 
 Leaving his father to guard the meat, Santan 
 went with Harry to his canoe, the former car- 
 rying the head of the moose, and the latter a 
 portion of the flesh. 
 
 The Indians had promised to visit the white 
 men's camp soon, and to bring some more of 
 the moose-meat. 
 
 It would have been hard to find in the State 
 of Maine a prouder boy than Harry Russell 
 was when he paddled the canoe over to the 
 camp and beached it.
 
 1 1 S THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 Though he had not killed the moose single- 
 handed, he might say that he had done the 
 greater part of the work, and his conduct 
 throughout had been highly creditable to him. 
 
 His comrades came down to meet him, and 
 they were more than surprised they were 
 amazed at the sight of the big head of the 
 moose, with its immense antlers. 
 
 They had heard firing over yonder, and sup- 
 posed that Harry had found some game ; but 
 they had never looked for anything like what 
 they saw. 
 
 Harry told with a reasonable amount of 
 modesty the story of his encounter with the 
 moose, giving full credit to Santan for his 
 invaluable assistance ; but this did not stint 
 the praise he received, especially from Louis. 
 
 " It's settled now, and there can't be a bit of 
 doubt of it," said the guide. " Harry is a born 
 hunter, and I've got a good right to brag on 
 him." 
 
 "That's so," exclaimed Ben, who was really
 
 HARRY'S BIG PRIZE. 
 
 a generous and large-minded fellow. " Harry 
 is the hunter of the party, and I can't hold a 
 candle to him, though I am older than he. I 
 give in, and won't question his topnotchedness 
 again. I shall never kill anything like that 
 moose never, never, never. I should never 
 get the chance even if I should know how to 
 use it when I got it." 
 
 Louis promised to prepare the moose's head 
 and preserve it so that they could carry or send 
 it home in good condition, and at once began 
 work on it, while the boys stood by and 
 admired the great spread of its branching 
 antlers. 
 
 In the evening, Red Jim came to the camp, 
 accompanied by Santan and Seetuckey, and 
 the campers set before them the best they had 
 in the way of provisions, and after supper three 
 of the party lighted pipes, and there was a 
 general talk, which was interesting all around. 
 
 Santan, being pressed to tell the story of the 
 encounter with the moose, made more of it
 
 1 20 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. ' 
 
 than Harry did, or, at least, made more of 
 Harry's performance, convincing the lad's 
 friends that he had not exaggerated his 
 share in the exploit. 
 
 As Louis had reason to believe that Bap- 
 tiste Lafonce associated more or less with the 
 scattered Indians in the pine-woods region, he 
 began to make inquiries, in his careful way, 
 about Kanucks, as the French Canadians were 
 usually styled. 
 
 Red Jim and Santan had met plenty of 
 Kanucks, more than they cared to meet, it 
 seemed, and Louis led his inquiries up to 
 Baptiste. 
 
 " Plenty Battees," answered the old man, 
 much in the style of Hank Martin; "plenty 
 Kanuck Battees." 
 
 The guide gave a description of the Baptiste 
 he was seeking; but it was not easily recog- 
 nized. 
 
 Seetuckey, who had been listening closely to 
 the conversation, was seized by an idea.
 
 HARRY'S BIG PRIZE. I2 j 
 
 " Mebbe he mean," she suggested, " the Ka- 
 nuck with the star." 
 
 "You're a trump, Sweet Ducky," exclaimed 
 Ben. " That is likely to be the very fellow we 
 want. Is his name Baptiste ? What sort of a 
 star has he got ? " 
 
 "Name Battees mighty bright star shiny 
 stones make light like fire." 
 
 Red Jim and Santan remembered that Bap- 
 tiste, a moody and solitary man, who did not 
 seek the society of his fellow-creatures, though 
 he sometimes made his home with Indians, 
 and who had a bright star, which he kept in 
 a box and seldom showed to anybody.
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 "FUN WITH THE BEARS." 
 
 THE searchers for the Star were highly en- 
 couraged by what they learned from the Red 
 Jim family. 
 
 It was then reasonably certain that Baptiste 
 Lafonce was alive, that he was somewhere in 
 the pine-woods, and that he was still in pos- 
 session of the Star. 
 
 Ben Halstead then made a good point for the 
 party, though in doing so he only anticipated 
 Louis Hameau, who was rather slower and 
 more cautious than his young comrades. 
 
 He proposed that Santan should accompany 
 the searchers as a guide. 
 
 This exactly suited Harry, who had taken a 
 great liking to the young Indian, and, of course, 
 it pleased Louis, who had been about to make 
 a similar proposition.
 
 "FUN WITH THE BEARS." 123 
 
 Santan was also pleased, and a bargain was 
 soon struck, by which the searchers believed 
 they had secured not only a good guide, but all 
 the information he could furnish them concern- 
 ing Baptiste Lafonce. 
 
 All this stimulated them to recommence the 
 search for the Star, which had been allowed to 
 rest while they enjoyed themselves with their 
 fishing and hunting at the camp on the lake. 
 
 They asked their new friends where Baptiste 
 Lafonce might be found at that season, but 
 neither Red Jim nor Santan had any definite 
 opinion on that point. 
 
 Baptiste was supposed to be roaming about, 
 and would be as likely to be found in one place 
 as another. Though his haunts might be 
 guessed at, it was mainly a matter of chance 
 whether they should happen on him. 
 
 But both the Indians agreed in saying that 
 the missing Kanuck, when he did not hire out 
 to a logging gang, was supposed to pass the 
 winter in the great basin of Mount Katahdin.
 
 124 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 This statement made the searchers stare, as 
 it confronted them with the possibility of pass- 
 ing the winter in the woods ; but this was not 
 the first time thaf such a thought had occurred 
 to them. 
 
 Anticipating the possibility of a prolonged 
 stay, they had written home from Tim Haley's 
 tavern, which was the general post-office for 
 that region, giving an account of their adven- 
 tures thus far, and requesting that a supply of 
 heavy clothing should be sent to them at Ha- 
 ley's by the first caravan of drogers from 
 Bangor or Oldtown. 
 
 It was the opinion of Santan that the most 
 likely place to find Baptiste Lafonce would be 
 the vicinity of Mount Katahdin, and to get 
 there it would be necessary to go back to the 
 East Branch of the Penobscot. 
 
 This step having been determined on, the 
 searchers were delayed and at the same time 
 helped by a heavy rain, that greatly improved 
 canoe-navigation on the " Pony."
 
 ^ FUN- WITH THE BEARS." 
 
 125 
 
 So they made their way without any diffi- 
 culty back to the Penobscot, and paddled and 
 poled the canoa up that stream, until they 
 reached the mouth of the* little Wassata- 
 quoik, where they found another backwoods 
 tavern, kept by a Yankee named Abner 
 Flagg. 
 
 Flagg's place was by no means as large and 
 commodious as Haley's, being only a rough 
 log-cabin with two rooms. 
 
 They found only one customer at Flagg's, 
 and that was the low-browed, dark-faced man 
 whom they had met at Haley's, and who had 
 spoken so strangely when they were inquiring 
 about Baptiste Lafonce. 
 
 His business there seemed to be to fill 
 himself up with Medford rum ; but he quitted 
 it when the searchers entered the cabin, 
 scowled at them, and shortly went away. 
 
 Flagg told them, when they asked who and 
 what he was, that his name was Dan Withers, 
 and that he was connected with a party of
 
 126 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 timber-prospectors who were camped about a 
 dozen miles up the river. 
 
 A prospectors' camp was what the searchers 
 wanted to find in that vicinity, as they might 
 get hold of some news of the man they were 
 looking for. 
 
 So they went on up the river, after leaving a 
 message to be sent to Haley's, to the effect 
 that when their supplies arrived there they 
 were to be forwarded to Flagg's. 
 
 It was then the late fall in that region, and 
 all the trees which were not evergreens were 
 arrayed in various shades of color, from yellow 
 to crimson, but were rapidly casting off their 
 dress, and the surface of the river was covered 
 with variegated leaves. 
 
 The days were growing cool, and the nights 
 really cold, with films of ice forming at the 
 edges of little pools, and the searchers were 
 obliged to use warmer cover when they 
 slept. 
 
 When they supposed themselves to be some-
 
 "FUN WITH THE BEARS." \ 2 J 
 
 where near the prospectors, they halted, pulled 
 up the canoe, and made a camp. 
 
 Early the next morning Louis and Ben 
 started out to find the lumbermen, leav- 
 ing Santan and Harry in charge of the 
 camp. 
 
 When they went away they were of the 
 opinion that it was quite likely they might be 
 absent all night. 
 
 Although the guide had to guess at the 
 location of the prospectors' camp, he found it 
 without a serious search, and found the inmates 
 at home. 
 
 They proved to be some of Whitby's men, 
 who had located a good lot of pine timber, 
 had cut and stored a sufficiency of wild hay, 
 and were then busily employed in building 
 winter-quarters for the logging operations of 
 the coming winter. 
 
 The head of the gang was Marvin Driggs, a 
 somewhat elderly man, quiet and reserved, but 
 of much force of character, upon whom Nathan
 
 128 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 Whitby relied for the general management of 
 his work in the woods. 
 
 The prospectors were glad to receive the 
 strangers, especially as one of them was 
 Hiram Halstead's son, and knocked off work 
 before noon, so as to entertain them properly 
 and give them as good a dinner as the camp 
 could afford. 
 
 " How have, you been gittin' on here ? " 
 inquired Louis, after he and his companion, 
 under the pressure of constant questions, had 
 given out all the news they had. 
 
 " We have been doing very well," answered 
 Driggs. " Nothing to complain of, except the 
 bears-; but I do believe that I was never so 
 bothered by bears as I have been this season." 
 
 " We've had trouble with 'em too," said 
 Louis, and he gave a pretty lively account of 
 the bears that had driven Ben up a tree and 
 cornered Harry in the canoe. 
 
 " That was rather rough on the young fel- 
 lers," remarked Driggs ; " but two bears ain't
 
 "FUN WITH THE BEARS." 
 
 worth speaking of, anyhow. If you had been 
 with us, you might have had something to say 
 about bears. It seems as if all the pesky crit- 
 ters in the woods have been hanging about our 
 camp, stealing, and doing all the mischief they 
 could get into their heads. We could never 
 leave as much as a pair of stockings out-of- 
 doors at night, but they would be found miss- 
 ing or torn to bits in the morning. But the 
 boys are going to play a game to-night that 
 will bother the beasts, I'm thinking." 
 
 Louis and Ben took an early opportunity to 
 question Marvin Driggs concerning the man 
 they were seeking, and learned that he was 
 well acquainted with Baptiste Lafonce, who 
 had worked with Whitby's loggers during a 
 portion of the previous winter, and who had 
 called at the prospectors' camp once that 
 fall. 
 
 " But he only looked in to see his brother- 
 in-law," added Driggs, "and went right off 
 without saying anything more than he could
 
 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 help to any of the rest of us. He is a queer 
 duck, Lafonce is." 
 
 " Who is his brother-in-law ? " queried Ben. 
 
 " A Canadian, but not a Kanuck, named Dan 
 Withers, who married a sister of Baptiste's." 
 
 It was the same man whom the searchers 
 had met at Haley's and then at Flagg's, and it 
 was no wonder that he had spoken strangely 
 concerning Baptiste. 
 
 " Where is Dan Withers now ? " inquired 
 Louis. 
 
 " I don't know. Shouldn't wonder if he's 
 gone on a bu'st, as he went down to Flagg's 
 and hasn't turned up since." 
 
 Louis thought it best to take Marvin Driggs 
 aside after a while, and explain what it really 
 was that had brought him and his young friends 
 into the woods, and the honest old logger was 
 amazed. 
 
 "Just to think," said he, "that the darned 
 fool should be carrying such a valuable piece 
 of property about in the woods all this time,
 
 "FUN WITH THE BEARS." 131 
 
 with nobody to suspect him ! It's no use to 
 him, nothing but a bother, and what does he 
 want to keep it for ? " 
 
 "Perhaps," suggested Ben, "he don't want 
 to throw it away, and is afraid to sell it 
 or take it back to the people he stole it 
 from." 
 
 " Like enough ; and now, my young friend, 
 I think I can give you a p'int. I don't believe 
 that Dan Withers has gone on a big bu'st. He 
 was off nearly a week a bit ago, and I gave him 
 such a solemn warning that he is not likely to 
 play that game again very soon. As he left 
 Flagg's, and hasn't shown up here, what has 
 become of him ? " 
 
 " Gone to find his brother-in-law," observed 
 Ben. 
 
 " That's it. He knows that you are hunting 
 Baptiste, believes that you mean harm to him, 
 and has gone to give him warning. If that's 
 the state of the case, and the chances are that 
 it is, it shows that Baptiste can't be far from
 
 132 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 here just now, though that guess mayn't be 
 worth a great deal to you." 
 
 Louis and Ben were easily persuaded to 
 spend the night at the prospectors' camp, to 
 witness the bear circus that was promised 
 them. 
 
 The preparations showed that, though the 
 proposed circus might be fun with the bears, 
 it was not likely to be fun for the bears. 
 
 Indeed, it was a rather cruel sport that 
 was intended ; but allowance must be made 
 for the fact that the lumbermen had been 
 so badly bothered by the bears that they 
 might be supposed to have a right to worry 
 their four-footed pests in return. 
 
 Selecting a straight young pine that grew 
 near their camp, they had trimmed off all its 
 branches but one, to which was securely made 
 fast a keg partly filled with molasses, of which 
 delicacy bears are so fond that they will run 
 any risk to get at it. 
 
 A gimlet-hole was bored in the bottom of
 
 "FUN WITH THE BEARS." ^3 
 
 the keg, to allow a very slow drip down the 
 trunk of the tree. 
 
 Around the base was piled a large quantity 
 of the most combustible wood that could be 
 procured, and from the pile a train of powder 
 was laid to the camp, which was a log building, 
 similar to loggers' quarters, but less in size. 
 
 The guests were informed that they might 
 lie down and rest in peace, as one of the log- 
 gers would keep watch and inform the rest 
 when the performance was about to begin. 
 
 At about the middle of the night they were 
 quietly awakened, and all took positions from 
 which they could command a view of the 
 pine sapling. 
 
 As the moon was still up, the locality on 
 which they had fixed their gaze was plainly 
 visible. 
 
 They saw a bear snuffing about the pile of 
 wood, which he carefully ascended after a few 
 minutes, and licked up the molasses that had 
 dropped down the tree.
 
 1 34 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 This did not satisfy him. Perceiving the 
 source from which the droppings came, it was 
 necessary to his happiness that he should 
 secure the keg. Therefore he climbed the 
 tree, licking as he went. 
 
 It was a pretty hard climb for a bear ; but 
 he got up to the branch, and, finding the keg 
 immovable, strove to get into a position that 
 would allow him to dip his paw into the sweet 
 stuff. 
 
 At this period of the performance, the pro- 
 spectors would have fired the train of powder 
 had it not been for the sudden appearance of 
 another bear, which came trotting to the tree, 
 greedily eager to get his (or her) share of the 
 molasses. 
 
 This made the scene doubly interesting, and 
 the result was awaited with lively expectation. 
 
 The second bear lumbered over the pile of 
 wood and scrambled up the tree, and the first 
 bear, perceiving his approach, began to growl 
 and show his teeth.
 
 "FUN WITH THE BEARS." 13$ 
 
 Evidently, there would be a fight at the 
 meeting, and when number two was half-way 
 up the tree the train was fired. 
 
 A flash of fire ran over the ground, and the 
 combustibles at the base of the tree began to 
 burn, slowly at first, but soon very freely. 
 
 The bears were so absorbed in their own 
 affairs that they did not notice the start of the 
 conflagration, and number two had reached 
 the branch when number one struck him such 
 a blow with his paw as nearly forced him to 
 loose his hold. 
 
 By this time the fire was burning briskly, 
 and the two beasts on the tree were painfully 
 sensible of the smoke and the heat. 
 
 Number two again struggled to get up, but 
 number one hit him so hard that he dropped, 
 and fell on his back into the fire, scattering 
 the combustibles, and sending up^a mass of 
 sparks and smoke. 
 
 Dazed and half-dead, and with his shaggy 
 coat in a blaze, he managed to free himself
 
 SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 from the fire, only to be shot down by the 
 woodsmen, who hastened to pile on more fuel 
 for the benefit of the other bear. 
 
 Number one, forgetting the molasses, and 
 thinking only of his unpleasant and perilous 
 position, whined and howled like a whipped 
 cur, and vainly sought to change his position, 
 finding himself unable to move up or down ? 
 while the smoke and heat were rapidly driving 
 him wild. 
 
 But the fire was at the same time eating into 
 the base of the sapling, and before the worried 
 beast lost his hold the young pine wavered and 
 fell. 
 
 The woodsmen were at the spot nearly as 
 soon as the bear touched the ground, and they 
 at once put an end to the little life that was 
 left in his body.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A MIDNIGHT MARAUDER. 
 
 WITH Harry and Santan time passed slowly; 
 after their comrades had left them, and the 
 lad was more lonesome than he would have 
 cared to admit. 
 
 They tried fishing, at first, but were finally 
 driven to the conclusion that there were no 
 fish worth catching in that portion of the 
 Penobscot. 
 
 As they could not both leave the camp to- 
 gether, and as Harry had been cautioned not 
 to go far from Santan, there was not much for 
 him to do in the way of hunting ; but he shot 
 a partridge near by, and that was better than 
 nothing. 
 
 So there was little for them to do besides 
 cooking and eating, and cleaning up camp, 
 though the Indian, who was a great smoker, 
 137
 
 !38 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 got on very well with the company of his 
 pipe. 
 
 It was no wonder that they went to rest at 
 an early hour, and then they slept soundly, as 
 they always did. 
 
 The mosquitoes, benumbed by the nightly 
 cold, gave them no bother, and, as they were 
 warmly wrapped in blankets, nothing disturbed 
 them until they awoke at daylight. 
 
 A most unpleasant surprise awaited them in 
 the morning. 
 
 They had left the greater part of their be- 
 longings in the canoe and near the camp-fire, 
 and sundry articles were mysteriously missing. 
 Several pieces of clothing, several cans of pro- 
 visions, and a few other items had disappeared. 
 
 The Indian was even more surprised by this 
 discovery than Harry was, as he had not be- 
 lieved it to be possible that any man or beast 
 could come about the camp at night without 
 waking him, and he was quite upset by the 
 occurrence.
 
 A MIDNIGHT MARAUDER. 
 
 Harry suggested that the marauder might 
 have been a bear, but Santan shook his head. 
 
 " Kanucks," he said, in a tone of infinite 
 disgust. 
 
 An examination of the ground confirmed his 
 supposition, and also brought him to the con- 
 clusion that there had been but one Kanuck 
 engaged in the robbery. 
 
 " How do you know that ? " asked Harry. 
 
 The Indian explained that the prowling Ka- 
 nucks, who were notorious thieves, usually 
 wore moccasins, or shoes that were different 
 from those of Americans or other woodsmen, 
 and that he could recognize the track of one of 
 the vagabonds wherever he should see it. 
 
 He found the print of one pair of moccasins 
 near the camp, and only one pair. 
 
 If there had been more than one Kanuck, he 
 said, more property would have been missing. 
 The thief had simply taken as much as he 
 could carry. A bear would have destroyed the 
 articles.
 
 140 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 This point being settled, it remained to be 
 seen whether anything could be done toward 
 catching the rascal. 
 
 While Harry hastened to prepare breakfast, 
 the Indian examined the ground more carefully, 
 endeavoring to discover a trail that he would be 
 able to follow. 
 
 He found the place where the moccasin 
 tracks went into the forest, but had serious 
 doubts of his ability to trace it far. 
 
 As soon as he had got something to eat, he 
 took his rifle and started. 
 
 "You had better let me go along and help 
 you," suggested Harry, who was eager to hunt 
 something. 
 
 "Me plenty good for one Kanuck," an- 
 swered Santan, and off he went, leaving the lad 
 to watch the camp. 
 
 The Indian was gone about two hours, which 
 were long and lonesome hours for Harry, and 
 when he got back he was disappointed* and dis- 
 couraged.
 
 A MIDNIGHT MARAUDER. 1^1 
 
 He had followed the faint moccasin trail 
 slowly and with difficulty, until he lost it en- 
 tirely, and, after fruitless efforts to find it, was 
 compelled to abandon the pursuit. 
 
 So he and Harry sat down together and 
 abused the sneaking scoundrel to their heart's 
 content. 
 
 The loss of their property did not trouble 
 them as much as the fact that they were unable 
 to catch and punish the mean and prowling 
 thief. 
 
 In the meantime, Louis Hameau and Ben 
 Halstead were returning from the camp of the 
 prospectors, pleased with the reception that had 
 been given them there, and rejoicing in the be- 
 lief that Baptiste Lafonce was somewhere in 
 the vicinity, and might possibly be found. 
 
 As they reached the crest of a ridge which 
 they were obliged to cross, they saw thin 
 wreaths of smoke curling up among the tree- 
 tops in the little valley below. 
 
 Of course, somebody was camping there, or
 
 142 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 had lately camped there, and, as they had heard 
 of nobody in the neighborhood besides the pro- 
 spectors, whom they had lately left, they were 
 curious to learn who the campers might be. 
 
 "We'll go down there and take a look at 
 'em," said Louis. 
 
 "We may happen on the very man we are 
 looking for," suggested Ben. 
 
 As this was possible, they descended the 
 ridge quietly, and stole stealthily toward the 
 camp-fire. 
 
 When they reached it, they perceived that it 
 had nearly burned out, and saw a man asleep on 
 the ground, whom Louis at once pronounced to 
 be one of the lowest class of Kanucks. 
 
 Scattered about him were cans of provisions 
 and other articles of property, which the 
 searchers thought they recognized as their 
 own, and a little later they were sure of it. 
 
 '" Why, Louis, the fellow has robbed our 
 camp ! " whispered Ben. 
 
 " Yes, and it's mighty lucky for us that we
 
 "The guide stepped forward softly." Page 143.
 
 A MIDNIGHT MARAUDER. ^3 
 
 happened to find him here. Now we'll nab 
 him." 
 
 The prowler had halted when he deemed 
 himself safe from pursuit, had opened one of 
 the cans of meat, had set it on the coals to 
 cook, had stuffed himself until he could scarcely 
 stand, and had then lain down and gone to 
 sleep. 
 
 The guide stepped forward softly, but his 
 light footstep was enough to awake the Ka- 
 nuck, who started up, and was seized and firmly 
 held by Louis. 
 
 He attempted no resistance, and his only 
 emotion seemed to be fear of the consequences 
 of his knavery. 
 
 " What shall we do with him ? " asked Louis. 
 " Whip him and turn him loose ? " 
 
 " No," answered Ben. " We had better take 
 him on to the camp and try to squeeze some in- 
 formation out of him. We can make him use- 
 ful, too, by forcing him to carry back his plun- 
 der."
 
 144 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 There was nothing to fear from the Kanuck, 
 who was an abject and degraded specimen of 
 humanity, low-browed and dark-faced, with 
 features that were expressive of nothing but 
 ignorance, and half-clad in dirty and tattered 
 garments, one of the worst samples of the 
 pine-woods tramp. 
 
 He was a mixture, the guide said, of the 
 French-Canadian and Indian races, and he 
 spoke a strange dialect, of which Louis under- 
 stood but little ; but it was supposed that 
 Santan might be able to converse with 
 him. 
 
 So he was loaded up with the plunder that 
 he had stolen, and was compelled to trudge 
 back to the camp on the river, closely guarded 
 by Louis, who said that his kind were so sly 
 and slippery that they could get away like a 
 snake. 
 
 Santan and Harry were delighted and sur- 
 prised by the sight of this procession as it 
 came out of the forest.
 
 A MIDNIGHT MARAUDER, j^ 
 
 When the capture of the Kanuck had been 
 explained to them, they entered eagerly into 
 the arrangements for squeezing some informa- 
 tion out of him. 
 
 The prisoner was stolid and silent when 
 Santan spoke to him, professing an inability 
 to understand what was said, but some threat- 
 ening words and gestures gave him a clearer 
 comprehension of things. 
 
 "Tell him," said Louis, "that we want to 
 know where Baptiste Lafonce is." 
 
 Santan did so, but the Kanuck shook his 
 head, denying all knowledge of the man who 
 was sought. 
 
 " That won't do," put in Ben. " Tell him 
 that we know better, and that we know that 
 Baptiste is not far from here." 
 
 This statement, when translated, had no 
 effect upon the Kanuck. 
 
 "Then there's only one thing to do," said 
 the guide. " If he tells us what we want to 
 know, we'll feed him and turn him loose. If
 
 I4 6 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 he won't tell, he gits such a floggin' as he'll 
 remember for a long time." 
 
 " White man whippa like de debbil com- 
 prenny ? " was the conclusion of Santan's state- 
 ment, and the countenance of the Kanuck 
 showed that he understood it well enough. 
 
 He then crawled down, as Ben expressed it, 
 admitted that he knew Baptiste Lafonce, whom 
 he had lately seen, and said that the missing 
 man had then gone, or would shortly go, into 
 the big basin of Katahdin. 
 
 Harry proposed that they should keep the 
 Kanuck as a guide and to prevent him from 
 giving information of their purpose ; but Louis 
 and Santan declared that he could not be 
 watched closely enough to keep him from 
 stealing something and slipping away, and 
 there was a general repugnance to any further 
 association with him. 
 
 So he was given a can of meat and some 
 hard bread, and was sent away.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A FOREST FIRE. 
 
 BELIEVING that they then had no time to 
 lose, as it might be possible to find the man 
 they wanted before winter set in, the searchers 
 loaded their belongings into the canoe, and 
 started down the river. 
 
 After passing the night at Abner Flagg's, 
 they proceeded up the Wassataquoik as rapidly 
 as possible, though they found the navigation 
 rather difficult at that time of the year, even 
 for a canoe. 
 
 Near the head of the river, but not at its 
 head, as it had branches extending further, 
 some of them up into the mountain, they came 
 to a lake somewhat similar to that on the 
 " Pony," but longer and not so picturesque. 
 
 The scenery, however, was attractive in its 
 rugged wildness, and over the lake in the after- 
 147
 
 148 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 noon fell the great shadow of Mount Katahdin, 
 advancing slowly from the south-west. 
 
 Here they stopped, pulling their canoe up 
 under the trees, and devoted the next two days 
 to the construction of a passably comfortable 
 camp, intending to make that spot their head- 
 quarters, from which they would explore the 
 surrounding country and the mountain at their 
 convenience. 
 
 Louis and Santan, with the two axes, 
 chopped down trees, and cut them into suit- 
 able lengths, and the boys were able to do some 
 service with the hatchets, besides attending to 
 the cooking and the other camp duties. 
 
 Thus they erected in a short time, by dove- 
 tailing the logs and building them upon each 
 other, a tolerably substantial log hut, twelve 
 feet long and eight feet deep, six feet high in 
 front, and half that height in the rear, with a 
 door-way that could be closed by a bear-skin or 
 a blanket sufficiently to keep out the wind and 
 rain or the possible snow.
 
 A FOREST FIRE. I4 g 
 
 The roof was formed of heavy poles, over 
 which was laid a thick covering of fir-boughs 
 and moss, upon which some more poles were 
 placed to keep the moss in position. 
 
 The structure was not what they might have 
 made it if they had possessed a few tools 
 besides the axes ; but it promised to answer 
 the purpose of a shelter very well, and it was 
 furnished with a comfortable couch of fir- 
 boughs. 
 
 As they were not able to build a chimney, 
 the cooking would have to be done out-of- 
 doors ; but that, it was hoped, would not be a 
 real inconvenience. 
 
 The morning after the log hut was finished 
 sufficiently to be occupied, Louis and Harry 
 set out to explore the country near the lake, 
 and to endeavor to find a way into the big 
 basin of Katahdin, which was supposed to be 
 very difficult of access. 
 
 Louis had visited the mountain but once 
 previously, and Santan, though he had been
 
 150 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 all around it, had never climbed any of its 
 heights or penetrated any of its recesses. 
 
 For this absence of an exploring spirit the 
 Indian had his reasons, and he was ready 
 enough to tell them. 
 
 Katahdin, he said, was inhabited and con- 
 trolled by an Indian spirit or demon, named 
 Pamolah, who had contracted a terrible hatred 
 of the red race. 
 
 / 
 
 Once on a time there had been a beautiful 
 Indian girl, who had broken the hearts of all 
 the young men of her tribe, and Pamolah had 
 stolen her and carried her up into Katahdin, 
 where he kept her as his own. Since then, 
 whenever an Indian ventured too near to 
 Katahdin, Pamolah was sure to brew a storm 
 and fling it at him, or to invent some other 
 calamity, and lucky was the Indian who 
 escaped with his life. 
 
 Santan took pains to say that he did not 
 believe in the power of Pamolah, but admitted 
 that he always carefully kept clear of Katahdin.
 
 A FOREST FIRE. i$i 
 
 Like the Kentuckian who threw into the 
 fire a live bird because it was bad luck for a 
 bird to fly in at the window, he " didn't believe 
 in them signs and omens, but didn't want to go 
 ag'inst 'em." 
 
 So Louis and Harry composed the exploring 
 expedition, Harry being taken because Ben had 
 gone to the prospectors' camp, and the agree- 
 ment was that they should take turns in accom- 
 panying the guide. 
 
 It was a great comfort that Santan had come 
 with them, as Louis could be sure that he left 
 Ben in good hands, and that the camp would 
 be well cared for in the absence of the other 
 two. 
 
 Ben Halstead and Santan were not at a loss 
 for employment after their comrades had left 
 them. 
 
 During the intervals between the important 
 occupations of cooking and eating they busied 
 themselves in gathering moss, which they 
 stuffed into the cracks of the log hut, and
 
 152 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 succeeded in making its sides nearly wind- 
 proof and rain-proof. They had their doubts 
 about the roof, which could be fairly tested 
 only by a storm. 
 
 While they were thus engaged, they noticed 
 that the air had become sensibly warmer, 
 while the sky was so hazy and thick that they 
 could easily look the sun in the face, and 
 toward the middle of the afternoon they per- 
 ceived a' strong smell of smoke. 
 
 After a while the smoke became so heavy 
 and pungent that it made their eyes water, 
 and gave them fits of sneezing. 
 
 " Big fire somewhere," said the Indian. 
 
 " A forest fire is a terrible thing," observed 
 Ben. " I hope that Harry and Louis are no- 
 where near it." 
 
 Pretty soon clouds of smoke began to rise 
 above the tree-tops and darken the sky, and 
 then there was something worse than that. 
 
 The breath of a hot breeze touched them, 
 and soon it became a strong: wind with almost
 
 A FOREST FIRE. l ^ 
 
 a furnace-heat, and they heard the crackling 
 of flames, and bright tongues of fire were visi- 
 ble in the forest, while at a distance was heard 
 the crash of falling trees. 
 
 It was a big forest fire which they were 
 about to experience, and it came from the 
 direction in which their friends were supposed 
 to have gone, and was sweeping toward them 
 just then at tremendous speed. 
 
 " We must git out o' dis mighty quick," 
 said the Indian, and he set the example him- 
 self. 
 
 There was no hope of escaping that confla- 
 gration but by way of the water, and it was 
 fortunate for the two that they were camped 
 at the edge of the lake. 
 
 Using their utmost exertions, they ran the 
 canoe into the water, hurriedly loaded it with 
 everything that had been taken from it, and 
 pushed off. 
 
 Before they could get away from the shore, 
 the smoke was so thick that it nearly smoth-
 
 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 ered them, the heat was becoming unbearable, 
 and the fire was advancing toward them with 
 amazing rapidity. 
 
 They paddled the canoe to the middle of 
 the lake, far from the line of the fire, but not 
 entirely out of reach of the smoke, and from 
 that point of safety they gazed at the magnifi- 
 cent but terrible scene on the land. 
 
 The forest was an ocean of fire ; the current 
 swept forward with a force that nothing could 
 resist ; the tops of the tallest trees were pillars 
 of flame ; everywhere great monarchs of the 
 woods were falling with tremendous crashes ; 
 the earth itself seemed to be burning up, and 
 the spectacle was awful in its grandeur. 
 
 One of the two persons in the canoe on the 
 lake, if not both of them, was nearly wild with 
 anxiety concerning the fate of the absent 
 friends and comrades, who might have been 
 caught and destroyed by that fearful conflagra- 
 tion ; but neither said a word about them. 
 
 The subject was too horrible to be men-
 
 A Forest Fire. Page 154.
 
 A FOREST FIRE. 155 
 
 tioned, and they endeavored to evade it by 
 thinking and speaking of other things. 
 
 If any person could have seen and heard 
 them there, he would have thought that noth- 
 ing was nearer to their hearts than the ques- 
 tion whether their hut on the shore would 
 escape the conflagration. 
 
 The fire had almost reached it, and a big 
 tree had fallen near it, sending a shower of 
 sparks all over it, when the wind suddenly 
 changed, blowing from the lake, and the 
 conflagration took a new course. 
 
 Not that the danger was over, as the fire 
 vm.s still burning about the hut ; but the 
 strength and fierceness of the conflagration 
 had taken another direction, carrying the mass 
 of flame and smoke with it. 
 
 "Mebbe we save um cabin now, Ben," said 
 the Indian. 
 
 " Perhaps we can. Let's go ashore." 
 
 They hastily paddled the canoe to the shore, 
 and went to work with a will, though the heat
 
 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 was still great, and the smoke was almost 
 stifling. 
 
 As the light stuff on the roof was burning, 
 and the fire had attacked the log walls of the 
 hut, they had a hard task before them ; but it 
 was successfully accomplished, in spite of their 
 lack of appliances for such work. 
 
 With the cooking utensils they carried water 
 from the lake, and threw it on the flames as 
 they broke out, and soon had the satisfaction of 
 knowing that the cabin was safe, without hav- 
 ing received any material damage. 
 
 Hardly had they finished this work when 
 they were visited by a drenching rain-storm, 
 which came too late to be of any service 
 to them, and just in time to bother them, as 
 they were obliged to hurry to get a portion of 
 the canoe-load under shelter. 
 
 The rain soon blew away, and was succeeded 
 by a colder wind and flurries of snow, which 
 settled after a while into a blinding and drifting 
 snow-storm.
 
 A FOREST FIRE. 
 
 Bewildered by this rapid succession of unex- 
 pected events, Ben Halstead sat in the cabin 
 with Santan, and anxiously and sorrowfully 
 wondered what had become of Harry and 
 Louis. 
 
 If they had not been overtaken and de- 
 stroyed by the forest fire, they had surely been 
 
 caught in the snow-storm, and, as it promised 
 
 < 
 
 to be a heavy one, it might cause them to lose 
 their way, if nothing worse should come of it. 
 
 But it was impossible to do anything but 
 wonder and wait, especially as night was com- 
 ing on ; so the two comrades in the cabin, 
 being unable to cook a meal in the storm, ate 
 some cold meat and bread, and lay down on 
 the couch of fir-boughs.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 SAVED BY A CLOUDBURST. 
 
 Louis HAMEAU and Harry Russell were not 
 badly provided to meet changes of weather, or 
 to stand a tough campaign. 
 
 Besides a good supply of cooked provisions 
 in canvas bags that were slung at their sides, 
 they carried blankets strapped on their backs, 
 as it was understood when they left the camp 
 that they might possibly be absent all night. 
 
 Their course appeared to be plain enough, at 
 least at the outset of the exploration, as they 
 had only to start with one of the small streams 
 that flowed into the lake from the direction of 
 Katahdin, and follow it to the mountain, when 
 it would probably lead them up toward the 
 point which they wanted to reach. 
 
 It did lead them up by a steep but practica- 
 ble pass, which was the bed of the stream, 
 '58
 
 SAVED BY A CLOUDBURST. ^9 
 
 though the stream was then only a little brook, 
 which trickled rather than ran down the moun- 
 tain-side. 
 
 The climbing was hard, as the bed of the 
 creek was very rocky, and in places it was 
 obstructed by waterfalls, or by rocky ledges 
 that would have furnished waterfalls if the 
 stream had been bigger. 
 
 So the travellers, being obliged to stop to 
 rest every now and then, made slow progress 
 until they reached the spot where the stream 
 had its rise. 
 
 It led them by a deep and narrow pass to the 
 edge of a broad and beautiful basin, which 
 Louis at once pronounced to be the big basin 
 of Katahdin. 
 
 " I've been here only once before," said he, 
 " and that was a long time ago ; but I remem- 
 ber it now well enough." 
 
 " I should think that anybody who had once 
 seen this place would never be likely to forget 
 it," remarked Harry.
 
 160 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 They ascended the rocky ridge at the mouth 
 of the pass to get a better view of the basin, 
 and Harry was vastly pleased with what he saw. 
 
 The basin covered an extent of perhaps two 
 hundred acres, and its sides were partly shelv- 
 ing and partly precipitous, but almost every- 
 where very high, some of the cliffs towering 
 up fully two thousand feet above the level of 
 the basin. 
 
 It was covered though not thickly covered 
 with trees, some of which were very tall; 
 but there were also treeless spaces of wild 
 meadow, and there were several perhaps half 
 a dozen lakes or ponds scattered about the 
 expanse. 
 
 Snow hung rather heavily on the shelving 
 southern side of the basin, and patches of the 
 same were visible here and there among the 
 trees. 
 
 " What splendid hunting and fishing we 
 might have found here," said Harry, " if we 
 had come earlier."
 
 SAVED BY A CLOUDBURST. ifti 
 
 " Mebbe we'll find some before we go 
 away," answered the guide. 
 
 As far as the searchers could see there was 
 no sign of any human habitation, or human 
 occupancy or presence, anywhere about the 
 basin, and they had no wish to extend their 
 exploration just then, as the air was cold, and 
 the day was drawing toward its close. 
 
 Louis proposed that they should return to 
 camp immediately, and Harry was willing 
 enough, as he wanted to have the party to- 
 gether when they made a thorough exploration 
 of the basin. 
 
 So they climbed down the cliff, and began 
 to descend the pass and the bed of the brook, 
 finding the downward path nearly as difficult as 
 the upward journey had been. 
 
 They had got about half-way down when 
 they spied a bear feeding on blueberries at the 
 side of the gully, and Harry wanted that bear. 
 
 He tried to escape when he saw the two- 
 legged animals; but his position was against
 
 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 him, and he charged them when he was fired 
 upon. 
 
 They had him at a disadvantage, and soon 
 he was a dead bear, and Louis proceeded to 
 remove his pelt, as Harry was anxious to 
 have it. 
 
 Before this job was finished they perceived 
 that the air was getting very thick, being 
 heavily loaded with smoke, and they had not 
 to look far to discover the cause of the oppress- 
 ive condition of the atmosphere. 
 
 "The woods are burnin' ! " said the guide, 
 pointing down the mountain-side, and it was 
 easy to see that a big forest fire was raging 
 down there, which covered, or threatened to 
 cover, the entire region between the mountain 
 and the lake. 
 
 It would have been a splendid sight for Louis 
 and Harry to view from their elevation if they 
 had not been absorbed by anxiety for their own 
 safety and that of their friends. 
 
 "The fire will reach our camp, sure," said
 
 SAVED BY A CLOUDBURST. ^3 
 
 Harry, "and what will become of Ben and the 
 Indian ? " 
 
 "They are safe enough," answered Louis, "as 
 they have the lake to take to ; but the fire will 
 cut us off from reaching them, and they will 
 worry about us. I wonder if we are safe here, 
 anyhow." 
 
 This question was speedily answered in the 
 negative, as the fire made its appearance below 
 them, rapidly coming up toward them, though 
 it was not favored by the wind. 
 
 "We can't git down that way," said the 
 guide ; " but we've got the basin open to us 
 yet." 
 
 No, the basin was not open to them. 
 
 The fire, which had probably started some- 
 where on the mountain, had crept around be- 
 hind them, and was already sweeping down the 
 gully and on both sides of them. 
 
 In a few minutes they would be surrounded, 
 and they could not attempt to stir from where 
 they were.
 
 1 64 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 Would they be able to remain there ? 
 
 The sides of the mountain were mostly cov- 
 ered with a thick growth of birch-trees and 
 alder-bushes, beaten down by the winds until 
 they formed an impenetrable tangle, through 
 which ran an occasional slide or gully, such as 
 our travellers had happened to be caught in. 
 
 The tangle burned easily and briskly, with a 
 rapid, roaring flame. 
 
 Though there was little growth of any kind 
 on the sides of the gully, the question for 
 Louis and Harry to consider was whether the 
 surrounding heat and smoke would not scorch 
 and stifle them, killing them as surely as if 
 the flames had caught them. 
 
 They had but a little time to consider it, and 
 the guide quickly arrived at a conclusion. 
 
 "We can't get out o' this, Harry," said he, 
 " and there's only one chance for us. Just 
 take down your blanket, and foller my motions, 
 and we may beat the fire yet." 
 
 Near them was a hole in the gully, where the
 
 SAVED BY A CLOUDBURST, ifte 
 
 water of the brook had formed a pool that was 
 about waist-deep, and this was the chance of 
 which the guide spoke. 
 
 Unstrapping his blanket, he held it in the 
 water until it had absorbed as much as it 
 would hold, and then, squatting down in the 
 pool, pulled it over his head. 
 
 Harry hastened to follow his example, and 
 they held the wet blankets tightly over their 
 heads, covering every portion of their bodies 
 that was not under water, and leaving but a 
 small hole to breathe through. 
 
 The water was almost icy cold, but that was 
 better to bear than the scorching heat which 
 they expected. 
 
 It came as soon as it was expected, and con- 
 siderably sooner than it was wanted. 
 
 Then the two comrades had such a severe 
 trial as they hoped they might never be sub- 
 jected to again. 
 
 They were as if in the middle of a furnace, 
 the heat being intense all about them, though
 
 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 the fire itself could not reach them except in 
 the way of sparks that fell upon them, and the 
 moisture arose from their blankets in steam 
 until they became so dry that it was necessary 
 to jerk them off and dip them hastily in the 
 pool for a fresh supply of water. 
 
 Fortunately the wet blankets prevented the 
 smoke from getting into their lungs, or they 
 would soon have been suffocated. 
 
 With the lower portions of their bodies nearly 
 freezing, while the upper portions were steam- 
 ing, their condition was not a bit enviable. 
 
 " I can't stand this much longer," hoarsely 
 whispered Harry, as they drew the blankets 
 over their heads after dipping them again in 
 the .water. 
 
 "Hold on, Harry. It can't last much longer. 
 Hello ! what's that ? " 
 
 "That," was a noise like a thunderclap; 
 but it was not a thunderclap, and was imme- 
 diately followed by a roaring sound, of which 
 Louis well knew the meaning.
 
 SAVED BY A CLOUDBURST. ify 
 
 He jumped up as if a shot had struck him, 
 threw aside his blanket, and the next instant 
 jerked off Harry's blanket and pulled the lad 
 out of the water. 
 
 The fire had no terrors for him then, as the 
 enemy of the fire was at hand, and it was also 
 equally the enemy of human life. 
 
 " It's a cloudburst ! " he screamed, shaking 
 his nearly dazed companion. "Climb, Harry, 
 climb ! Climb for all you're worth ! " 
 
 Just then there was a down-pour of rain 
 that could be likened to nothing less than an 
 avalanche of water, and the fire yielded to it 
 with a hissing protest, but could not help 
 yielding. 
 
 Leaving their blankets, and making no 
 effort to secure their guns, the two victims of 
 the elements began to climb the side of the 
 gully, Louis at once picking out the most 
 favorable place for making the ascent. 
 
 Though encumbered by their soaked gar- 
 ments, they both climbed, as the guide had
 
 1 68 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 ordered, for all they were worth, catching hold 
 by points of rock and stunted trees and 
 bushes, and giving no heed to the stones that 
 fell from under their hands or slipped from 
 below their feet. 
 
 Louis, who was a skilful and sturdy climber, 
 helped his young friend again and again, pull- 
 ing him up the side of the gully, and more 
 than once preventing him from dropping back 
 to the bottom. 
 
 It was well for them that they climbed for 
 their lives, as the cloudburst half filled the 
 gully with water, and in an amazingly short 
 space of time after the roaring noise was first 
 heard, the little brook was a tremendous 
 cataract, boiling, foaming, and rushing like a 
 mill-race of exaggerated size, its surface cov- 
 ered with logs, branches, and all manner of 
 debris, that were whirled down as if they had 
 been straws. 
 
 Harry and Louis had to climb their best to 
 escape the torrent ; but they succeeded in
 
 SAVED BY A CLOUDBURST. ^9 
 
 reaching a ledge of rock where they were safe, 
 though the water rose nearly to their feet. 
 
 There they stood and watched the flood, 
 which subsided almost as quickly as it had 
 risen. 
 
 Harry wondered at it greatly, and would 
 not have believed, unless he had seen it, that 
 the gully could have filled so suddenly, or 
 could have been so rapidly emptied. 
 
 Yet it was by no means an uncommon 
 phenomenon. 
 
 Imagine a tub of water poured into a small 
 and slanting passage, from which it is allowed 
 to run out freely, and you have just such a 
 torrent on a small scale. 
 
 As soon as possible the two comrades de- 
 scended to the bottom of the gully, and there 
 they found their guns, which had been carried 
 only a little distance, but were quite useless 
 for the present.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A JOURNEY ON SKATES. 
 
 REJOICED at finding themselves safe, though 
 they were stiff and sore and weary, Louis and 
 Harry hastened to descend the mountain-side, 
 being anxious to reach the plain below before 
 darkness set in. 
 
 They found the travelling rather difficult, as 
 the brook was still a considerable stream, be- 
 ing fed by the drainings of the cloudburst. 
 
 They were gladdened by finding their blan- 
 kets and soon the bear's pelt near the foot of 
 the mountain, but were saddened by another 
 occurrence, which was nothing less than the 
 beginning of a snow-storm. 
 
 "We're goin' to ketch it right hard now," 
 said Louis, as the snow flurries came fast and 
 furious. 
 
 170
 
 A JOURNEY ON SKATES. iji 
 
 With the snow came a cold wind, chilling 
 the travellers to the bone, and soon the flurries 
 increased to a blinding storm. 
 
 "What are we going to do about this, 
 Louis ? " inquired Harry. " Shall we ever be 
 able to find our way back to camp ? " 
 
 " We've got to, my boy. Our blankets are 
 wet through, and our clothes are wet through, 
 and we can't afford to let 'em freeze on us, 
 and so we must go ahead and keep goin' as 
 fast as we can." 
 
 " How will we find our way ? " 
 
 "That's easy enough. Jest foller the creek 
 till we come to the lake. For that matter, we 
 need only keep the wind on our backs, as it 
 blows the way we want to go." 
 
 It was a good thing for the two that they 
 were compelled to exercise briskly, as rest 
 would have meant death to them. 
 
 Being obliged to keep moving, they dragged 
 their tired limbs through the forest as rapidly 
 as they could, beating their garments as they
 
 IJ2 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 went, to keep them from freezing on their 
 bodies. 
 
 The night was not very dark, in spite of 
 the blinding snow-storm ; so it was not a, 
 difficult matter to keep the line of the creek, 
 which naturally guided them to the lake, and 
 they finally reached the cabin. 
 
 It was still there, though it showed signs of 
 hard usage, and the canoe had been drawn up 
 on the beach and turned over, and there could 
 be no doubt that their friends were safe. 
 
 The work of the fire was visible all about, 
 and fallen trees were smouldering and smoking 
 here and there ; but the cabin had been spared, 
 and that meant shelter and rest to the weary 
 and half-frozen travellers. 
 
 Louis shouted at the top of his voice, and 
 Santan and Ben came tumbling out of the 
 cabin, rejoiced beyond measure at finding 
 their friends alive. 
 
 A big fire was made outside, in spite of 
 the snow, and that which had lately been a
 
 A JOURNEY ON SKATES. jpro 
 
 terrible enemy became a useful servant, dry- 
 ing the frozen blankets and the nearly frozen 
 garments, and the two stay-at-homes made 
 some coffee and cooked a hot meal, while the 
 other two rested in the cabin. 
 
 All felt better when they had eaten their 
 late supper, and both parties related their 
 experiences with fire and storm, after which 
 they lay down and slept soundly in the dark- 
 ness of the cabin, none of them waking until 
 the sun was nearly three hours high. 
 
 When they turned out at last, a splendid 
 sight awaited them, and there was a great 
 change from the previous day, as well as 
 from the previous night. 
 
 About a foot of snow had fallen, which had 
 been followed by a sleet storm of short dura- 
 tion, and then had come clear and freezing 
 weather. 
 
 In the morning sun the trees that had been 
 left by the fire shone with glittering coats of 
 ice, bits of which were dropping everywhere,
 
 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 and the lake was covered with a smooth and 
 glary sheet of ice. 
 
 The campers, invigorated and freshened by 
 the keen and wholesome air, hastened to build 
 a fire and prepare a big breakfast, not a scrap 
 of which did they leave uneaten. 
 
 "There is one big consolation in this," 
 remarked Ben, "we won't be troubled any 
 more by those miserable wretches of mos- 
 quitoes." 
 
 It was, indeed, the first taste of winter; 
 but there was plenty more to come, and the 
 searchers perceived, to their sorrow, that they 
 were not properly provided for it. 
 
 Their clothing was comfortable, but not nearly 
 warm enough for the cold weather that might 
 be shortly expected, and their stock of provis- 
 ions was running short, and they did not wish 
 to rely for food upon the game they could kill. 
 
 They could not suppose that the order which 
 they had sent home from Tim Haley's had 
 brought them the supplies they called for as
 
 A JO URNE Y ON SKA TES. 1 7 5 
 
 there had not been time enough for that ; but 
 they might at least get provisions at Flagg's, 
 and it was possible that they might pick up 
 some other necessaries there. 
 
 As the canoe could no longer be used, they 
 had their choice of two ways of getting to 
 Flagg's. 
 
 They could either tramp through the crusted 
 snow, or wait until the ice got strong enough 
 to bear them, and make an easier and quicker 
 trip. Just then the ice, though smooth and 
 tough, was not thick enough for travelling ; but 
 it was believed that another cold night would 
 put it in good condition. 
 
 Ben and Harry had been thoughtful enough 
 to include in their outfit a pair of skates for 
 each, and they were very glad that they had 
 done so. 
 
 Ben, whose turn it was to go on the next 
 excursion, longing for a chance to put on his 
 skates, favored waiting for the ice, and this 
 was decided on, as it would be necessary to
 
 176 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 build a sled, whichever course they should 
 take, and that would require about a day's 
 labor. 
 
 A rather clumsy sled, but a stout and com- 
 modious one, was cobbled up that day by 
 Louis and Santan, with an axe and a hatchet 
 and their knives for tools, and the. Indian 
 showed considerable " Injunuity " in that line 
 of business. 
 
 In the meantime Ben and Harry roamed 
 the burnt woods near by in pursuit of game, 
 but found nothing, as the forest fire seemed 
 to have driven away every winged and four- 
 footed creature. 
 
 The day continued clear, melting the crust 
 of the snow, and the night, as Ben hoped it 
 would be, was clear and cold. 
 
 At sunrise he was out and away on the lake, 
 stamping on the ice, and trying it in various 
 ways, until he pronounced it sufficiently strong 
 for skating. 
 
 The others were of the same opinion, and
 
 A JOURNEY ON SKATES. ^7 
 
 breakfast was speedily prepared and eaten, 
 so that Louis and Ben might have an early 
 start. 
 
 Louis strapped on Harry's skates, which, 
 though small for him, answered the purpose 
 fairly well, and they started off together, fol- 
 lowed by the good-wishes of their comrades, 
 Louis dragging the sled, which was then 
 loaded only with their guns. 
 
 Their plan was to make the trip to Flagg's 
 entirely upon skates, hoping to find the ice on 
 the Wassataquoik in good condition, and in 
 this hope they were not disappointed. 
 
 Both on the lake and on the river the ice 
 bore them well, and was in such fine order 
 that they promised themselves a quick trip. 
 
 They did make a quick trip, reaching 
 Flagg's fully two hours sooner than they had 
 expected to, but with their legs pretty well 
 tired by the unaccustomed exercise of skating. 
 
 Abner Flagg, as he told them, had been 
 badly frightened by the forest fire ; but the
 
 1 78 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 rain and snow had happened before it reached 
 him, and he had suffered no damage. 
 
 He was glad to see Louis and his young 
 friend, and congratulated- them upon the es- 
 cape of their party from the perils which they 
 had lately encountered. 
 
 " So you're goin' to stay in the woods all 
 winter," said he. " I'll be right glad o' that, 
 if you don't git too far away from me, as 
 decent white folks are sca'ce in these parts." 
 
 "We are not at all sure that we mean to 
 stay here through the winter," answered Ben. 
 " We had not expected to do so, and the win- 
 ter has struck us more suddenly than we had 
 expected it to." 
 
 " That so ? I guessed that you meant to 
 make a season of it, and there was a good 
 reason back of the guess, too." 
 
 "What is the reason?" 
 
 " There's a lot of stuff come here for you, 
 and I make no doubt that it's winter supplies."
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 CHASED BY WOLVES. 
 
 ABNER FLAGG'S statement was an aston- 
 isher to his guests, who were sure that the 
 supplies they had sent for could not possibly 
 have arrived so soon. 
 
 That was, indeed, impossible ; but the 
 " stuff " was there, and with it had come a 
 letter which explained the mystery. 
 
 The letter was from Ben Halstead's father, 
 who was used to the ways of the pine-woods, 
 and had surmised that the boys might be ab- 
 sent considerably longer than they had ex- 
 pected to be. Therefore he had taken advan- 
 tage of the departure of a caravan of drogers 
 to send a good supply of winter clothing for 
 Louis, as well as for Ben and Harry. 
 
 As he knew just what they needed, the 
 
 selection was as good as could have been 
 179
 
 l8o THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 made, and Mrs. Halstead, in true motherly 
 fashion, had put into the boxes a quantity of 
 home delicacies, which she was sure would be 
 appreciated by the boys. 
 
 The drogers were directed to leave the goods 
 at Tim Haley's, with instructions to Haley to 
 forward them to the searchers as soon as he 
 could find out where they were, and he, in 
 accordance with previous directions, had sent 
 them right on to Flagg's by the same caravan. 
 So they had made a remarkably quick trip. 
 
 This unexpected and surprising piece of 
 good-luck so rejoiced the pair of skaters 
 that they were anxious to get back to camp 
 as soon as possible with the news and the 
 necessaries. 
 
 As the night promised to be clear, and there 
 would be a full moon to light them, they had 
 no hesitation in starting away as soon as they 
 could load the sled, though it was not likely 
 that they would be able to reach the lake 
 before midnight.
 
 CHASED BY WOLVES. l % l 
 
 Abner Flagg, though sorry to lose his guests, 
 did not try to dissuade them from this course, 
 as he did not consider it at all dangerous, and 
 there was no reason why the trip should not 
 be made by night, as well as in the daytime. 
 
 As their conveyance would carry but a small 
 portion of the abundant supplies that had been 
 sent to them, they picked out such articles 
 as would be soonest needed, strapped them 
 securely on the sled, and set out, not waiting 
 for Mr. Flagg's offer of an early supper. 
 
 It was a pleasant trip up the Wassataquoik, 
 especially as they had such joyful anticipations 
 as the bearers of good news to their friends, 
 and they glided over the smooth surface of the 
 ice swiftly and easily, but without hurrying or 
 wearying themselves. 
 
 Night came on, and then the full moon, 
 which had risen above the tree-tops before it 
 began to shine, lent a wonderful beauty to the 
 scene, and it seemed to Ben as if they were 
 journeying through fairy-land.
 
 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 He praised the care and foresightedness of 
 his father, who had been more thoughtful of 
 them than they had been of themselves, and 
 spoke warmly of the loving nature of his 
 mother, who had sent such pleasant tokens of 
 her remembrance to the two boys in the 
 woods. 
 
 All he could have asked for just then would 
 have been a telegraph-line to Bangor, so that 
 he could send them his thanks for their kind- 
 ness. 
 
 The night air was cold, but no wind was 
 blowing, and the exercise of the skaters kept 
 them abundantly warm as they sped up the 
 Wassataquoik. 
 
 They had nearly reached the lake when 
 there arose a howl from the shore behind 
 them that made Ben Halstead's blood run 
 cold, at the same time startling him so that 
 he barely escaped falling. 
 
 It was more than a howl it was a yell so 
 wild and savage and cruel that even the guide
 
 CHASED BY WOLVES. ^3 
 
 shuddered, though he well knew what it meant, 
 or, perhaps, because he knew what it meant. 
 
 The cry of a wild-cat was a mere squall, com- 
 pared with that horrible sound. 
 
 " What's that, Louis ? " hoarsely whispered 
 Ben. 
 
 "Wolves," answered the guide. " We must 
 do our best now." 
 
 Both took hold of the sled-rope, and their 
 skates moved rhythmically together, and the 
 howls behind them lent speed to their feet 
 as they fairly flew over the smooth surface of 
 the river. 
 
 When the howling ceased now and then, 
 they heard the snapping of twigs, and Louis, 
 turning his head an instant, saw four dark 
 forms tearing through the forest at the river's 
 edge. 
 
 Those four fierce and ravenous beasts were 
 too much for two people to encounter; but 
 skates were splendid for rapid motion, and the 
 lake was near at hand.
 
 1 84 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 The fugitives knew from the sounds of the 
 throats and feet behind them that the wolves 
 were gaining on them, having the sure footing 
 of the shore, and they made yet more vigorous 
 efforts to reach the broad expanse of the 
 lake ; but the loaded sled was quite a hindrance 
 to their progress. 
 
 Just as they sailed out from the narrow river 
 upon the lake, the wolves left the shore, and 
 followed them on the ice. 
 
 At first, as the wolves tumbled and slipped 
 in their headlong plunge from the land, the 
 skaters got a good start ; but, if Ben Halstead 
 had supposed that the smooth-footed beasts 
 could not travel on the ice quite as fast as he 
 could with his skates, he was very much mis- 
 taken. 
 
 In a little while the howling told the fugi- 
 tives that their fierce pursuers were again 
 nearing them ; and then came a period of 
 anxious expectation and doubt. 
 
 Ben was filled with the thought of making
 
 CHASED BY WOLVES. ^ 
 
 fight, while Louis seemed to think of nothing 
 but flight. 
 
 Their guns were strapped on the sled with 
 the goods, but each of them carried his 
 revolver on his person, and those weapons 
 would be useful if there should be a close 
 struggle. 
 
 " What shall we do, Louis ? " asked the lad. 
 " Sha'n't we get our guns and fight them 
 off ? " 
 
 " No chance, Ben. They would be tearin' 
 us before we could unstrap the sled. Come 
 on!" 
 
 Still the wolves kept gaining, and it was 
 evident that something must be done. 
 
 "We must drop the sled," said Louis. 
 
 " The wolves will ruin our things," protested 
 Ben. 
 
 " No fear of that. They don't want the 
 stuff. They want us. Anyhow, our lives 
 are worth more to us than the goods. Drop 
 the rope!"
 
 1 86 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 The rope was dropped, and the skaters, re- 
 lieved of the burden they were dragging, sped 
 onward more swiftly and more easily. 
 
 But the wolves were detained scarcely an 
 instant by the abandoned sled. It was not 
 what they wanted, and they, too, sped forward 
 swiftly on the track of their prey, tireless 
 in the race for blood. 
 
 Again they gained on the skaters ; but the 
 latter were by this time in sight of their 
 cabin, though all was dark there, and nobody 
 was in sight. 
 
 " Can't we raise them up at the cabin ? " 
 Ben wanted to know. " They would hurry 
 to help us if they knew the fix we are in." 
 
 "We don't need "em," answered Louis. 
 " We're goin' to have fun with the wolves 
 now." 
 
 " Have fun ? With wolves ? What on earth 
 do you mean ? " 
 
 " We've got em' where we want 'em now. 
 Watch me close, Ben, and do jest as I do.
 
 CHASED BY WOLVES. i%j 
 
 Git your pistol out, and turn when I say 
 turn." 
 
 The wolves came so near them that the 
 snapping of their fierce jaws could be heard, 
 and then Louis said, "Turn." 
 
 Instantly the skaters whirled around, doub- 
 ling on their course, but out of the way of 
 the eager wolves, which swept by them, un- 
 able to make the turn so quickly, slipping and 
 stumbling in frantic efforts to get on the track 
 of their prey again. 
 
 But they did not go by undamaged, as two 
 revolvers cracked, and one wolf fell dead, and 
 another, badly wounded, sprawled about on 
 the ice. 
 
 The two remaining beasts pounced upon 
 their dead and wounded comrades, and made 
 short work of the task of reducing them to 
 hair and bones. 
 
 By the time the two wolves reached them 
 again, the skaters, proceeding leisurely, had 
 got nearly back to their abandoned sled.
 
 SEARCH FOR THE STAR, 
 
 Turning again at the word, they fired at the 
 wolves as they passed, wounding them both. 
 Then they advanced upon them boldly, firing 
 shot after shot, until the last of their enemies 
 lay dead on the ice. 
 
 " We couldn't have played that game if we'd 
 been bothered by the sled," said Louis. 
 
 Ben had so fully entered into the spirit of 
 the thing, when he understood it, that he was 
 sorry that the " fun " was over. 
 
 They picked up the sled-rope, and skated on 
 to the cabin, where Harry and the Indian, who 
 had been aroused by the firing, were anxiously 
 awaiting them.
 
 " They fired at the wolves as they passed." Page 188.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 IN THE BIG BASIN. 
 
 AMONG the useful, articles with which the 
 party had been supplied by the forethought of 
 Ben Halstead's father were three pairs of snow- 
 shoes, for Louis and the boys. 
 
 There were none for the Indian ; but he was 
 well able to make his own snow-shoes, and he 
 proceeded to build a pair. 
 
 The next thing was to train the lads to use 
 them, and for that purpose the crusted snow 
 then on the ground was just the thing. 
 
 Ben and Harry tied on their snow-shoes, and 
 gave it as their opinion that practice was not 
 needed, as there was no art in walking with 
 those appliances ; but when they saw Louis 
 move swiftly over the snow, while they shuffled 
 along slowly and awkwardly, they admitted 
 189
 
 ig THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 that there was an art in it, and set at work to 
 learn the art. 
 
 Considerably more supplies had been sent 
 than they needed, at least, more than they 
 needed as yet, and only one more trip to 
 Flagg's was made, to bring away such articles 
 as were specially required* 
 
 Then they were ready, as Ben expressed it, 
 to begin the campaign. 
 
 Aside from the hope of finding Baptiste and 
 the Star, they were all quite willing to leave 
 the lake, as game had been scarce there since 
 the forest fire, and they were by no means 
 inclined to live on " tame " food entirely. 
 
 The only sport they had was got by fishing 
 through holes cut in the ice, and there was not 
 much fun in that, though it yielded some fine 
 fish. 
 
 It was believed that they would find plenty 
 of game up in the basin, and the boys were 
 naturally anxious to explore that wild and 
 strange locality.
 
 IN THE BIG BASIA T . l g l 
 
 In the meantime there was a heavy fall of 
 snow ; but it was not a drifting snow, and it 
 soon crusted over, making fine snow-shoe- 
 travelling. 
 
 Before starting they made everything about 
 the cabin as safe as they could, though it was 
 not possible at that season to cache their goods 
 without leaving a trail that could easily be 
 found by man or beast. 
 
 They left the canoe turned bottom upward 
 and covered with snow, and buried the greater 
 part of their " stuff " inside of the hut, covering 
 the burial-place with their couch of fir-boughs, 
 and blocking up the door-way with logs to pre- 
 vent the entrance of predatory beasts. 
 
 The worst thieves of the forest the bears 
 and the prowling Kanucks were by that time 
 presumed to have gone into winter-quarters 
 
 The searchers put on their heaviest clothing, 
 including leggings and fur caps, strapped blank- 
 ets on their backs, loaded themselves with 
 provisions and a few cooking utensils, not
 
 !Q2 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 forgetting a couple of axes, and set out at 
 the beginning of a day that promised to be 
 clear and fine. 
 
 It was impossible for them to judge how 
 long they might expect to be in the basin ; but 
 they were determined not to leave it until they 
 should have explored it thoroughly, and until 
 Baptiste Lafonce, if there, should be found. 
 
 If he had gone into the basin to spend the 
 winter it was supposed that he had not come 
 out. 
 
 Travelling on snow-shoes is nice enough 
 when .the snow is well crusted, and when the 
 wearer is accustomed to the use of the long 
 and broad but light appendages, and the party 
 of four made good speed until they reached 
 the mountain, though the creek that was to 
 guide them was then so buried in snow as to 
 be not easily distinguished from the rest of 
 the landscape. 
 
 As for ascending the steep side of a moun- 
 tain on snow-shoes, that is out of the question,
 
 IN THE BIG BASIN. JQ, 
 
 as the act of sliding uphill has not yet been in- 
 vented, and to climb such a mountain as 
 Katahdin in the winter time, even if only a 
 third of its height, is a serious business. 
 
 When the searchers for the Star had reached 
 the point where the bed of the brook led up 
 into the mountain, though there was then 
 nothing to show that it was the bed of a 
 stream, they halted, changed their snow- 
 shoes from their feet to their backs, and be- 
 gan to beat a path upward, as that was their 
 only means of making the ascent. 
 
 Difficult as the task was, it was mainly a 
 question of time, and much can be done by 
 those who have plenty of time for doing it. 
 
 Slowly but surely they forced their way up 
 the steep, Louis and Santan, as the tallest 
 and heaviest, taking turns at going in the 
 lead and breaking the path. 
 
 Occasionally they stopped to rest, and the 
 climb around some of the places where water- 
 falls might have been consumed no small
 
 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 amount of time ; yet they gladly perceived, 
 when they finally reached the basin, that 
 they still had a few hours of daylight to 
 spare. 
 
 This was highly satisfactory, as they wanted 
 to find or make a resting-place for the night, 
 and they hoped to discover a spot bare of 
 snow, or a chance for shelter under some over- 
 hanging cliff. 
 
 So they put on their snow-shoes, and sped 
 gayly away toward the first of the lakes, which 
 lay at a little distance from the steep north 
 side of the basin. 
 
 Hardly had they come near it when they 
 perceived something that was more attractive 
 to them than the lake or any of the rest of 
 their surroundings. 
 
 It was a small cabin or hut, set close against 
 the cliff that rose there to a great height, and 
 partly sheltered by it. 
 
 As it was nearly covered by snow, it might 
 easily have been mistaken for one of the
 
 IN THE BIG BASIN. j^ 
 
 granite blocks that were scattered about the 
 basin ; but the keen eyes and quick wits of 
 Louis and Santan soon spied out its real 
 character, and they declared it to be a human 
 habitation. Who had built it, and what was 
 it there for, and who were or had been its 
 occupants ? 
 
 Anxious to find an answer to these ques- 
 tions, the searchers hastened to the cabin, and 
 found it to be a small and rudely constructed 
 affair, but with a pole-and-brush roof in good 
 order, and with a stick-and-clay chimney at 
 one end, proving it to be a reasonably comfort- 
 able abiding-place. 
 
 The supposition was that it had been erected 
 by some party of hunters or explorers, who 
 had abandoned it when it had served their 
 purpose ; but who had occupied it since then ? 
 
 All jumped instantly to the conclusion that 
 it was the home of Baptiste Lafonce during 
 his sojourns in the basin, that had been men- 
 tioned by more than one.
 
 196 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 If so, it was quite possible that he might 
 then be occupying it. 
 
 But the explorers speedily settled the fact 
 that neither he 'nor any other person was 
 there, as there was no trail leading to the 
 cabin, and there was no sign of human occu- 
 pancy about the premises, and the door was 
 blocked up by snow. 
 
 It took them but a little while to beat a path, 
 clear away a portion of the snow, and force an 
 entrance into the cabin. 
 
 Inside, its appearance was cheerless and 
 deserted ; but Louis and Santan, after ex- 
 amining it closely and carefully, came to the 
 conclusion that it had recently been inhabited ; 
 they could not say just how recently, but 
 doubtless within a few weeks. 
 
 Whoever might have a claim upon it, the 
 searchers were satisfied with the fact that it 
 would be a convenient home and headquarters 
 for them while they remained in the basin. 
 So they were glad that they had found it,
 
 IN THE BIG BASIN. ^n 
 
 and did not hesitate to take immediate pos- 
 session of it. 
 
 As considerable cut wood was stored there, 
 
 9 
 
 they did not need to go outside for fuel, and 
 supper was speedily prepared, and all were 
 glad enough to lie down to rest from the 
 fatigues of the hard day's travel. 
 * About the middle of the night, Santan, who 
 was the lightest sleeper in the party, was 
 awakened by a noise outside. 
 
 Supposing that some wild animal was prowl- 
 ing about and trying to effect an entrance for 
 purposes of plunder, he took his rifle and 
 sallied out. 
 
 There was then no four-footed animal any- 
 where near the cabin ; but the Indian declared 
 that he saw a man "scooting" off at a dis- 
 tance, who soon disappeared among the trees. 
 
 The others, who had neither seen nor heard 
 anything, were inclined to suspect Santan of 
 romancing ; but he was so positive in his state- 
 ment that it was finally accepted.
 
 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 " Perhaps," suggested Ben, " it was the 
 owner of this house, who came to look after 
 
 his property, and was not pleased at finding us 
 
 p 
 in possession." 
 
 " Mebbe we find that owner afore we git 
 through here," observed Louis. 
 
 There was no use in trying to follow the 
 prowler at night, and the searchers slept 
 placidly until morning, when they got their 
 breakfast at an early hour, and set out to 
 explore the big basin. 
 
 Santan pointed out the direction that had 
 been taken by the man whom he declared that 
 he had seen, and he and Louis found what they 
 believed to be a trail. 
 
 This was to be the starting-point of the 
 day's exploration, as all were very anxious to 
 get within seeing and speaking distance of 
 the midnight visitor. 
 
 Desire was one thing, however, and accom- 
 plishment was quite another. 
 
 The basin was so extensive, and so largely
 
 IN THE BIG BASIN. 
 
 covered by forest and rock, that a man or a 
 number of men might easily conceal them- 
 selves or keep out of the way of observation, 
 and a snow-shoe trail is a very difficult one to 
 follow. 
 
 At the best, it is faint to the vision, and a 
 slight breeze can efface it by blowing particles 
 of snow over it, and the glare of the snow when 
 the sun is shining dazzles the eyes of the 
 trailer.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 BEN'S MOOSE AN "INDIAN DEVIL." 
 
 THE attempt to follow the snow-shoe trail 
 resulted, as might have been expected, in 
 absolute failure, and it was soon abandoned, 
 the searchers deciding that they would explore 
 the big basin by crossing it from side to side in 
 zigzag fashion. 
 
 This would, of course, leave much to chance, 
 as a man who was aware of their presence 
 could easily keep out of their way if he wished 
 to, and it was to be supposed that their mid- 
 night visitor did wish to avoid them. 
 
 If not, he would surely have followed them 
 up and made their acquaintance when he dis- 
 covered that the cabin was occupied, as a soli- 
 tary man in that wilderness would naturally 
 rejoice in the prospect of companionship.
 
 SJSJV'S MOOSE AN "INDIAN DEVIL." 2 <DI 
 
 If the solitary man happened to be Baptiste 
 Lafonce, his strange behavior would be easily 
 accounted for, and it was thus that the search- 
 ers accounted for it. 
 
 On the supposition that their zigzag explo- 
 ration might amount to nothing, they had 
 another plan to follow it, intending to sep- 
 arate when they reached the head of the 
 basin, and work their way down to the pass 
 by which they had entered, keeping only within 
 hailing distance of each other, so as to cut 
 as wide a swath as possible. 
 
 The execution of their plan of exploration 
 was delayed by something unexpected in the 
 way of game. 
 
 As they were passing the edge of a piece 
 of heavy timber, a big bull-moose darted out 
 in front of them. 
 
 It seemed to be almost a sure thing that 
 he would fall an easy prey to tl eir weapons, 
 as the advantage of position was decidedly on 
 the side of the hunters.
 
 2Q2 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 The hoofs of the moose broke through the 
 crusted snow at every step he took, while 
 their snow-shoes bore them on top of it, and 
 made locomotion easy for them. 
 
 Being startled, and desirous of escaping 
 from the strange two-legged creatures, he made 
 long leaps, and struggled bravely through the 
 snow, but made little progress compared with 
 the swift movements of the hunters. 
 
 The "antlered monarch of the forest" seemed 
 to have no chance against his human antago- 
 nists, who already counted him as their 
 own. 
 
 At least, that was the way it looked to them, 
 and three bullets would at once have pene- 
 trated the hide of the moose had it not been 
 for Louis. 
 
 "Don't shoot!" he ordered. "Give Ben a 
 chance at him alone. This is his moose." 
 
 It seemed to be nothing more than fair that 
 this moose should belong to Ben, as Harry had 
 secured one, and it was instantly agreed that
 
 BEN 'S MOOSE AN " INDIAN DE VI L." 203 
 
 the elder lad ought to have a chance at the 
 "big game." 
 
 Ben was more than glad to get the chance, 
 as he had not ceased envying Harry the pos- 
 session of his splendid head and antlers, and 
 here was another of the same sort, with a head 
 and antlers which appeared to be quite equal to 
 those which Harry owned. 
 
 Harry had killed his moose with the help 
 of Santan ; but Ben's idea was that he would 
 be solely responsible for the death of this 
 one. 
 
 In this calculation the lad reckoned without 
 his host, at least, without his moose, as 
 it was to be supposed that the noble beast 
 "might take a hand in the game" if he should 
 perceive that his life depended on his ex- 
 ertions. 
 
 Ben set at work without waiting for his 
 own thoughts or anybody's else. 
 
 Easily sailing up to the jumping moose on 
 his snow-shoes, he ranged alongside of the
 
 204 THE SEARCH FOR THE 
 
 noble game, and sent a bullet into his body, 
 just behind his left shoulder. 
 
 The aim was good, and the blood spurted 
 out at every jump the wounded animal 
 made. 
 
 Ben rushed another cartridge into his rifle- 
 barrel, and again fired quickly, this time aiming 
 at the head of his game. 
 
 This shot, which struck where Ben had in- 
 tended it should strike, made the moose frantic, 
 and he turned suddenly, and charged, as well 
 as the crusted snow would allow him to, at 
 his puny antagonist. 
 
 The lad was physically as well as mentally 
 upset by this unexpected rush, and he slipped, 
 and toppled over, breaking through the crust 
 of the snow. 
 
 Instantly Harry and Santan, who had been 
 content with watching the proceedings thus 
 far, stepped forward and fired two shots into 
 the moose, and Louis, swooping by on his 
 snow-shoes, picked up Ben by the coat-collar,
 
 BEN'S MOOSE AN "INDIAN DEVIL." 205 
 
 and dragged him out of the reach of the in- 
 furiated beast. 
 
 There was little chance for the moose then, 
 and he seemed to know that his time had 
 come. 
 
 Though the four bullets in his body had not 
 killed him, they had seriously weakened him, 
 and he made no more plunges into the crusted 
 snow, but lunged feebly at the hunters when 
 they were quite out of his reach. 
 
 Ben, though somewhat crestfallen at the 
 result of his first attempt, came to the attack, 
 and his next bullet settled the case of the 
 moose by opening his jugular vein and pass- 
 ing through his neck. 
 
 The moose, after vainly endeavoring to keep 
 his feet, sank down in the snow, and Santan 
 jumped on him and finished the work with a 
 knife. 
 
 Moose-meat was wanted by the party, and 
 Ben was above all things anxious to secure the 
 head and the splendid antlers. Therefore the
 
 206 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 work of skinning and cutting up the "big 
 game," together with carrying to the cabin 
 such portions of the meat as were wanted, 
 put a stop for a while to the exploration of 
 the basin, and more than an hour had passed 
 when the searchers were able to settle down to 
 their work again. 
 
 Then it occurred to Louis, though he should 
 have thought of it sooner, that it was not 
 worth while to try to shut anybody up in a 
 trap when the door of the trap was left open. 
 
 Somebody ought to go down to the pass and 
 keep guard there, even if it should be necessary 
 to divide the party for that purpose. 
 
 Harry Russell volunteered for the duty of 
 watching the gap, and it was settled, after a 
 little discussion, that he should go down there, 
 Santan promising to join him as soon as he 
 should have taken the last piece of moose-meat 
 to the cabin. 
 
 So the party separated, Louis and Ben set- 
 ting out to follow the original plan, while
 
 BEN'S MOOSE AN "INDIAN DEVIL." 2 O/ 
 
 Harry started back toward the gap and the 
 Indian went over to the cabin. 
 
 But the biggest adventure of the day was 
 to come, and Harry was to be the first to 
 strike it. 
 
 When this adventure came to him, he had 
 got out of sight of his companions, and was 
 gliding along easily on his snow-shoes, feeling 
 that there was no special hurry, and looking 
 out for game rather than hastening to the gap. 
 
 He found game that he was not expecting or 
 wishing to find. 
 
 Perhaps it would be more proper to say that 
 the game found him, as it was the kind of game 
 that was fond of hunting a hunter. 
 
 Suddenly there appeared before him, spring- 
 ing out from a clump of fir-trees, an animal 
 that was like but unlike anything he had ever 
 before seen. 
 
 It was something like a wild-cat, but an 
 enormous or exaggerated wild-cat, being prob- 
 ably four feet high and fully six feet in length,
 
 208 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 with a tail which hung down to the ground, and 
 which it waved after the manner of a cat. 
 
 The beast was a dark mouse-color on the 
 back, shading off lighter at the sides and al- 
 most white underneath, and its large head was 
 fastened to its broad shoulders by a short and 
 thick neck. 
 
 Its expression was one of extreme savage- 
 ness, the open mouth displaying a fine set of 
 long and sharp teeth, and a fierce fire darting 
 from the catlike eyes. 
 
 Evidently it was a creature of great strength 
 as well as of great ferocity, and Harry Russell, 
 remembering the guide's description of the 
 " Indian devil," was not at a loss for a name 
 for it. 
 
 He did not doubt that he was then con- 
 fronted by a veritable " Indian devil." 
 
 What should he do ? Should he show fight 
 and try to kill it, or turn and fly. 
 
 The beast settled this question on sight by 
 springing toward him, the jump covering a
 
 BEN'S MOOSE AN "INDIAN DEVIL." 2 OQ 
 
 space of fully ten feet, and it was clear that 
 the creature might have done better if the 
 snow had allowed him a good foothold. 
 
 Flight from such leaps would have been well 
 nigh impossible, and the lad was forced to fight. 
 
 Taking a quick aim with his gun, he fired 
 the rifle-barrel just at the close of the leap. 
 
 The shot was a good one, but the wound 
 was far from mortal. 
 
 At first the "devil," hurt and angered, doubled 
 itself up, howling, scratching, and biting at the 
 air, while the snow was discolored by its blood. 
 
 Almost immediately Harry fired his other 
 barrel, which was loaded with buck-shot, at the 
 body of the beast, and turned and sped away 
 as fast as his snow-shoes could carry him. , 
 
 His speed was not sufficient to take him out 
 of the reach of the furious monster, which the 
 second shot seemed to have started into fresh 
 and more vigorous action. 
 
 With great leaps, as if its wounds were noth- 
 ing, it sprang forward, rapidly closing the gap.
 
 2io THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 Another spring would have landed it on the 
 lad's back when there was a shot close at 
 hand, and another bullet bored its way into 
 the body of the beast. 
 
 After the manner of its kind, it turned in- 
 stantly to attack the new antagonist. 
 
 Harry also turned as soon as he could stop 
 his speed, supposing that Santan had come to 
 his rescue ; but he saw at once that it was not 
 Santan who had arrived so opportunely. 
 
 It was a man on snow-shoes, of small 
 stature, and nearly as dark as the Indian, and 
 just as the lad perceived him an accident oc- 
 curred to him. 
 
 One of his snow-shoes caught in a break in 
 the crust, and he stumbled and fell. 
 
 Before Harry could act or even think, the 
 terrible beast had seized the prostrate man, 
 and was biting and tearing him. 
 
 One cry of anguish the victim uttered, and 
 that was his last.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 FINDING THE STAR. 
 
 HARRY did not even stop to thrust a car- 
 tridge into his empty gun, but drew his re- 
 volver, and hastened to the rescue of his 
 rescuer. 
 
 No doubt, he was too late, as the monster's 
 attack had been almost instantly fatal ; but 
 the brave boy was determined to do his best. 
 
 He sped direct to the spot where the brute 
 was tearing its victim, its head rendered yet 
 more hideous by the human blood that covered 
 it and dripped from the savage jaws, and at 
 the shortest possible range fired shot after 
 shot into the big body. 
 
 The maddened beast turned upon this fresh 
 fighter, and the last chamber of Harry's re- 
 volver was emptied into one of its eyes.
 
 212 TH E SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 Even this did not kill the " devil " or sensi- 
 bly reduce his strength and energy, and the 
 fearless lad might not have been able to es- 
 cape the claws of the creature had there not 
 been another opportune arrival. 
 
 This time it was indeed Santan, who came 
 sailing over the crusted snow at an amazing 
 rate of speed. 
 
 Without stopping to inspect the situation 
 or calculate the chances, but seeing only that 
 Harry was in deadly peril, he ranged along- 
 side of the beast, thrust the muzzle of his rifle 
 against the "devil's" ear, and sent a bullet 
 spinning through its brain. 
 
 Then he clubbed his rifle, prepared to sacri- 
 fice his beloved weapon to the duty of smash- 
 ing the skull of the creature, if that should be 
 necessary. 
 
 It was not necessary. The Indian's shot 
 had finally made an end of the contest, and 
 the monster rolled over, though it clung to life 
 with catlike tenacity, its dying struggles bury-
 
 FINDING THE STAR. 
 
 ing it in the snow, which it crimsoned with 
 its blood. 
 
 Harry grasped the hand of his red friend, 
 and the two gazed at the then harmless "devil," 
 both thankful for the escape of one. 
 
 Just then Louis Hameau reached them, 
 almost flying on his snow-shoes. 
 
 He had heard two shots in quick succession, 
 and had at once guessed that something 
 unusual had happened to Harry. 
 
 Bidding Ben to follow as well as he could, 
 he turned instantly and hastened back, the 
 subsequent shots adding speed to his feet. 
 
 He had scarcely learned what had happened, 
 when Ben arrived, almost breathless from his 
 rapid run, and then the story was fully told. 
 
 "And the man who came to your help was 
 killed," said Ben. "I wonder who he can be." 
 
 "I don't know," answered Harry. "I only 
 know that he gave his life for mine." 
 
 " Mebbe it's the man we've been lookin' for." 
 
 All approached the dead man slowly and
 
 214 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 reverently, and found him so shockingly 
 mangled that he was a sickening sight. 
 
 It seemed that the maddened brute had 
 seized him by the back of the neck as he 
 fell, crushing his life out so quickly that he 
 could utter but one cry. 
 
 Then it had torn the flesh in strips from his 
 back and sides, and had been feeding rav- 
 enously when its enjoyment was interrupted 
 by Harry and his revolver. 
 
 Harry shuddered when he thought how 
 nearly he had escaped such a fearful fate. 
 
 The dead man was lying with his face in 
 the snow, and Louis and Santan turned him 
 over carefully. 
 
 Exclamations of astonishment burst from the 
 lips of all the four, and they were not caused 
 by any disfigurement of the man's face, as his 
 back only had been mangled by the brute. 
 
 "Baptiste Lafonce ! " cried Louis. 
 
 "The man with the Star!" exclaimed the 
 Indian.
 
 The dead man was lying with his face in the snow." Page 214.
 
 FINDING THE STAR. 2 l$ 
 
 " I thought of Baptiste when I saw him," 
 said Harry ; " but it was such a little glimpse 
 I had of him that I couldn't even guess at who 
 he was." 
 
 Yes, it was Baptiste Lafonce, and he was 
 dead, and he had lost his life in saving the life 
 of Harry Russell. 
 
 How had he happened to be there, and what 
 had prompted him to risk an encounter with 
 that monster ? 
 
 Had he known who the people were who had 
 entered the basin and taken possession of the 
 cabin under the cliff ? 
 
 If so, he had undoubtedly endeavored to 
 avoid them, and had probably been on his 
 way out when he found Harry in trouble and 
 went to his rescue. 
 
 Had he been impelled to this by his old 
 friendship for the lad, or had he been stricken 
 by remorse for the wrong he had done the Hal- 
 stead family ? 
 
 As it was impossible to decide this point, the
 
 2i6 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 party tacitly agreed to put the best construc- 
 tion they could upon the acts of the man who 
 had so bravely met such a terrible death. 
 
 .It was Santan who gave words to a thought 
 which was in the breasts of all, but which none 
 of the others was at all eager to express. 
 
 " Mebbe he got um Star wid urn," observed 
 the Indian. 
 
 It seemed to be a rather heartless proceeding 
 to search for stolen property the body of a man 
 who had died such a death ; but he was 
 beyond all physical and mental feeling, and 
 it was right that the Star, if it was still in his 
 possession, should be reclaimed by those to 
 whom it belonged. 
 
 Louis undertook the task of making the 
 search, and he had scarcely laid his hand on 
 the dead man's breast when he felt something 
 hard, and his face lighted up as if he had made 
 a discovery. 
 
 Under his heavy woollen outer coat the 
 Canadian wore a buckskin jacket, and in an
 
 FINDING THE STAR. 
 
 inside pocket, tightly sewed up, was the hard 
 substance. 
 
 Louis ripped open the pocket, and brought 
 out a small ebony box, which was at once 
 recognized by Ben and Harry as the usual 
 receptacle of the Star. 
 
 It was opened, and there was the jewel, safe, 
 uninjured, and shining as brightly as when it 
 lay on Mrs. Halstead's dressing-case or was 
 fastened upon her breast. 
 
 The Star was recovered, but the tragedy that 
 had preceded its recovery seriously interfered 
 with the joy that might have been manifested. 
 
 Though there was still much for the party to 
 do, the main object of the expedition had been 
 accomplished, and Ben and Harry might easily 
 be pardoned if, even in the presence of the 
 dead man, they anticipated a joyful and tri- 
 umphant return to their home. 
 
 The first thing to be done was to care for the 
 body of Baptiste and give it as decent a burial 
 as they could.
 
 2i8 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 Ben Halstead persuaded Louis to make a more 
 thorough search of the dead Canadian's person, 
 in the hope that something might be found that 
 would give a clew to his home or his people. 
 
 There was nothing of the kind, and it 
 seemed that the only chance of getting infor- 
 mation of the manner of his death to his 
 relations lay in finding his brother-in-law, who 
 had twice been met by the searchers. 
 
 A brush drag was speedily prepared, upon 
 which Baptiste's body was made fast, and was 
 hauled over the snow to the cabin. 
 
 Finding a spot bare of snow near the wall 
 of the basin, the searchers dug with difficulty 
 a grave in the frozen ground, and there the 
 Canadian was laid to rest, Harry shedding 
 plentiful tears over the grave of the man who 
 had died to save him. 
 
 A section of a sapling was blazed as a head- 
 board, and was securely sunk in the earth, after 
 the dead man's initials had been rudely cut on 
 the blaze.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 FAREWELL TO THE WOODS. 
 
 THE brief remainder of the day, after the 
 burial of Baptiste, was devoted to preparations 
 for leaving the basin, and to the important 
 business of supper, and a good night's rest 
 put the searchers in proper trim for a hard 
 clay's travel. 
 
 As it was thought proper that Ben Halstead 
 should carry the Star home, Louis secured it in 
 an inside pocket of the lad's inner jacket, 
 pretty much as it had been fastened to his 
 clothing by Baptiste. 
 
 Taking an early start, and carrying a portion 
 of the moose-meat in addition to the rest of 
 their load, they swiftly made their way back to 
 the gap on their snow-shoes, and found it a 
 much easier matter to descend the mountain 
 than it had been to work up the pass. 
 219
 
 22O THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 From the foot of the mountain they made 
 good speed over the plain, reaching their camp 
 on the lake at an early hour of the afternoon. 
 
 There they hastened to prepare the delayed 
 dinner, which they ate with enormous appe- 
 tites. 
 
 At the camp they found everything as they 
 had left it, though there were indications that 
 wild animals had been trying to get into the 
 cabin, by way of the roof as well as through 
 the blockaded door. 
 
 As it was then settled that they were not 
 to spend the winter in the woods, the boys 
 and Louis were anxious to get home as soon 
 as possible, not only to declare the result of 
 the search for the Star, but to avoid the serious 
 discomforts of which they had already had a 
 sufficient experience. 
 
 The means of getting down the river gave 
 them no uneasiness, as they did not doubt 
 that at that time of the year they would soon 
 find a caravan of returning drogers or other
 
 FAREWELL TO THE WOODS. 2 2I 
 
 teamsters, who, going back without a load, 
 would be glad to take them as passengers. 
 
 There was, however, one serious matter of 
 discussion. 
 
 They were quite unwilling to abandon their 
 canoe there in the wilderness, and they had 
 lately received a quantity of clothing and other 
 supplies, which their Yankee thrift would not 
 allow them to throw away. 
 
 Ben Halstead then came to the front with 
 an idea that was almost immediately accepted 
 and acted on. 
 
 It may as well be stated here that experience 
 had caused the party to settle on Ben as the 
 lad of ideas and Harry as the lad of action. 
 
 Ideas and action are each very well in their 
 way, and sometimes the one is the more 
 valuable or available than the other; but it 
 is an excellent thing when the two can be 
 combined in the same person. 
 
 Ben's idea was that the canoe should be 
 put upon runners say a couple of bob-sleds
 
 222 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 and that the entire effects of the party 
 should be transported in it to Flagg's or any 
 other point at which they might secure a con- 
 veyance for the party. 
 
 This was a very simple idea so simple, 
 indeed, that the others wondered that they 
 had not thought of it before Ben brought 
 it out. 
 
 The party already owned one bob-sled, 
 that which had been used in the two trips 
 to Flagg's for supplies, and it was an easy 
 matter to make another one. 
 
 Another sled was made, and upon both the 
 canoe was securely set, and the "stuff" that 
 had been buried in the cabin was unearthed, 
 and the queer conveyance was loaded with 
 all the belongings of the party, including 
 Harry's and Ben's moose-antlers, which were 
 the most prized trophies of the expedition, next 
 to the recovered Star. 
 
 A couple of ropes were attached to this con- 
 trivance, and the four men and boys hauled it
 
 FAREWELL TO THE WOODS. 
 
 merrily down to the mouth of the Wassata- 
 quoik, where they were heartily welcomed by 
 Abner Flagg, who listened with interest to the 
 story of their recent adventures, and promised 
 to do his best to make them comfortable and 
 send them on to Bangor. 
 
 Their chance to get home seemed to be a 
 good one, as some teamsters who had lately 
 brought up supplies and extra hands for Whit- 
 by's logging-camp were expected soon to re- 
 turn, and of course would be glad to take 
 the party and their outfit as passengers and 
 freight. 
 
 As it might be a few days before this cara- 
 van would be coming along, there would be 
 time for visiting Whitby's camp and making 
 inquiries concerning Baptiste's brother-in-law, 
 Dan Withers. 
 
 Accordingly, Louis Hameau and Ben Hal- 
 stead donned their snow-shoes and set out for 
 the logging-camp, which was the same which 
 they had previously visited, though it had
 
 224 
 
 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 since become more extensive and more thickly 
 populated. 
 
 They were warmly welcomed by Marvin 
 Driggs and his " gang," and their adventures 
 were considered highly exciting, even by those 
 experienced woodsmen ; but only to the "boss" 
 did Ben Halstead confide the story of the 
 recovery of the Star, and his present posses- 
 sion of that valuable jewel. 
 
 To inquiries concerning Dan Withers Mr. 
 Driggs could only reply that he did not know 
 what had become of the man. 
 
 " Dan came back here," said he, " a couple 
 of days after you two left us ; but I dis- 
 charged him right out of hand. I told him 
 that I wanted no man about me who couldn't 
 be depended on, who would go off and stay 
 for days without giving me notice. So he 
 went away, and since then I have seen noth- 
 ing of him." 
 
 u Do you know where he went to ? " Louis 
 asked.
 
 FAREWELL TO THE WOODS. 2 2$ 
 
 " No ; but I - am likely to see him before 
 the season is over, or to hear of him, anyhow, 
 and I may be able to let him know about the 
 death of his brother-in-law." 
 
 The teamsters were nearly ready to start 
 on their return trip, as they had only wanted 
 a little rest for themselves and their cattle, 
 and Hiram Halstead's son had no difficulty in 
 engaging passage for his party and their prop- 
 erty as far as Oldtown. 
 
 Santan found employment that suited him 
 at Whitby's camp, and concluded to remain 
 there and work during the logging season. 
 
 He was not only liberally paid for his ser- 
 vices, but was informed that such of the party's 
 extra supplies as they thought he might need 
 would be left at Flagg's for him. 
 
 Thus he soon came into possession of con- 
 siderable portable property, and it may here 
 be stated that Harry Russell, who believed 
 that his life had been twice saved by the 
 Indian, subsequently sent him from Bangor
 
 226 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 a rifle of which Santan might justly be 
 proud. 
 
 Louis and Ben accompanied the teamsters 
 down to Flagg's, where the canoe and the rest 
 of the outfit were loaded on the teams. 
 
 Then the searchers for the Star, bidding 
 Abner Flagg a kindly good-bye, joyfully 
 started on their return journey.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 HOME AGAIN. 
 
 THE homeward journey was necessarily 
 somewhat tedious by ox-team, as the cattle, 
 though patient and reliable, were slow in their 
 movements. 
 
 It was enlivened, however, by hunting along 
 the route, in which Harry Russell frequently 
 showed his dexterity, increasing his reputation 
 as "'a born hunter." 
 
 It was enlivened, also, by occasional break- 
 downs and by obstacles on the road ; but the 
 most enlivening incident was one which, as 
 Ben Halstead expressed it, came near being a 
 deadening one. 
 
 This happened at the crossing of the Piscata- 
 quis, where a few days of warm and thawing 
 weather had weakened the ice so that the pros- 
 227
 
 228 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 pect of getting over with the teams looked 
 rather dubious. 
 
 At first the belief was that it would be 
 necessary to camp there and wait for colder 
 weather and better ice ; but the teamsters 
 finally concluded to make the venture, pro- 
 ceeding as carefully as possible. 
 
 A light yoke of cattle was detached from 
 the forward team and sent ahead to try the 
 ice, and these were followed by a heavier yoke 
 from the second team. 
 
 Then both teams started across, pretty well 
 separated, so as to distribute the load over a 
 considerable space of ice, and the men and 
 boys walked beside them, the teamsters direct- 
 ing and encouraging the oxen. 
 
 As the procession filed over the weakened ice, 
 it cracked and " buckled," as the loggers say, 
 and the crossing seemed to be so risky that 
 Louis cautioned the two lads to keep away from 
 the teams, lest they should be involved in the 
 catastrophe if one of them should break through.
 
 HOME AGAIN. 2 2Q 
 
 Harry heeded this advice ; but Ben had just 
 stepped to the rearmost team to .get something 
 he wanted, when the ice gave way at that 
 point, and the team was instantly floundering 
 in the water. 
 
 As they would have had but a little distance 
 further to go to reach the southern shore, this 
 was peculiarly annoying to the teamsters ; but 
 they lost no time in endeavoring to repair the 
 damage. 
 
 The advance team was hurried forward out 
 of harm's way, and two men sprang upon the 
 edge of the broken ice, each grasping one of 
 the oxen by the horns to keep his head out of 
 the water. 
 
 Then the pair was unyoked, and a* rope was 
 fastened to the horns of one of them and taken 
 to the yoke of light oxen. 
 
 A strong man lifted the ox, at the same time 
 pressing down the ice until he could get the 
 shoulders of the chilled but patient beast on 
 the edge, and at a signal the warp oxen were
 
 230 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 started ahead, pulling the big one out on the 
 ice, where he was got upon his feet and hurried 
 to the shore. 
 
 The excitement attending the accident had 
 at first prevented his friends from noticing the 
 fact that Ben Halstead was not visible ; but 
 they raised clamor enough when his disappear- 
 ance was noted. 
 
 It was learned that when he was last seen 
 he was standing close to the team that broke 
 through the ice, and of course he must have 
 gone in with it. 
 
 Louis called him and searched for him, but 
 neither saw nor heard anything of the lad. 
 
 There could be no doubt that he, though a 
 good swimmer, had been carried under the ice, 
 and that surely meant certain death. 
 
 The guide sank upon his knees, as he had 
 done at the time of the tornado on the Penob- 
 scot, and tears streamed from his eyes. 
 
 Was this, then, the end of the expedition ? 
 Was this the final scene of triumph and joyful
 
 HOME AGAIN. 2 T,l 
 
 return ? After the hardships which the search- 
 ers had endured and the perils which they had 
 passed through ; when their object was at- 
 tained, and all difficulties were supposed to 
 have been safely surmounted ; when their 
 home-coming was believed to be only a ques- 
 tion of time, was it possible that Ben Halstead, 
 that bright and brave boy, the idol of his par- 
 ents and admired by all who knew him, had 
 been snatched away from them so suddenly 
 and cruelly, carrying with him into his watery 
 grave the jewel for which he had ventured 
 into the wilderness ? 
 
 It was no wonder that Louis Hameau wept 
 like a broken-hearted man. 
 
 He was aroused by a joyful cry from Harry. 
 
 Looking up hastily, he saw the lad speeding 
 toward an air-hole a little way downstream, 
 through which was thrust Ben Halstead's head, 
 with his cap still on. 
 
 Though Harry had so much the start of him, 
 Louis reached the spot about as soon as the
 
 232 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 lad did, and together they pulled out Ben, 
 chilled to the bone and speechless, and car- 
 ried him ashore. 
 
 There he was quickly stripped, and Louis 
 laid him on a bunch of hay and rubbed him 
 briskly with wisps of the same, while one of 
 the teamsters applied rum externally and inter- 
 nally, and Harry hunted up some dry clothing 
 for his cousin. 
 
 Soon the blood was coursing freely through 
 the lad's veins again, and he was dressed and 
 compelled to run about as well as he could, 
 until he was quite warm and thoroughly weary. 
 
 He said that he had been carried under the 
 ice the instant he dropped into the water. 
 Realizing his peril, he held his breath as long 
 as he could, but lost his senses until he came 
 up at the air-hole. 
 
 Then his breath came back to him, but he 
 found himself unable to speak, and he might 
 have been carried under again if his chin had 
 not caught on the ice.
 
 HOME AGAIN. 2 ,-, 
 
 This was such a wonderful and providential 
 escape from death that the faithful guide again 
 shed tears ; but this time they were tears of joy. 
 
 With considerable difficulty the team was 
 got out of the river, and after a rest the party 
 went on, reaching Oldtown without any further 
 accident or adventure worthy of note. 
 
 Leaving their property to be forwarded, 
 Louis and the lads hastened on to Bangor, 
 and put in an appearance at Hiram Hal- 
 stead's house just as the family were sitting 
 down to dinner. 
 
 Their welcome was more than a joyful one, 
 and they were obliged to ask for time to 
 answer the questions that were showered 
 upon them on all sides. 
 
 " We are glad enough to have you home, and 
 to see you safe and sound," said Mr. Halstead. 
 " I suppose you soon got your fill of a winter 
 in the woods." 
 
 " We were afraid that you might be worried 
 about us," answered Ben, " and we thought it
 
 234 THE SEARCH FOR THE STAR. 
 
 was not worth while to spend a winter up there 
 when there was nothing to gain by it." 
 
 " Of course, there was nothing to gain by it. 
 You can't have seen or heard anything of Bap- 
 tiste or the Star ; but I hope you have had a 
 good time." 
 
 " It will take time, sir, to tell you what we 
 have seen and heard ; but I can say now that 
 we have brought home something that may 
 pass for an imitation of the Star." 
 
 " An imitation of the Star ? Up there in the 
 woods ? That is impossible. What do you 
 mean ?" 
 
 " Well, sir, if mother will do a little ripping 
 in the inside of my jacket here, she will find 
 the thing I speak of." 
 
 Hastily and nervously Mrs. Halstead ripped 
 open the pocket that Ben pointed out to her, 
 brought out and opened the ebony box, and 
 there, as bright and beautiful as ever, shone 
 the Star.
 
 $15OO PRIZE STORY. 
 
 THE BLIND BROTHER. 
 
 A STORY OF THE MINES. 
 
 By HOMER GREENE. 
 12mo, cloth. 23O pp. 14 illustrations. 9O cents. 
 
 " The recent prize competition for stories, held by the publishers of 
 the Youth's Companion, called forth about 5000 aspirants for literary 
 honors, among that multitude, Mr. Homer Greene, of Honesdale, Pa., 
 whose story, the Blind Brother, took the first prize of $1500, probably 
 the largest sum ever paid for a story to a hitherto comparatively un- 
 known writer. The Blind Brother deals with life in the coal-mining 
 region of the Wyoming Valley, and is remarkable for its dramatic 
 intensity, power of characterization, humor and pathos." 
 
 "There are 4,000,000 boys in the United States from 10 to 16 years of age. This 
 story was written for them. We wish every one of the number to read it. A style ot 
 writing more simple, clear, direct, forcible, and attractive could not be desired." 
 National Republican, Washington, D. C. 
 
 "This wonderfully pathetic and beautiful creation." Wilkesbarre Union-Leader. 
 
 " It is a pleasure to think of anything at once so entertaining, so healthful, and so 
 artistic, falling into the hands of youthful readers." The Critic, New York. 
 
 " Well conceived, prettily told, and enlivened with effective touches of light and 
 shade." The Epoch, New York. 
 
 " A story of remarkable power and pathos." Chicago Advance. 
 " Replete with thrilling incidents." N. Y.Jwrnal. 
 
 " Full of interest, full of information not usually stumbled upon, and full of lessoni* 
 of morality and true manliness." Christian Standard. 
 
 " The plot natural and arousing deep interest, whilst the story has its humorous anr 1 
 its touching passages." Presbyterian Banner, Pittsburgh. 
 
 " So sweet and touching that the moral is profound." New Haven Palladium. 
 
 " A good strong story, told with simplicity and directness. Christian Intelligence* 
 New York. 
 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. 
 
 13 ASTOR PLACE, NEW YORK.
 
 THREE NOTABLE NEW BOOKS FOR YOUNG 
 PEOPLE. 
 
 BURNHAM BREAKER. 
 
 By HOMER GREENE, author of the " Blind Brother." 
 12mo. $1.5O. 
 
 Like the " Blind Brother," which has enjoyed such phenomenal 
 success, " Burnham Breaker " is a story of the Coal Regions, and is 
 constructed with remarkable skill, the plot being of thrilling but 
 healthy interest. A better book for the young can scarcely be found 
 
 Of the " Blind Brother," the Critic says : " It is a pleasure to think 
 of anything at once so entertaining, so healthful, and so artistic, fall- 
 ing into the hands of youthful readers." The Christian Standard 
 says it is "full of interest, full of information not usually stumbled 
 upon, and full of lessons of morality and true manliness." 
 
 THE GIANT DWARF. 
 
 By J A K, author of " Who Saved the Ship," " Birchwood," 
 "Fitch Club," "Prof. Johnny," "Riverside Museum," 
 and other suucessful juveniles. 
 
 12mo. $1.25. 
 
 " The Giant Dwarf " is a simple and eminently sensible and whole- 
 some story of German and American life, with a pleasant thread of 
 romance running through it. The Giant Dwarf himself is an admir- 
 able character, rather unique in juvenile fiction. 
 
 FAIRY LEGENDS OF THE FRENCH PROVINCES, 
 
 Translated by Mrs. M. CAREY, with Introductory Note 
 by J. F. JAMESON, Ph. D., of Johns Hopkins Univer- 
 
 sity - 12mo. $1.25. 
 
 These new and delightful Fairy Tales have the same qualities that 
 make "Mother Goose" and the "Arabian Nights" classics. Children 
 of almost any age cannot fail to find perennial pleasure in their racy 
 fancy, shrewd wit, and quaint simplicity of style, all admirably pre- 
 served in the translation. They are interesting, amusing, and instruc- 
 tive. 
 
 T. Y. CROW ELL & CO. 
 
 13 -A.STOR PL>A.CE, . NEW YORK.
 
 There are about 4,000,000 boys in the United States from 10 to 16 years 
 of age. 
 
 Set before these young people a high aim and purpose in life and you de- 
 velop a healthful ambition to meet and overcome the obstacles with which all 
 young men have to contend. 
 
 A~nong the influences to this end none are more helpful than good books, 
 which inculcate by force of notable example, the worth of patient industry, strict 
 adherence to integrity, and the adoption of Christian principle as the elements 
 )f success. 
 
 A book that fully meets these requirements is 
 
 Poor Boys Who Became Famous. 
 
 BY MRS. SARAH K. BOLTON. 
 
 Fully Illustrated with 24 Portraits. 12mo, $1.50. 
 
 Short biographical sketches of George Peabody, Michael Faraday, 
 Samuel Johnson, Admiral Farragut, Horace Greeley, William Lloyd 
 Garrison, Garibaldi, President Lincoln, and other noted persons who, 
 from humble circumstances, have risen to fame and distinction, and left 
 behind an imperishable record. 
 
 "It is seldom that a book passes under our notice which we feel im- 
 pelled to commend so highly to young readers, and especially to boys." 
 N. Y. Observer. 
 
 "No book within onr knowledge is better suited to be adopted in the 
 rapidly growing reading circles of our country." Journal of Education, 
 Boston. 
 
 "Of this class of books we cannot have too'many, the more we have 
 the better. This book placed in the hands of our youth will be worth 
 more to them than gold." Christian Intelligencer, New York. 
 
 "Mrs. Bolton's experience as an editor and an author, has taught her 
 to perceive at once the salient features of a character or life, and to 
 portray them with attractive skill." Congregationalist, Boston. 
 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO., 
 13 Astor Place, New York.
 
 "The most interesting books to me are the histories of 
 individuals and individual minds, all autobiographies 
 and the like. This is my favorite reading." H. W. 
 Longfellow. 
 
 FAMOUS AMERICAN AUTHORS. 
 
 By Mrs. SARAH K. BOLTON, author of "Poor Boys who 
 became Famous," " Girls who became Famous," 
 "Stories from Life," etc., etc. 
 
 Illustrated with Portraits. 12mo. $1.5O. 
 
 Short biographical sketches of Holmes, Longfellow, Emerson, 
 Lowell, Aldrich, Mark Twain, and other noted writers. 
 
 " Bright and chatty, giving glimpses into the heart and home life of some whom the 
 world delights to honor. * * * At once accurate, inviting, instructive." Chau- 
 tauquan. 
 
 " After reading it, the most ordinary mind cannot fail to know Emerson." Cleve- 
 land Leader. 
 
 "Written wisely and well, enthusiastically and entertainingly." N. E. Journal of 
 Education. 
 
 " Especially rich in the little events and acts which, though often overlooked, give 
 one a clearer idea of character than those which are marked as leading events " 
 Inter-Oceatt, Chicago. 
 
 " Nothing dry about the book. * * * Should find a place in the libraries of 
 those who can afford but few books." Omaha Daily Times. 
 
 "A book of rare fascination." Interior, Chicago. 
 
 "Nothing is wanting in the production of the volume." National Republican 
 
 " Will always hold rank in English liierature, and all lovers of American authors 
 should read it." Ohio State Journal. 
 
 " Young people especially will find it replete with entertaining pictures of authors 
 known and loved by all the firesides of the land." N Y. Observer. 
 
 " Filled with details which to the bulk of readers will be new." Albany Press. 
 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. 
 
 13 ASTOR P 1 *CE, NEW YORK.
 
 ''Mrs. Farmer's style is crisp and entertaining, and she writes like a 
 true, hero-worshipper, giving her story a color of enthusiasm and 
 romance it would not otherwise possess. Such a book for young 
 people is worth a score of ' blood and thunder ' fictions ; it is a volume 
 worthy a place in the library of every boy and girl." 
 
 WASHINGTON POST. 
 
 THE BOYS' BOOK OF FAMOUS RULERS. 
 
 BY LYDIA HOYT FARMER. 
 
 LIVES OP AGAMEMNON, JULIUS C^SAR, CHARLEMAGNE, FRED- 
 ERICK THE GREAT, RICHARD CCEUR DE LION, ROBERT BRUCE, 
 NAPOLEON, AND OTHER HEROES OF HISTORIC FAME. 
 
 jfullg Illustrated faritfj Portraits anto Numerous CBngrabmgs. 
 
 12mo. Price, $1.50. 
 
 "No better book of its kind could be placed in the hands of 
 children." Chicago Current. 
 
 "The contents are most attractive. The narrative style of the 
 author is concise and interesting, and the reader will be sure to 
 learn a great deal of history by a perusal of these delightful pages." 
 
 Albany Press. 
 
 " The handsomest and best books of the day seem to be those 
 made for young people. ' Boys' Book of 1'amous Rulers ' is among 
 them." Picayune, New Orleans. 
 
 " Written in a way to very greatly interest those for whom it is 
 intended." Chicago Standard. 
 
 " A capital book for youth. Each subject has a portrait and 
 illustrations of eventful scenes." Boston Globe. 
 
 " Written in a way to instruct, as well as interest, the boys." 
 
 Hartford Times. 
 
 " One of the best publications of the kind that we have seen." 
 
 Ohio State Journal. 
 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL AND COMPANY, 
 
 13 As tor Place, New York.
 
 Six BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 
 
 By J A K 
 
 12mo. Illustrated. $1.25 per Vol. 
 
 BIRCHWOOD. 
 
 "A hearty, honest boys' book, which young people are sure to enjoy." A'. Y. 
 Mail and Express. 
 
 "An eminently wholesome and good book." Z tori's Herald. 
 
 " An excellent story for boys, inculcating the valuable truth that whether a boy be 
 rich or poor he should learn to work. There is also a good temperance lesson taught ; 
 and it is all told in a simple way, that ought to interest young readers." Literary World. 
 
 RIVERSIDE MUSEUM. 
 
 "Thoroughly healthy in tone." Nation. 
 
 " A very charming story for young folks." Inter-Ocean. 
 
 " In a pleasant, easy style, the writer shows how children aiming at improvement 
 can find around a village the objects in Nature which develop thought and knowl- 
 edge." Christian Intelligencer. 
 
 THE FITCH CLUB. 
 
 "A very interesting and very profitable story." Hartford Post. 
 
 " The author has a happy way of telling a story in just the style calculated to interest 
 boys." Christian Union. 
 
 "A pure and interesting story for the boys and girls. Ways and means of doing 
 many useful things are so naturally and pleasantly told that the information does not 
 appear like teaching, but like story-telling." Kansas City Times. 
 
 PROFESSOR JOHNNY. 
 
 "An admirable book fo teaching boys the science of common things." Home 
 Journal. 
 
 "Combines scientific information, wise moral instruction, and capital entertainment 
 in good proportions." The Congregationalist. 
 
 " It is characterized by that uncommon thing common sense. ' ' Christian Index. 
 
 WHO SAVED THE SHIP. 
 
 " Good wholesome reading." Milwaukee Sentinel. \ 
 
 "One of the brightest books of the season." Ohio State Journal, 
 "Admirable in tone and full of interest." Boston Traveller. 
 
 THE GIANT DWARF. 
 
 "Young and old will read the story with pleasure." Philadelphia Inquirer. 
 
 "The author of ' Birchwood,' ' Prof. Johnny,' and other tales, will always be sure 
 of a welcome among young people, and ' The Giant Dwarf ' will be found to rank 
 among his most fascinating work." Boston Traveller. 
 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. 
 
 13 ASTOR PLACE, NEW YORK.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 Form L9-25m-8,'46 (9852) 444 
 
 THE LiBKAK* 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 JUOS ANGELES
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FAC LITY 
 
 AA 000 481 825 8 
 
 PZ 
 
 7 
 
 W669s 
 
 PLEA C DO NOT REMOVE 
 BOOK CARDZJ 
 
 University Research Library