Part 16 (1/2)

Randy laughed scornfully, and was about to make a bitter reply when a trampling noise was heard in the woods behind the tent, followed by a violent agitation of the bushes. A few seconds later a big brindle cow appeared on the scene, followed by a small boy shouting ”Hi! hi!” at the top of his voice.

The cow was evidently in no mood to listen to argument; she pranced at the tent with lowered horns, knocked it flat, and trampled with dirty hoofs over the clean canvas.

Then she rushed at Nugget with a vicious bellow, and after pursuing him a few yards in the direction of the creek, she suddenly changed her mind, and charged on Randy and the small boy, who were standing by the edge of the pool. The latter escaped by dodging nimbly to one side, but Randy was not agile enough, and as the cow brushed by him her revolving tail lashed him smartly over the face, and tumbled him into the pool.

He emerged dripping wet, and mad as a hornet, just in time to see the cow retreating in the direction she had come, with the small boy in pursuit.

”Look here,” cried Randy, ”what do you mean by letting a vicious animal like that run loose? Look at that tent, and look at the condition I'm in. For half a cent I'd get my gun and shoot the brute.”

The boy stopped at the edge of the bushes and looked back. He was quite a little fellow, with sunburned legs and face.

”That cow has more right here than you-uns,” he said sullenly. ”My uncle Dan owns this land. He knows you-uns are here, and he's comin' down pretty soon, too. He says you-uns will be sorry you shot that calf afore he gits done with you.”

Randy stared at the lad in amazement, and then a sudden light broke on his mind.

”That explains the bear story,” he muttered, and then added to Nugget, who had just ventured to come forward: ”You fellows have got us in a pretty mess. It was a calf that Clay shot last night. I'm glad it's not my fault this time.”

”A calf!” exclaimed Nugget. ”I don't see how it can be possible. It had s.h.i.+ny eyes.”

”The calf was shot, anyhow,” said the boy. ”It got astray yesterday afternoon, and our hired man found it this morning. It ain't hurt very bad, an Uncle Dan thinks it'll get well. That's the reason the cow is so cross, 'cause she can't have the calf with her. She broke the fence down this morning an' got into the woods. I'll have a hard time gittin' her home again.”

”You say your uncle is cross about the calf?” asked Randy.

”He's hoppin' mad,” said the boy. ”He's going to give you all a lickin', an' then hev you locked up for trespa.s.sin'.”

”But suppose we explain to him that it was all a mistake, and offer to pay the damages,” continued Randy, ”wouldn't that satisfy him?”

The boy shook his head.

”Uncle Dan ain't that kind. When he gets mad n.o.body kin stop him, I reckon he'll lick you chaps pretty hard.”

”I reckon he won't,” said Randy, decisively. ”Not if we know ourselves.

Pitch in and help, Nugget; we must light out of this as quick as possible.”

Nugget was only too willing to lend his aid, and the tent was speedily rolled up, and deposited in the c.o.c.kpit of the Pioneer, where it belonged.

”Uncle Dan may be here any minute,” said the boy. ”You-uns had better wait.”

”Say, you'd like to see us licked, wouldn't you?” inquired Randy. ”I'm sorry we can't oblige you by staying. Here is a dollar for your uncle to square up the damage to the calf. Just say to him that it was a mistake, and that he needn't come after us, because we are going straight through to Harrisburg.”

The lad pocketed the money, and after looking on for a little while in silence he went away to hunt the refractory cow.

The boys worked with feverish energy--not forgetting to keep a sharp eye on the woods--and in scarcely more time than it takes to tell everything was in the canoes.

”It goes hard to leave here,” said Randy, ”but it can't be helped. It would be a nice ending to the canoe trip if we got locked up for trespa.s.sing. I hope the dollar will satisfy that man.”

”What are we going to do about Ned and Clay?” asked Nugget.

”I'll attend to that,” replied Randy, as he stepped into the Water Sprite and tied its stern to the bow of the Pioneer.