Jack Ranger's Gun Club: or, From Schoolroom to Camp and Trail

“Have we? Well, I guess!” was Jack’s hearty answer. “You can stay here as long as you like, or until you find your uncle. You’ve accepted my invitation to come camping, after all, and I guess your guardian would be surprised if he could see you now.”

“I guess he would,” remarked Will with a smile.

There was plenty of room in the big sleeping tent, and a bed was made up for the wanderer. It was the first good night’s rest he had had in nearly a week, he said.

As they had plenty of fresh meat in camp they did not go hunting for several days, but Jack and his chums could not remain inactive, so they all, including Will, went on short jaunts about the camp. A gun was provided for the newcomer, and he proved that he was a good shot, at least on jack-rabbits, which abounded in that region.

About a week after Will had joined his former chums they went on an all-day hunt. The luck fell to Bony and Sam this trip, for each of them killed a fine mountain ram, the horns of which were equal in size to the one slain by Jack.

Nat killed a small deer, and Will was delighted when he also brought one down.

“Plenty much game,” observed Long Gun. “No need hunt right ’way ’gin.”

“I guess Long Gun is getting tired,” observed Jack. “Well, of course we don’t want to kill just for the sake of killing, so I think we will take a few days off.”

The weather continued fine, being clear, and not too cold, while there was no deep snow to hamper the movements of the members of the gun club, though there were several light flurries. The lads went out on short trips, Will riding the horse assigned to Budge, for the latter was not a very enthusiastic sportsman, and would rather remain in camp, stretched on his back, chewing gum, than go after deer or mountain sheep.

“Well,” remarked Jack one night, about a week after the last hunt, “I think we’ll go out again to-morrow and try to fill up the cupboard again. Supplies of fresh meat are running low.”

“Good idea,” commented Nat. “Maybe you can get another ram with horns to match your first pair.”

Jack was successful in this venture, for after a long day’s jaunt he got a fine shot, just at sunset, bowling over a large ram. They took the head and horns back to camp, leaving the carcass to be brought in the next morning, having first taken the precaution, however, of tying the choicest portions high in a tree, out of the reach of marauding animals.

As they were all gathered about the camp fire that night, discussing the events of the day, Jack suddenly held up his hand to insure silence.

“Hark!” he exclaimed. “There’s that queer sound again.”

In the air over their heads was the rushing of great wings, while there was a throbbing as if some mighty beast was passing over the camp.

“Wow!” cried Long Gun, and he made a dive for the tent.

“That’s it!” said Nat softly. “I wonder if we shall ever solve the mystery?”

The boys looked at each other in alarm. Will sprang to his feet.

“That sound!” he cried. “I heard it one night when I was camping in the woods.”

“Where?” asked Jack.

“About ten miles from here. It’s the same noise.”

“We must solve this mystery!” exclaimed Jack. “I believe it must be – ”

But he did not finish the sentence, for from the air above them sounded the call of a voice:

“To the left! To the left!” was the cry. “There’s the camp fire we saw before.”

They all sprang to their feet and looked up into the dark sky. Surely that was some vast shape hovering over them! And then the throbbing and the rush of wings died away.

CHAPTER XXIV

JACK GETS A BEAR

“Fellows,” spoke Jack, and his voice trembled in spite of his efforts to render it steady, “we’ve got to get at the bottom of this.”

“That’s right,” agreed Bony.

“Maybe Bill can tell us something,” suggested Sam.

“Long Gun ought to know something about it. He’s lived around here all his life,” said Budge, speaking plainly this time.

“Long Gun thinks it’s spirits or something like that,” remarked Jack. “He’s so scared he can’t speak. But what about you, Bill? Are you sure you heard it before?”

“Yes,” replied the newcomer. “I heard that same noise about a week ago. I was in a lumber camp, to which I had worked my way, and one night, just about this time, we all heard that rushing sound in the air. Some of the men were frightened, but others said it was a flight of eagles or other big birds.”

“That’s what we thought it was, first,” came from Nat. “But I don’t believe it now.”

“Why not?” asked Bony. “It’s the same sound.”

“But did you hear some men speaking?” demanded Nat. “We didn’t hear that before.”

“No, that’s right,” agreed Jack. “And the voices were quite plain, as if they were close at hand.”

“Maybe they were chasing the peculiar creature, whatever it was,” suggested Sam.

“That might be it,” Jack said.

“Let’s give ’em a hail,” put in Bony.

The boys thought this a good idea, and united their voices in a loud shout. After that they fired their rifles in a volley, but no answer came back.

“Either they don’t hear us, or they don’t want to answer us,” commented Jack.

“Or else that big bird or beast, whatever it was they were chasing, has eaten them up,” suggested Budge, preparing to stow away a fresh wad of gum.

“Nonsense!” exclaimed Nat. “I don’t believe it was a big bird.”

“Waitansee,” was all Budge said.

Though the boys discussed the matter for some time longer, they could arrive at no satisfactory explanation. As for Long Gun, it was useless to ask him his opinion of the mysterious noise. He cowered under his blankets, murmured something about “bad spirits,” and predicted that evil would befall any one who sought to solve the secret.

The night was not disturbed by any further alarms, and they were all up bright and early the next morning, with fine appetites.

“The big bird, or whatever it was, didn’t steal any of us,” remarked Jack as he was washing for breakfast. “I hope it didn’t steal the ram I shot yesterday. We must go after that meat as soon as we have breakfast.”

Leaving Budge and Long Gun in camp, the others went to where Jack and Nat had slain the ram. It was quite a long ride, and they took their time.

“Look here, Jack,” called Nat, as, riding slightly in advance, he was first to arrive at where the carcass had been tied in a tree. “Something’s been here at it. There’s none of it left.”