The Washington herald., 1911-09-03


coon, rabbit. or perhaps fox, which the
dog had "treed' or run into a hole near by,
and that he wanted his young master to come
out and help him to get it out OF its hiding
place
But surely no such reason could be back
OF his strange actions now! No dog 30
wounded and weak as he now was could care
to chase rabbits or to hunt coons.
Suddenly a great fear came over Wise,
and he ran to where his father kept his gun
and rifle.
When Jake Bushfeld went to the settle
ment or the valley he took a shotgun with
him, In case pheasant. wild turkey or a
squirrel might spring up. When he went OH
on hunting trip, sometimes to be gone two
and three days, he always took his>long Ken
lucky rifle and his bullet pouch, for then he
was after deer and bear, or perhaps even a
panther, up in those silent, untrodden ravines
in the high mountains.
Now the gun was there, and the rifle and
the bullet pouch were gone. so he must be of
hunting. But if So where was mother, and
how had it come that Nose was back here in
this injured condition?
All these thoughts ran through the boys
mind in much less time than it takes to read
them, and then he saw it all clear enough.
His father was out on the mountain in some
sort OF distress Perhaps his rife had ex-
ploded or some wild animal had attacked
and overcome him. and the poor, wounded
hound had dragged himself home to notify
the family.
Thinking this, it never for a moment oc-
curred to the brave, sturdy boy that he was
rather young to be of much help on such an
occasion, and that he had better go over the
ridge, four miles away. to their nearest
neighbors for help
His only thought was to get of at once,
follow the hounds guidance, and bring such
help as he could give to his father.
So, without any extra preparation, Wilse
closed the door carefully after having cover
ed the fire in such wav that it could do no
damage, and trudged forth
1t was easy for him, by the aid of the
bright moonlight, to make his way over the
fields and into the woods. The hound went
very fast, considering his hurts, following the
welwon trail that led over the first ridge
and down into the hollow; and when they
started over the second ridge the hound aban-
doned the trail. and followed up the rocky
bed of mountain rivulet in which there was
not much water.
1t was very difficult clambering, for the
dense laurel thckets each side shut out
the moonlight, and some Of the rocks were
quite as big as the average North Carolina
cabin, and covered with slippery, treacherous
moss But these things did not dishearten
Wise, for he realized that his father could
not be very far off
1t was along the trail they had just left
that his father would 90 if he was bound for
the upper mountains, and this ravine led only
TO the top of this ridge, along which the deer
often ran on their way to water.
Knowing this Wise pushed forward at his
best speed While the boy had never yet
been on the far mountains-because his ia
ther thought him yet too young for so long
triple had hunted over every foot of these
nearby ridges, and where he was now clam
berng through the dense laurel and over the
slippery boulders was wellknown a path
to him as the way to school, and far better
liked. So he put every one Of his muscles to
their best work, and quite forgot that the
tired and wounded hound could not keep up
with such a gait.
Then, when he came out into the compare
lively clear moonlight on the crest of the
ridge, he found that the dog must be far be-
hind HIM, for even his loudest whistles
brought no answering bark. This was bad