Chapter 3

"Nobody home!" said Jesse, looking about the dark interior, where the smoke had blackened all the wood, and where only a little light came through the door and the smoke-hole, there being no window at all.

"Nor has there been for a long time," said Rob. "These bits of fish are all dried up. The ashes have been wet with rain for a long time. See, back there under the eaves there are a lot of _klipsies_. That's what they call their fox traps. Yes, this no doubt is the camp of a trapper or two who live here in the winter-time."

"But where do they go in the summer?" asked John.

"Probably to some of their own villages. It's almost too late now to trap foxes for their furs, so the chances are there will be no one here until next winter."

"Why, then," said Jesse, his eyes brightening, "we could use this for our house, couldn't we?"

"Precisely," said Rob. "That's just what we will do."

"That'll be fine," said John, his eyes brighter than they had been for many an hour. "Now if we only had something for a good meal."

"Here's an old tin lard-pail they no doubt used for a water-pail," said Rob, kicking about in the heavy covering of grass which lay on the floor. "Now, I tell you, I'll go get some water; you clean the hut, Jess; and, John, you go to the boat and bring over the box of crackers and tomatoes."

With light hearts the others complied, each glad that now at least they were free from the dangers of the sea.

"I believe we're going to be all right here, John," said Jesse, as the latter started toward the boat.

"Surely we will," said John. "Only I know I want a drink pretty badly."

When they met at the door of the hut a few moments later Rob offered them his kettle of water, from which he had not yet drunk. John took a deep draught and spat it out with a wry face.

"Salt!" he exclaimed. "That's awful!"

Rob looked at him in surprise.

"That's strange," said he. "I saw the creek tumbling right down through the alders into this little lake, and it must be fresh water." He scratched his head. "Oh, I know," said he. "The tide backs up in here to the foot of the little falls. Give me the kettle. It's shallow out there in front, and there's rocks. We'll cross the lake to get a drink!"

Suiting the action to the words, he went off on a run, and this time when he returned he had the pail full of excellent fresh water, cold as ice.

"I got my feet wet," said he; "but never mind that. I've learned something else--or, at least, I think I have."

"What's that?" asked Jesse.

"Why, it's this. Our crackers and tomatoes won't last very long, and we can't eat moss or dried grass. We've got our fishing-lines done up in the bedrolls in the boat, and if we can't catch any codfish in the bay, there'll be a time before long, unless I'm mistaken, when there'll be salmon in this creek. They say they run in every river on the Alaska coast, and I suppose it's the same here."

"We'd better not eat up all our crackers right away," suggested Jesse, hesitating.

"No," said Rob, who seemed to drop into the place of leader. "We'll have to do the way people do when they're shipwrecked and cast away. We'll go on short rations for a while."

"Well," said John, "let's have a cracker, anyway, and the rest of that last can of tomatoes we opened. I'd like a cup of tea pretty well; but it may be some time before we see tea again."

"Worry enough for the day," said Rob. "And what we ought to be is mighty thankful we got off as well as we have. Anyhow, we're alive; and, anyhow, we'll camp here to-night. Now you boys go over to the boat and get the bedrolls, while I pick up some wood and get some fresh grass for the beds. It'll be dark now before long. We'll make a fire and cook the tomatoes in the can."

Following Rob's advice, each now busied himself at these different tasks. In the course of an hour they had a fire glowing at the centre of the barabbara, which now would otherwise have been quite dark. The smoke did not seriously trouble them after they had learned to keep down low on the floor. Each unrolled his blankets on the deep, sweet-scented grass near-by the fire. Thus, alone and far from home, in a situation stranger than any of them had ever fancied himself about to see, they lay about the fire at midnight of the short Alaskan darkness. Each without instruction took his rifle from its case and put it on the blankets beside him, taking care that it was loaded. Outside they could hear the calls of flying birds; otherwise deep silence reigned. They felt, although they could not see, the presence of the surrounding walls of the great white mountains. Now and then they could hear the faint boom of the sea on the opposite side of the inner wall. It was a wild and new experience for them as at last, one by one, each nodded and dropped back upon his blankets for such sleep as he could find in his first night in camp on the unknown Kadiak coast.

VIII

THE SALMON RUN

Worn out as they were by the adventures of the preceding day, the boys slept long and soundly. When at length Rob awoke he saw that the sun was shining brightly down through the smoke-vent in the roof. He called the others, who rolled over sleepily in their blankets.

"Time for breakfast, John," said he, laughing.

"Yes, and no breakfast," grumbled John--"at least, nothing but more crackers and tomatoes, and not very much of that."

"I'll have a look outside first," said Rob, crawling over to the door and pushing it open. "I say, it's a fine day! You can see the mountains all around as clear as you please. Wherever we are, it's a big country at least."

"What was that I heard just now?" exclaimed John, joining him at the door; "it sounded like a splash."

They both crawled out of the door and stood up where they could see the surface of the lagoon, which lay but a few yards distant from the front of the hut. Sure enough, a series of spreading wrinkles marked the water.

"Must have been a fish," said John. "There he goes again!"

Even as he spoke Rob had left him and was running to the edge of the water. "Salmon!" he cried. "Salmon! I thought so. Now we're all right!"

These were Alaska boys, and a run of salmon was nothing new to them, although it is something never failing of interest no matter how often one sees it. The three now gathered at the shallow water a short distance below the hut. All along the creek crows and ravens were flying in great flocks. From the heavy grove of cotton-wood beyond the creek there arose several great birds, soaring majestically across--eagles--also interested in the coming of the fish. Suddenly one of these made a swift dart from its poise high in the air, straight as an arrow, and flinging the water in every direction as it struck. Struggling, it rose again with a great fish in its talons.

"He's got _his_ breakfast, anyhow," said John, ruefully. "But now how are we going to get ours?"

"Run to the boat, John," said Rob. "I remember seeing some cod-lines with big hooks under the back seat. Must have belonged to those natives. You bring me those hooks while I hunt for a pole."

Excitedly they all now began to see what might be done toward making a salmon-gaff such as Indians use; for all these boys knew very well that the Alaska salmon will not take any sort of a bait or lure when they are ascending a stream; and these were the red salmon, fish of about eight or ten pounds in weight, which in that part of the world are never known to take any kind of lure.

In a few minutes Rob, having found a longish pole in the grass near by, had hurriedly bound with a piece of cod-line the three large hooks at the end so that they made a gang or gaff. Taking this, and rolling up his trousers high as he could, he waded into the shallow, ice-cold water.

"Where are they now?" he asked of the others, who remained on the bank.

"There they come--there's a school coming now!" cried Jesse.

All at once Rob could see the surface of the water below him just barely moving in low, silvery ripples as though a faint wind touched it. A sort of metallic lustre seemed to hang above the water--the reflection from the bright scales of the many fish swimming close to the surface. Presently, as he looked into the water directly at his feet, he could see scores of large, ghostly looking creatures, pale green or silvery, passing slowly by him, some of them so close as almost to touch his legs as he stood motionless. Once or twice he struck with his gaff, but the quick motions of the fish foiled him; and it looked as though the boys would wait some time for their breakfast, after all. At last, however, he waded closer to the shore and half hid behind a bush, extending his gaff in front of him with the hooks resting on the bottom.

"Now, drive them over this way--throw in some stones," he directed.

The others did as he said, and all at once Rob saw the water directly in front of him full of a mass of confused fish. A quick jerk, and he had a fine, fat fish fast, and the next instant it was flopping on the bank, while all three of them fell upon it with eager cries.

"Now another!" said Rob. "They may not be running all day."

He returned to his hiding-place near the bush, and thus in a few minutes he had secured a half-dozen splendid fish.

"That will do for now," said he. "What do you think of the chance for breakfast now, Mister John?"

John grinned happily. He already had a couple of the fish nicely cleaned.

"I'll tell you what," said Jesse, "after we've had breakfast we'll catch a lot of these fat ones and split them open the way the Indians do. I think we could make a smoking-rack for them without much trouble."

"Capital," said Rob. "We ought to dry some fish when we have the chance, because no one can tell how long we may have to live here."

"But we won't do anything till after breakfast," said John, looking up.

"No," laughed Rob, "I'm just as hungry as you are. So now let's build a little fire and, since we have no frying-pan as yet, do what we can at broiling some salmon steaks on sticks."

It was not the first time they had cooked fish in this way, and although they sadly missed the salt to which they were accustomed, they made a good breakfast from salmon and a cracker or so apiece, which Rob doled out to them from their scanty supply.

"We ought to keep what we have as long as we can," said Rob. "For instance, we've only a couple of boxes of matches, and we must not waste one if we can help it. We'll look around after awhile and see if we can scare up a frying-pan. But now I move that the first thing we do be to explore our country just a little bit."

"Agreed," said John, who was now well fed and contented. "Suppose we walk down to the mouth of the creek over there."

Following along the winding shores of the small stream, which here at high tide was not above the level of the sea, they found themselves finally at the angle between the creek and the open bay, beyond the end of the low sea-wall which has earlier been mentioned. The creek here turned in sharply toward the foot of the mountain, and across from where the boys stood a sheer rock wall rose several hundred feet. This shut off the view of a part of the bay on that side, but in other directions they could see the white-topped waves rolling, eight or ten miles across to the farther side, where there were many other bays making back among the mountains.

Out in the bay where the stream emptied, schools of salmon, apparently thousands in number, were flinging themselves into the air as they started toward the mouth of the creek. At the last angle of the stream, where it turned against the rock wall, there was a pool perhaps fifty feet across and twenty feet in depth, and as the boys looked down into this it seemed literally packed with hundreds and thousands of great salmon, which swam around and around before picking out the current of the stream up which they were to swim.

"Here's fish enough for us whenever we want any," said Rob. "We can catch them here without much trouble, I think."

"I don't know, we may not be so badly off here for a while, after all," admitted John.

"Just look at the gulls," said Jesse, idly shying a pebble at one great bird as it came screaming along close above them, to join its kind in the great flocks that circled around above the salmon, which they were helpless to feed upon, not being equipped with beak and talons like the eagles.

"Yes," said Rob, "thousands of them. And every pair of them with a nest somewhere, and every nest with two eggs, and a good many of them good to eat. Do you see those tall, ragged rocks out there? That looks to me like their nesting-ground."

"But we can't get there," said John, pointing to the creek.

"Oh yes, we can, in two ways. We could wade the creek up above and climb across the shoulder of the mountain there, and maybe cross the next creek beyond, and so get out to those rocks on the point below. Or we can launch the dory up above and come down the coast to the mouth of the creek, and then skirt the shore over there."

"Why don't we bring our boat over here and take it up the creek?" asked Jesse. "We wouldn't have to row more than a mile or so, and then we'd always know our boat was safe."

"That's a good idea," said Rob. "We'll do that this very day. Suppose we go back now to the house."

They now turned and began slowly to walk up the creek again. Suddenly Rob stooped down and parted the grass, looking closely at something on the ground.

"What is it, Rob?" asked John, joining him.

The two now pushed the grass apart and looked down eagerly. Rob rose to his knees and pushed the cap back on his forehead.

"If I didn't know better," said he, "I'd call that the track of an elephant or a mastodon or something. See, there it goes, all along the shore."

"But it can't be an elephant," said Jesse.

"No, it can't be anything but just what it is--the track of a bear! What Uncle Dick said is true. Look, this track is more than half as long as my arm."

"We'd better get back to the house as quick as we can," said Jesse, anxiously. "That bear may come back any minute!"

IX

THE BIG BEAR OF KADIAK

The three now started up the creek toward the barabbara, their steps perhaps a little quicker than when they came down-stream. Rob was scanning the mountain-side carefully, and looking as well at the sign along the creek bank.

"That's where he lives, up in that cañon across the creek, very likely," he said, at length. "Here's where he crossed in the shallow water, and last night he fished all along this bank. My! I'll bet he's full of bones to-day. It's the first run of fish, and he was so hungry he ate pretty near everything except the backbone." He pointed to a dozen skeletons of salmon that lay half hidden in the grass. The latter was trampled down as though cows had been in pasture there.

"I don't know," said Jesse, soberly. "I always wanted to kill a bear, and there's three of us now and we've got guns; but I don't believe I ever wanted to kill a bear quite as big as this one. Why, he could smash in the door of our house in the night and eat us up if he wanted to."

"We'll eat _him_, that's what we'll do," said John, decisively. "I only wish we had a kettle or a frying-pan or something."

"Seems to me you'd better get the bear first," said Jesse. "But we might look in among the traps in the back of the hut and see what we can find. These hunters nearly always leave some kind of cooking things at their camps."

Sure enough, when the boys entered the barabbara to look after their rifles, and began to rummage among the piles of _klipsies_ which they found thrown back under the eaves, they unearthed a broken cast-iron frying-pan and, what caused them even greater delight, a little, dirty sack, which contained perhaps three or four pounds of salt. They sat on the grass of the floor and looked at one another with broad smiles. "If everything keeps up as lucky as this," said Jesse, "we'll be ready to keep house all right pretty soon. But ought we to use these things that don't belong to us?"

"Surely we may," answered Rob. "It is always the custom in a wild country for any one who is lost and in need to take food when he finds it, and to use a camp as though it were his own. Of course we mustn't waste anything or carry anything off, but while we're here we'll act as though this place were ours, and if any one finds us here we'll pay for what we use. That's the Alaska way, as you know."

"You're not going out after that big bear, are you?" asked Jesse, anxiously, of Rob.

"Of course; we're all going! What are these new rifles for--just look, brand-new high-power Winchesters, every one--and any one of these guns will shoot as hard for us as for a grown man."

They sat for some time in the hut discussing various matters. At last John crawled to the door and looked out. He was rather a matter-of-fact boy in his way, and there seemed no special excitement in his voice as he remarked: "Well, Rob, there comes your bear."

The others hurried to the door. Sure enough, upon the bare mountain slope beyond the lagoon, nearly half a mile away, there showed plainly enough the body of an enormous bear, large as a horse. It was one of the great Kadiak bears, which are the biggest of all the world.

"Cracky!" said Jesse; "he looks pretty big to me. Do you suppose he'll find us here in the house?"

Rob, the oldest of the three, who had been on one or two hunts with his father, looked serious as he watched this giant animal advancing down the hill-side with its long, reaching stride. Suddenly he uttered an exclamation. "Look!" said he; "there's two more just come out of the brush. It's an old she bear and her cubs coming down to fish!"

All could now see the three bears, the great, yellow-gray mother, huge and shaggy, and the two cubs, darker in color and, of course, much smaller, although each was as large as the ordinary black bear of the United States. Certainly it was an exciting moment as the boys looked at these great creatures now so close at hand.

Presently the old bear seemed to suspect something, for she stopped and sat up on her haunches, swinging from side to side a head which was fully as long as the arm of any one of the boys.

"She probably smells the smoke," whispered Rob. "Oh, I hope she won't get scared and run away! No, there she comes; it's the first salmon run, and they're all hungry for fish."

They watched the bears until at last they disappeared in the brush which lined the creek on the farther side. Rob kept his eye intently fixed on the place where they had disappeared, but made no motion to leave the hut until finally all three of the bears once more appeared, this time splashing across the creek.

"She knows the tide as well as we do," muttered he. "It won't be long now before the fish begin to move up the creek again. Now, come on, fellows, if you're not afraid!"

Rob looked around at John, who had his new rifle in his hand, but looked none too eager, now that the opportunity had come to use it. Jesse's lip, it must be confessed, trembled a little bit, and he was pale. The first sight of a large bear has been known to unsettle the nerves of many a grown man, and it was not to be wondered at that it should disturb one of Jesse's years. There was, perhaps, in the wild and remote situation in which they found themselves something which gave them courage. They had escaped such dangers of the sea that now the danger of the land seemed less by comparison. Moreover, they all had the hunting instinct, and were accustomed to seeing big game brought in by their relatives and friends. Had an older person been with them, no doubt they would all have been frightened; but there is something strange in the truth that when one is thrown on one's own resources courage comes when needed--as it did now to these three castaways.

Without any further speech Rob passed out at the door and stood waiting for the others to follow. Each was silent as he held his way down the creek.

For some distance they did not need to conceal themselves; then their leader took them along the edge of the creek, where their heads would not show above the grass. Thus following down the stream, and carefully peering over the banks at each bend, they worked along until they were perhaps three or four hundred yards above the big salmon pool and near to a flat piece of water which extended above it. Rob raised a warning finger.

"Listen!" he hissed.

They could hear it now distinctly--heavy splashing in the water, broken with low, grumbling whines in a deep, throaty voice, something like what one may hear in a circus at feeding-time. Once in a while a squeak or a bawl came from one of the cubs. Rob laughed. From his position near the top of the bank he could now see the picture before him.

The old mother was sitting on her haunches out in the middle of the stream, with a cub on either side of her. She was trying to teach them to fish. Once in a while she would make a sudden, cat-like stroke with her long forearm, and almost always would throw out a fine salmon on the bank. Toward this the cubs would start in their hunger, but the old lady, reproving them for their eagerness, would then cuff them soundly on the head, knocking them sprawling over in the water, to their very great disgust. Once in a while one of them, his ears tight to his head, would sit down in the water, lift up his nose and complain bitterly at this hard treatment. Then again he would make a half-hearted stroke at some of the fish which he could see swimming about him; but his short claws would not hold like the long, curved ones of his mother, and no fish rewarded the efforts of either of the cubs. The boys lost all sense of fear in watching this amusing scene, which they studied for some minutes. They really lost their best opportunity for stalking their game, because presently the old grizzly changed her mind and led the way out to the bank where several fish were lying flapping. Upon these they all fell eagerly, grunting and grumbling, and now and again fighting among themselves.

Rob turned toward his friends. "Quick now!" he whispered, sternly, and led the way, crawling into the high grass which would afford them cover for a closer approach to their game. The hearts of all of them now were throbbing wildly, and probably each one doubted his ability to do good shooting. Something, however, led them on, and although Rob saw two pale faces following him when he looked back, there was a glitter in the eyes of each which told him that at least each of his friends would do his best.

Passing now out of the grass to the cover of the bank again, Rob ran along crouching, until he pulled up under cover of the bank at a point not more than seventy-five yards from where they could now distinctly hear the bears at their feeding.

"Get ready now!" he whispered.

Slowly the three crawled to the top of the bank. Rob laid a hand on Jesse's rifle barrel, which he saw was unsteady. He made motions to both of the others not to be excited. A strange sort of calm seemed to have come upon him. Yet, plucky as he was, he was not prepared for the sight which met him as he gazed through the parted grass at the top of the bank.

The old grizzly, once more suspicious, had again sat up on her haunches, and turning her head from side to side began to sniff as though she scented danger. Her shaggy hair shone silvery now in the sun, and she seemed enormously large. Rob's heart leaped to his mouth, but suddenly dropping to his knee, and calling out to the others "Now!" he fired without longer hesitation.

The sound of the other two rifles followed at once. The great bear gave a hoarse roar which seemed to make the hair prickle on the boys' heads; but even as she roared she dropped and floundered in the mud of the bank, up which she strove to climb. Again and again the rifles spoke.