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Duncan McKay shot a fifth, and Bourassin knocked over a sixth at comparatively long range, his horse being too poor or too tired to come fairly up with the pack. There was no wasting of powder, shot, or shaft in this affair. Each man was an expert with his weapon, and cool as the proverbial cucumber, though considerably excited.
Okematan and Jacques Bourassin here stepped forward, but none of the others seemed disposed to undertake the tramp. "There iss enough of us whatever," remarked the Highlander as he and the others put some provisions into their wallets and shouldered their guns. "You will be our leader, Antoine Dechamp.
Some of them there were, however, who, after lending a hand in this work, determined to provide second strings to their bows by following the buffalo-hunters to the plains. These were chiefly the young and strong men, such as Dan Davidson and his brother Peter, Fergus McKay, Antoine Dechamp, and Jacques Bourassin, among many others. La Certe also went, as well as his squaw and the four-year-old.
Dechamp, being accustomed to lead, accepted the position at once, stepped off on the trail of Dan, which had been made distinctly visible when he went crashing through the underwood the day before. Fergus followed, and Bourassin came third. "Now, then," said Archie, looking into the chief's face, "come along, Oke.
The seaman's eye turned in the direction indicated, and he beheld Bourassin's horse stopped by the hairy forehead of a buffalo-bull, while Bourassin himself was in the act of describing a magnificent parabolic curve over the buffalo's back. He alighted on his back, fortunately on a low bush, a yard or two beyond the buffalo's tail.
"Bourassin has just come in with the report that they are in great numbers away to the nor'-west, so we will make a fair start first thing in the morning." As he spoke, Dechamp glanced with evident surprise at Duncan McKay. "Why did you let him come?" he said in an under-tone to Dan, as they were tying up the horses. "How could I prevent him?" replied Dan.
But on search being made, neither Dechamp nor Bourassin was to be found, and our hero was returning home with the intention of taking a small hunting canoe and going off by himself, when he chanced to meet with La Certe. That worthy seemed unusually depressed, and returned Dan's greeting with very little of his habitual cheerfulness. "What's wrong with you, Francois?" asked Dan, anxiously.
A little further on they saw Peter Davidson's horse put his foot in a badger-hole, the result of which was that the horse rolled over in one direction, while the expert Peter, tumbling cleverly to one side, rolled away in another direction like a Catherine-wheel. Both horse and man arose unhurt, and, like Bourassin, continued the chase.
But that it was eminently satisfactory to all concerned was clearly evinced by the appearance of the whole party the elegant ease with which Fergus McKay did it; the tremendous energy with which Jacques Bourassin tried it; the persistent vigour with which Andre Morel studied it; the facility with which Elise acquired it under Elspie's tuition; the untiring perseverance with which Archie and Little Bill did something like it for the latter had quite recovered, and was fit to hold his own, almost, with any one; the charming confusion of mind with which Fred Jenkins intermingled the sailor's hornpipe with it; the inimitable languor with which La Certe condescended to go through it; the new-born energy with which Slowfoot footed it; the side-splitting shrieks with which Old Peg regarded it; the uproarious guffaws with which the delighted old Duncan hailed it; the sad smile with which that weak and worn invalid Duncan junior beheld it; and, last, but not least, the earnest mental power and conspicuous physical ability with which Dan Davidson attempted something which Charity personified might have supposed to bear a distant resemblance to it.
Elspie was more self-possessed. She tried to wield a jack-towel with some effect, while Dan, Fergus, Duncan junior, Bourassin, Andre Morel, and others ably, but uselessly, supported their heroic leader. La Certe, who chanced to be there at the time, went actively about encouraging others to do their very best.
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