lossy. To bring down such a magnificent prize, and to carry off such
a trophy as that unmatched head and antlers, the greatest sportsmen of
America would have begrudged no effort or expense. But though the fame
of the wonderful animal was cunningly allowed to spread to the ears of
all sportsmen, its habitat seemed miraculously elusive. It was heard
of on the Upsalquitch, the Nipisiguit, the Dungarvan, the Little
Sou'west, but never, by some strange chance, in the country around Old
Saugamauk. Visiting sportsmen hunted, spent money, dreamed dreams,
followed great trails and brought down splendid heads, all over the
Province; but no stranger with a rifle was allowed to see the proud
antlers of the monarch of Saugamauk.

The right of the splendid moose to be called the Monarch of Saugamauk
was settled beyond all question one moonlight night when the surly old
bear who lived in a crevasse far up under the stony crest of the
mountain came down and attempted to dispute it. The wild kindreds, as
a rule, are most averse to unnecessary quarrels. Unless their food or
their mates are at stake, they will fight only under extreme
provocation, or when driven to bay. They are not ashamed to run away,
rather than press matters too far and towards a doubtful issue. A bull
moose and a bear are apt to give each other a wide berth, respecting
each other's prowess. But there are exceptions to all rules,
especially where bears, the most individual of our wild cousins, are
concerned. And this bear was in a particularly savage mood. Just in
the mating season he had lost his mate, who had been shot by an
Indian. The old bear did not know what had happened to her, but he was
ready to avenge her upon any one who might cross his path.

Unluckily for him, it was the great moose who crossed his path; and
the luck was all Charley Crimmins's, who chanced to be the spectator
of what happened there beside the moonlit lake.

Charley was on his way over to the head of the Nipisiguit, when it
occurred to him that he would like to get another glimpse of the great
beast who had so ignominiously discomfited him. Peeling a sheet of
bark from the nearest white birch, he twisted himself a "moose-call,"
then climbed into the branches of a willow which spread out over the
edge of the shining lake. From this concealment he began to utter
persuasively the long, uncouth, melancholy call by which the moose cow
summons her mate.

Sometimes these vast northern solit