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that they can deceive the males, and thus bring them toward them. These artificial sounds were not long unanswered. Louder and louder still were the roarings that came at intervals from the deep forest. Soft and varied were the responses as the Indian in the rear of Mr Ross and Alec blew his inviting notes, but in the rear of the others there sounded out the enticing strains. "Listen," said Mr Ross, "there is the roar of another old moose, and we are in for a battle." Fortunately the wondrous auroras came shooting up from below the horizon and flashing and dancing along the northern sky; they almost dispelled the darkness, and lit up the landscape with a strange, weird light. This necessitated a quick change of base on the part of the hunters, and so, as soon as possible, they retired under the shadows of some dense balsam trees. Hardly were they well hidden from view before a great moose showed himself in full sight in a wide opening, where the fire, years before, had burned away the once dense forest. In response to his loud calls the three Indians with their horns replied, and this seemed to greatly confuse him. He would move first a little in one direction and then in another, and then hesitated and sent out his great roar again. Quickly, and in a lower strain, did the Indians closely imitate the female's call. Before there could be the responsive answer on his part to them there dashed into the open space from the forest, not many hundreds of yards from him, another moose bull that roared out a challenge that could not be mistaken. The Indians with their birch horns again imitated the calls of the female moose. This they did with the purpose of bringing the bulls within range before they engaged in battle. It is a singular characteristic of many wild animals, that when the rival males battle for the possession of the females, they like to do it in the presence, of those for whom they fight. Their presence seems to be a stimulus to nerve them to greater courage. So it is with the moose and other deer species, and so by the light of the dancing auroras the three boys and those with them watched these two great moose, each standing at the foreshoulders over sixteen hands high, as they thus came on toward the spot where Mr Ross and Alec were well hid from observation, and behind whom the Indian kept now softly lowing like a moose cow. In their hurried movements they had gradually approached each o
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