THE RUNAWAY CATTLE

This takes its vigor from the hunting experiences of two young boys. Their quarry may not have the exotic appeal of the leopard or the sabre tooth. What they are after is a bull, some cows and a dog who have reverted to the wild after the herd had been scattered by a charging bear. The scene is in Michigan in 1889 and the lost cows meant money in the bank and the prize bull meant lost interest. The dog had followed his instinct to stick with his work and matters were further complicated by the presence of a moose which had joined the cattle. Kirby Kenyon and his friend Bill Truax were typical 14 year olds of the time. They had an enormous amount of know-how around their farms, but had never been hunting without their fathers. The opportunity to scout the lost Kenyon animals came in winter. They felt very sure of themselves when they set out, but soon found they had a lot to learn about camping comfort. Kirby and Bill could always learn from their initial mistakes -- some of these are quite funny. They were at their best applying commonsense and hard-barned guile against the vagaries of the herd they finally brought back and the dog they finally won over. By the author of the outstanding The Gobbler Called who can make his characters sound real and keep his story exciting.