“We left. I could see the men weren’t interested in fishing anymore, so I speeded up a bit and we headed back to the club. We had at least an hour to go so I decided to surprise them and went into the Baie aux Huards. There’s often a moose or two there wading among the water lilies and tall grasses.

“We were lucky. It was warm and there were lots of mosquitoes. Right away I noticed a black spot moving on the surface of the water. I knew it was a moose, maybe even a female with her calf — so beautiful. I cut the motor so the boat would coast in through the black water.

“The men were stunned by the sudden silence. I put my finger to my lips to tell them to keep quiet. The moose doesn’t see very well, but it heard everything and I knew it could smell us. I pointed to the animal that was standing right in front of us, barely a hundred feet away. It was a large female. We were downwind so we had time to admire her.

“The men didn’t realize at first what they were looking at. Then they all noticed her at the same time. ‘Goddamn!’ said the one named Frank, who was sitting in the middle of the boat. He was a big man, must have weighed more than two hundred pounds. He stood up and I barely had time to lean forward to steady the boat. I thought he was overcome by the sight, but he didn’t stop there. He grabbed his pack from under the seat, took out a rifle butt and quickly screwed in a barrel. It was a light shotgun, a .410-caliber single shot that he had hidden in his bag. Barely powerful enough to bring down a partridge. He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a box of cartridges.

“The female knew something was going on. She left the water and moved behind the rocks and shook herself dry. She sniffed the air and pricked her ears. I wanted her to run away into the bush. I was sorry I’d made the detour now but I told myself he wouldn’t shoot. It didn’t make sense, not with that shotgun. The female moved a few steps. Then she turned toward us as if she didn’t want to leave.

“The man was quick and seemed to know guns. He cracked open the barrel, loaded, cocked the hammer. Then he shouldered it, aimed and fired. Bang! The shot rang through the warm air and echoed far away on the water. My ears were buzzing.

“The animal looked us right in the eyes, her neck stretched out, her muzzle trembling. She had taken a volley of lead right in the face. Blood started to pour out of her eyes and run down her cheeks. She was blind, but she didn’t move a hair. It was as if she’d been turned into stone. Her legs were as stiff as posts.