“Frank didn’t lose a second. He ejected the spent case, reloaded, aimed and fired. Bang!

“It was madness! His face was red and sweat was pouring down his cheeks. He realized his mistake but it was too late to turn back. He had to finish it, and he fired away like a crazy man.

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Each shot went straight to my heart. I wanted to tell him to stop, but the words were stuck in my throat. The bitter smell of gunpowder and blood floated in the air, but Frank didn’t stop.

“The moose was unrecognizable. She had no more snout, her jaw had been ripped open and shattered to pieces. Her brow was open flesh and her ears had been ripped off. But still she stood on her four stiff legs, even though her head was in shreds. I prayed that she would give up, but she refused to die.

“Bang! Bang! ‘Fall why don’t you, you stupid cow!’ Frank screamed.

“Suddenly, the female shuddered. Every muscle in her body started to shake violently. She bellowed, her legs buckled, and then she fell like a dead weight onto the big rocks. She was dead.

“The two other men were gripping the gunwales, shaken by the gunshots and paler than ever. They were completely sober now.

“Nobody said a thing. The smell of powder and blood was still in the air and that huge brown mass was lying on its side. It’s not a pretty sight, a dead moose. The lapping of the waves brought me back to reality. The hunter sat back down heavily, wiping the sweat off his face with the back of his sleeve. I paddled in. The moose was right in front of us, her head shot to a pulp and her dead calf between her hind legs. The three men stood in front of her looking helpless.

“The youngest one said, ‘Jesus, Frank. If we take it with us we’ll be in shit up to our necks.’

“The other one answered, ‘Don’t get excited, Johnny. We’ll just take the steaks…’

“‘Okay, but as soon as we get back to the camp we’re out of there bloody fast.’

“‘Okay, okay!’ Frank said. Then he turned to me. ‘Sam, cut out some steaks, then let’s go.’

“I always carry a good sharp knife with me. I cut out two warm, bloody steaks, rolled them up and put them in the cooler. Frank hid them under the beer and ice. The men were in a hurry to finish up. They wanted to get away quickly, but I told them we had to hide the carcass. It was visible from the air and the wardens are using seaplane patrols more and more these days.

“I cut down two young pines and stripped off the branches while the others gathered up small boughs and branches to hide the animal.