"If that's the way they eat up here," said John, at last, "I suppose we ought to learn how to do it." So saying, soberly he began to sharpen his knife on a near-by stone, as he had seen Skookie do, and, taking a piece of goose breast in one hand, he partly filled his mouth and undertook to cut it off at the proper length. At once he uttered a wild cry, and dropped both knife and morsel to the ground. Blood flowed from his face, and he clapped his hand to the end of his nose, which he had nearly severed with the stroke of his knife, as it had slipped unexpectedly through the piece of meat.
"Now look at you!" said Jesse. "You've pretty near cut off your nose; that's what you've done. That comes of forgetting the way you were brought up. Come here--let me see how badly you're hurt."
Skookie broke out into wild peals of laughter at this mishap, which left John none too well pleased. Rob and Jesse, however, bent over him as he whimpered with the pain, and did what they could to make amends for the disaster.
"Hot water is best for a cut," said Rob, taking their tea-vessel from the fire and looking about for a piece of rag. Thus, in short, by the free use of hot water, he did at length stop the flow of blood in part, at least.
"John," said he, at last, "you came mighty near spoiling your beauty. Your nose is turned up, anyhow, and now you have nearly cut off a half inch more of it. Lucky for you the cartilage was tough, or you would have looked more like an Ethiopian than an American. I guess it will grow fast again, although you will have to wear a handkerchief tied around your face and head for some time."
"I don't care," mumbled John. "I wanted to see how they did it."
"Well, you know now," Rob assured him, in a matter-of-fact way. "But I would suggest that you eat in the ordinary civilized fashion after this, because you haven't any more nose than you need, and your mother might not like you to come home with a part of it missing."
It was some days before the smart of this wound was entirely gone, but it may be said that in time it healed and left but a slight scar at the lower end of the nose, although John for some days went about with a handkerchief tied about his face. This did not prevent his taking part in future goose-hunts, which came to be a regular part of their programme.