Our way was the same as the bear's, for the simple reason that it was
the only open level part we could find on that side of the valley. To
our left, the rocks went up in huge, precipitous steps, and then went
down to the right to where the river foamed along a couple of hundred
feet below. And there, with the greatest regularity, were the great
footprints which had deceived me, pretty close beside a little stream
which trickled on along the level, till suddenly it turned to the right,
and plunged down towards the river.
"Look!" said Gunson, pointing, and there were the footprints again, but
turning off now to our right, while our way lay straight on.
"Then he's gone!" cried Esau, eagerly.
_Crash! Rush_! There was the sound of breaking twigs, as if some
monstrous creature was forcing its way through the undergrowth to the
right, and I heard another rush behind me as I stood there behind
Gunson, too much paralysed to run, as I saw him drop on one knee and
raise the rifle to his shoulder.
The rushing noise continued, but it grew more faint, and Gunson rose to
his feet.
"We've frightened him as much as he has frightened us. Here, hi!
Hallo! where are you?" he cried, as he caught sight of two bundles lying
on the ground where they had been dropped.
There was no answer.
"Here, Dean, come along," shouted Gunson again; and I shouted too.
"Ahoy!" came back from some distance away, and a good ten minutes
elapsed before Esau reappeared, looking hot and white.
"Did you shoot him?" he said.
"How could I, when you ran away with the ammunition. Seen the bear?"
"No."
"Well, have you seen Quong?"
"No," said Esau, rather dolefully, and looking as if extremely
dissatisfied with the part he had played.
"The bear can't have seized him?" I said, looking at Gunson.
"Impossible," he said. "It went the other way."
Just then I caught sight of something blue, and burst out laughing.
"What is it?" cried Gunson.
I pointed upward to where, about fifty feet from the ground, the little
Chinaman was perched in a great spruce fir, clinging tightly to one of
the horizontal boughs, with his feet on another, and as he peered
anxiously down, looking like a human squirrel on the watch for foes.
"Here, come down," I cried. "It's all right now. Come down."
"Yes, come down, you little coward," shouted Esau, who brightened up
directly he found that some one had cut a worse figure than he. "I
say," he continued, with a forced laugh, "doesn't he look comic up
there?"
"Yes," said Gunson, grimly, as he gazed fixedly at Esau, who turned
uncomfortable directly, and made no remarks about Quong, as he walked to
the foot of the tree, which was about a hundred yards away, and losing
sight of its occupant now he was hidden by the intervening boughs.
"Come, Quong," I said, "get down, or we shall leave you behind."
"Gone?" he said in a weak voice.
"Yes; come along."
He descended slowly, and stood before us shaking the grey moss and dead
fir-needles from his blue cotton garment.
"Big blown beace," he said. "Quong see him. Velly frighten."
He followed us to where the pack lay, slung it over his shoulder, and we
once more tramped on, till a suitable spot was found for our camp--a
regular niche in the side of the valley, with a small pine spreading its
boughs overhead for shelter.
Here, in spite of the risk of bears, we decided to halt for the night,
and a good fire was soon blazing; and as if regularly engaged as our
servant, Quong set to work at once, and soon prepared our tea-supper,
which was discussed as enjoyably as if we were in good quarters; and
that night passed away as I lay rolled up in my blanket, just as if I
closed my eyes in the darkness and opened them directly to see the warm
glow of the sun lighting up the east, and Quong busy baking cakes in the
embers, the tea-kettle steaming away close at hand.
The weariness and low spirits had passed away with the darkness, and
after a splash in the stream close by, I felt ready for any amount of
journeying.
As I came back from the stream I met Gunson coming towards me.
"Did you see anything?" he said, quietly.
"See anything? Only a squirrel."
"Look down there."
He gave his head a nod a little to the left, and I followed the
direction of his eyes.
"Don't start; don't run," he said, quietly. "If the Chinaman knows of
it he will make a stampede into the forest, and we shall lose him."
"But perhaps there is one close by," I said, nervously.
"Very likely; for there have been two promenading backwards and forwards
about us all night. Look at their marks. These prints are a little
smaller than those."
I had not noticed it till he pointed to the fact, and then I saw the
foot-marks of two bears plainly enough.
"I'm beginning to think," continued Gunson, "that we have selected their
lair for our camp; but as they have not interfered with us, I don't
think they will if we leave them alone."
"But I can't eat my breakfast with those things about," I said.
"You have never tried yet, my lad. Try now. I will have the rifle and
revolver ready to hand; but take not the slightest notice, and behave as
if nothing was wrong."
"But--"
"Come, Gordon, I thought better of you," he said, smiling. "Where is
your courage?"
"Come along," I said, making an effort to master the feeling of dread
which had come over me; and I saw him smile as Esau came up with his
arms full of dead wood for the fire, and directly after we were seated
at our meal.
If I had been alone I should have left that spot, beautiful as it was,
directly, and I have no hesitation in confessing that it was the most
uncomfortable meal I ever ate. But I kept my fears to myself, and only
once was caught by Gunson looking anxiously around at the slope clotted
with tree, bush, and clump of mossy rock, when his smile made me turn to
my tin mug of tea directly.
"I thought you would be the first ready," said Gunson, about half an
hour later, when the sun was shining over the shoulder of one of the
eastern mountains. "But look at Dean, how slow he is about shouldering
the pack, and--what's the matter with Quong?"
For that little individual suddenly came up smiling, with his hand under
his blouse.
As he came close up, he drew his tin plate from where it had been tucked
up his breast.
"Stop velly little while. Quong washee--see gole."
"Yes," said Gunson, giving me a meaning look, and then taking a step or
two nearer the stream; "it looks a likely place; but hallo, arn't these
bears' footprints?"
He pointed to the moist earth close to the water's edge, and both Esau
and the little fellow ran to look.
Directly after Quong came trotting back in a quick, comical manner,
tucking his plate up under his blouse, and seizing and shouldering his
pack, an example followed by Esau, who was the quicker of the two, and
he kept a sharp look out all the time.
"Now if you went behind that rock and roared, Gordon, or I was to fire
my piece, there would be a stampede."
I looked so ready to do what he first proposed, that Gunson said
seriously--
"No, no; we have no time to waste;" and we went on up the valley, both
Esau and Quong stepping out famously, while I was not at all sorry to
leave our baiting-place behind, my liking for bears being decidedly in
association with pits, and a pole up which they can climb for buns.
It was a wonderfully beautiful walk that morning, and we determined to
try and arrange our halts better, for at the end of about half an hour
we found that had we known we could have rested under a roof; two men,
who gave us a very friendly welcome, having started a rough kind of
ranch, in a level nook close down by the river. In fact they were
disposed to be so hospitable that they were half offended because we
went almost directly.
We learned from them though that we should find for days to come
shanties here and there.
"Where we can rest for the night?" I said to one of the men.
"Of course," he said, with a smile. "We see anybody so seldom, that
we're glad of a visitor who can speak of the old country."
"You've got a beautiful place here."
"Yes; tidy, tidy," he said; "only we don't feel quite sure about the
river."
"What do you mean?" asked Gunson.
"Why, you see, mate, it's a lively sort of a stream. Quiet enough in
winter, unless there's been a power of rain; but in the hot weather,
when the snow's melting, it gets so full, that like as not some day t'll
wash all this place away."
"But it's fifty feet down there to the water," I said, smiling.
"What's fifty feet to a river like that, boy? Why, after what I've seen
I shouldn't jump out of my skin if I saw it rise up a hundred."
"See many bears about?" said Esau, rather anxiously.
"Tidy few, my lad; tidy few; and pretty big uns sometimes," said the
man, with a twinkle of the eye. "But berries has been rather plentiful
these last two years, and they haven't eat us yet. I wouldn't interfere
with 'em, though, if you met any."
"Dangerous?" said Gunson, giving me a merry look.
"Well, it's just as it happens," said the man, watching Esau's mouth,
which had slowly opened; "if they takes a fancy to you, they opens their
arms, and just gives you a friendly hug; if they don't, they are a bit
given to scratching and clawing. Where may you be going, squire?" he
added, turning to me.
"Fort Elk," I said.
"Oh! Fort Elk, where they collects the skins. I know. Well, you won't
get there to-morrow, nor yet next week. Pleasant journey to you. Don't
want to buy a bit o' bacon, I suppose?"
But Gunson said he did, and the transfer was made for a handful of
tobacco, Quong grinning with delight at the sight of the red streaks of
lean amongst the pinky-white fat, and apparently pleased with the
prospect of carrying a few more pounds.
That night we slept at a shanty, and for the next two nights we had no
need to camp out; while, what was of great import to us, we found that
we need be under no apprehension about provisions, the people, who had
settled down where they found open patches of grazing land, being
willing enough to sell or barter away flour enough for our wants.