A BEAR AND A LION
Giant and Tommy listened with interest to what the others had to
tell about the wildcats, the deer and the lion, and also about the
stop at the Spink camp. The story about the lion interested Tommy
deeply.
"Casso will be glad to get that lion back," he said. "And if you
capture him alive he ought to be willing to pay well for it."
Giant and Tommy had had a rather quiet time in camp. They had
hunted and fished a little, and Giant had taken some photos and
developed some films and plates and printed a few pictures. The
photographs had turned out well, and the young hunters were
correspondingly proud of them.
"I think my father will be much pleased," said the doctor's son. "I
am sure they are right in line with what he wanted. But we must get
a good many more."
"How about your watch, Shep?" asked Whopper.
"I declare, I forgot about it---thinking of that lion," answered
the doctor's son. "We'll have to go to that lonely cabin and
see if I can't get it back from that crazy hermit---if he is around."
A day's rest seemed to make Snap and Shep feel as lively as ever,
but Whopper declared that he was still tired out, and, besides,
he had scraped an ankle on the rocks and this was quite sore. He
said that he was willing to take it quiet for at least a day or
two more.
"We'll have to see about that lion, and about that hermit," declared
Shep. "Supposing we leave you and Tommy in camp this time, and take
Giant along?"
"All right," said Whopper.
"Do you think you can manage---if the Spink tribe come to bother
you?" asked Snap.
"I think so---unless they come at night."
"You'll have to risk that."
"Wags will watch out at night," said Tommy. "He's better as a watch
dog at night than he is in the daytime."
It was decided that the boys should try first to find out if the
lion had been trapped. Then they were to journey to the lonely
cabin in the woods. Not knowing how long they would be away. They
took with them a fair stock of provisions and also a good supply
of matches. They also took new films and plates for their cameras.
Fortunately, in spite of the rather rough experiences of the boys,
none of the picture-taking machines had been damaged, beyond having
the leather covers scratched, and this did not matter.
"They don't look so well," said Shep. "But they'll do the work,
and that's what we want."
The doctor's son, with Snap and Giant, started early on the following
morning. Giant was glad to get away from the camp once more, and
whistled a merry tune as they hurried along. They cut around the
Spink camp, not wishing to meet their enemies.
"No use of letting them know we are gone," said Snap. "If they
did, they'd be sure to go and bother Whopper and Tommy at once---and
two couldn't do much against that whole crowd."
Snap and Shep had fixed the direction well in their mind and studied
the position of the sun, so that they might not go astray. Having
left the Spink camp behind them, the three boys struck out in a bee
line for the spot where they had left the pit with the dead wildcats
as bait. They made good progress, and stopped less than half an
hour for lunch at midday.
"We ought to reach there before nightfall," said the doctor's son.
"That is, unless we get turned around again."
"I think we are going straight," answered Snap. "But it may be
farther than you think."
While tramping along they scared up several rabbits, and Giant
brought down one of these. But game appeared to be scarce and
nothing else came to view.
It was just five o'clock when they reached a clearing that looked
familiar to Snap and Shep.
"That pit is just beyond here," said the doctor's son. "We'd better
go slow---in case that lion hasn't been caught and is at large."
The others took the advice and advanced with caution. A fringe
of brushwood hid the pit from view. On the other side of the
clearing was a dense forest of pines and hemlocks.
"Well, I never!"
It was the doctor's son who uttered the exclamation. He was slightly
in advance and had peered over the bushes.
"What is it?" asked Snap in a low tone.
"Look, but don't make any noise."
Snap and Whopper pressed forward and looked. What they saw thrilled
them greatly.
On the edge of the pit was a fair-sized black bear. He was sniffing
at the carcass of the wildcat that rested on the tree branches laid
over the mouth of the opening.
"A chance for a fine shot!" whispered Giant a bit nervously.
"Wait---we'll get a picture first!" said the doctor's son. "But
keep quiet!"
The others understood, and, hardly daring to breathe, the three lads
swung their cameras into position, got them ready for use, and
spread out among the bushes to take some snapshots.
The bear was a cautious animal and slowly he circled the pit,
sniffing longingly at the carcass so close at hand. Evidently he
desired a meat diet for a change and wanted to get the wildcat very
much, but did not quite trust the tree branches and what might
be underneath.
Each of the lads got what he thought was a good picture, and then
Snap and Giant looked at Shep and touched their guns. But the
doctor's son did not see them, for he was looking wildly at something
between the trees on the other side of the clearing.
"What do you see?" whispered Snap.
"Hush!" answered the doctor's son. "Look for yourself."
Snap and Giant gazed in the direction pointed out, and it must be
confessed that the hair of the smaller youth literally rose on end.
There, between two trees, crouched the lion that had escaped from
the circus. The eyes of the monarch of the forest were fastened
on the bear, and his tail was swaying from side to side, showing
that he was getting ready for a leap.
"Shall we---we shoot?" asked Snap. He was so agitated he could
hardly speak.
"Why not take a picture?" asked Shep, who had his camera still in
his hand.
"All right---but we don't want that lion to---to come this way."
"Not much!" put in Giant, and it must be confessed that his voice
trembled a good deal. To face a deer or even a bear was one thing;
to face a powerful lion was quite another.
Slowly the lion came out from between the two trees. The bear now
had his head turned the other way, so he was not aware of the
approach of the enemy.
It made a magnificent picture, and for the moment the boys forgot
their own peril and each took two snapshots, one with the lion
almost on top of the bear.
Scarcely had they clicked the shutters of the cameras the second
time when a blood-curdling roar rent the air, and the lion made one
grand leap for the bear. But as this happened bruin chanced to
turn slightly, and with a movement wonderful in such a bulky
animal the bear sprang to one side. The lion missed his would-be
prey and slid forward, directly into the mass of tree limbs covering
the pit.
"He's going into the hole!" cried Snap. "Look!"
All gazed on the scene and saw that Snap was right. Unable to
stop himself, the lion had crashed down between the tree limbs
and was now struggling vainly to reach firm ground once more.
The bear backed away and then, turning, sped off among the trees,
not over a dozen yards from where the young hunters were in hiding.
"The bear---he's coming this way!" yelled Snap.
"Shoot him!" screamed Giant. And he brought around his gun.
All tried to get a shot, but the trees were too thick, and in
a few seconds the bear was out of sight, crashing down the brushwood
as he went.
He was badly frightened, and with good cause, for a lion was a new
enemy for him.
As the bear disappeared the boy hunters turned their attention again
to the lion. The monarch of the forest was doing his best to climb
over the tree limbs, which turned and bent between him.
"Shall we shoot him?" queried Snap. "If he gets loose."
"There he goes!" shouted Shep.
As the doctor's son spoke they heard a tree limb snap in twain. For
one instant the lion clung to the broken end, then, with a roar, the
beast sank out of sight into the pit.