AFTER A BLACK BEAR
"Shep! Giant! Quick!"
"What's the matter, Snap?"
"A bear! Down the stream! Come on with the guns!" went on Snap
excitedly. He had returned hot-footed to where he had left his chums
and the firearms.
"Are you sure?" queried the doctor's son as he dropped his camera and
grabbed up his shotgun.
"Dead certain---but I don't know how long he will stay there. Oh,
if I had only had my gun with me!" groaned Snap. "I could have
brought him down as easy as pie!"
"Aren't you going to take your camera?" asked Giant as he drew in his
line and took both his photo outfit and his firearm.
"Yes, I forgot," said the doctor's son, and picked up his camera
again. "Don't shoot till we get a snapshot," he said to Snap, who,
gun in hand, was already off.
"All right; but we don't want to lose the bear," answered the other
young hunter.
"Of course not!"
With Snap in the lead, the three boys sneaked swiftly but silently
down the mountain brook until they came to the spot from which Snap
had discovered the bear. Here they halted, and the others looked
enquiringly at their leader.
"I saw him right over yonder," whispered Snap. "Go slow, now, or
you'll scare him."
With bated breath the three young hunters advanced down the tiny
stream. They gained the shelter of some dense brushwood and gazed
around eagerly. Not a sign of a bear was to be seen anywhere.
"Maybe you were dreaming, Snap," murmured Giant.
"No, I wasn't---I saw him just as plain as day."
"Then he must have seen you running back to the pool, and he must
have took out, too."
"Perhaps; but I was very careful to keep out of sight."
They advanced a little farther, and now saw ahead of them a slight
hollow, where there was another waterfall, sheltered on either side
by sharp rocks.
"There he is!" whispered the doctor's son excitedly, and pointed
down to the pool at the foot of the falls. The black bear was
there, getting a drink.
"We can't take a picture from here," said Giant disappointedly. "What
shall we do---fire?"
"Oh, we ought to have a picture of him," pleaded Shep. "It would
be just the thing for our collection."
"Let me suggest something," said Snap. "I haven't any camera, so
I'll stay here. You two can make a half circle and come up below
and kind of head the bear off. If he starts to run before you get
ready I'll fire at him."
So it was agreed, and Shep and Giant hurried off without delay,
making a wide detour through the woods and over the rocks. They
could not help making a little noise, but this was, as they rightfully
reasoned, drowned out by the falling of the waters.
In the meantime Snap kept careful watch of the bear. The animal took
his time drinking, raising his head several times to look around him.
But he did not turn his gaze upward, and consequently did not
discover the young hunter, who stood with weapon aimed, ready to fire
at a moment's warning.
Fully five minutes passed, and then the bear stretched himself and
commenced to sniff the air. Then, of a sudden, he arose on his hind
legs to get a better look at his surroundings.
"This is the time they ought to get their pictures," thought Snap.
An instant later he saw something fluttering in the bushes below
the pool. Shep and Giant were there and had their cameras in
action. The bear continued to stand upright, but presently he
dropped on all fours and began to lumber away from the brook at a
good rate of speed.
To have waited longer would have been foolish, and taking careful
aim, Snap fired his shotgun twice. Scarcely had the two reports rung
out than Giant also fired, followed, a few seconds later, by the
doctor's son.
The aims of all three of the young hunters were true, and the bear
received such a peppering of buckshot that he was seriously if not
mortally wounded. He dropped down, dragged himself up again, and
roared with rage and pain.
"Give him another!" yelled Snap as he started to reload.
Giant was the first to run into the opening, and as the bear saw
the youth he snarled viciously and showed his teeth. He tried to
rush at the boy, but Giant discharged the second barrel of his
shotgun and the charge took the bear in the head. Then the doctor's
son fired again, and hit the animal in the side. This was too
much for bruin, and with a rocking motion he staggered forward a
few steps and then pitched on his head, dead.
"We've got him! We've got him!" yelled the small youth, dancing
around wildly and flinging his cap into the air. "Isn't this the
dandy luck?"
"Did you get the pictures?" questioned Snap, leaping down the rocks
to where the game lay.
"We sure did," answered the doctor's son. "And I've got one of you
aiming your gun right at the bear. I tilted the camera up a little
to get it."
"What a fine bear!" cried Giant.
"We never got a better," answered Snap. "Oh, this is certainly prime
luck!"
"We'll have to take some more pictures---of our game," said Shep,
and without delay they took several plates and films---the two
cameras being of each kind. All the boys were in the pictures, and
of these photographs they were justly proud.
"Now, the question is, what are we going to do with the bear?"
said Snap. "We can't drag such a load to our camp."
"We'll have to skin the animal and take what meat we want," answered
the doctor's son. "It's too bad to leave so much behind, but it
can't be helped. It won't keep in this weather, anyway."
"If only Jed Sanborn was here---he might take some of it home."
"I'll tell you what we can do," said Giant. "Try to drag the
carcass---or a big part of it---up to the lion's pit. It will
help to feed that beast until the circus folks come."
"That's an idea," said Shep. "And if we keep the lion well fed he
won't try so hard to get away. Menagerie animals are always lazy
when well fed---one of the keepers told me that. They only get
restless when they are hungry."
It took the boys some time to skin the dead bear and cut away such
meat as they thought they could tote along. The rest of the meat
they hung in a tree, thinking they might possibly come back for it
later. Then they started once more for camp.
"I hope the Spink crowd hasn't been bothering Whopper and Tommy
since we have been away," said Snap. "If they have-----"
"Don't borrow trouble," interrupted the doctor's son. "Wait till
it comes."
With their heavy loads, they made slow progress through the woods,
and they were glad when they reached the lion pit and could dispose
of some of the bear meat. The lion greeted them with a roar, but
that was all. He had not yet eaten the second wildcat; nevertheless,
they threw to him a chunk of the bear meat, the fresh blood of which
was very much to his satisfaction.
It was late when they reached camp, thoroughly tired out. Whopper
and Tommy were glad to see them, and immediately bustled about
to get them a good supper. Those left behind listened with interest
to the tale the others had to tell. When Shep told about the tracks
around the lonely cabin, tracks that had caused Jed Sanborn to ask
if they had seen a dog, Tommy looked greatly interested.
"Say!" he cried. "Do you suppose-----" And then he stopped short.
"Do we suppose what?" queried Shep.
"Oh, I suppose it couldn't be, but I was just thinking. Maybe that
isn't a crazy man at all."
"Well, what do you think it can be?" asked Giant.
"Maybe it's Abe, the runaway chimpanzee."