BRINGING DOWN TWO BEARS.
"Bears!" burst out Sam, and started back in alarm.
"Bears!" shrieked Jasper Grinder, and turned as pale as death. "Oh,
somebody save me!" He wanted to run, but he was in such a tremble he
could not, and sank on his knees in the snow in terror.
Crack! It was the report of John Barrow's rifle, and one of the bears
was hit full in the left eye. Crack! went the piece Dick carried, and
the other bear was hit in the neck. Then Tom fired the shotgun which had
been found on Jasper Grinder, and the bear Dick had hit was wounded in
the side.
Of course there followed a terrible uproar, and in a twinkle both bears
left the pile of rocks and came toward those who had wounded them. The
one that had been wounded in the eye was mortally hit, however, and
staggered in a heap before he had gone ten paces.
But the second bear was full of fight, and his course was directly for
Tom. Before the lad could run the beast was almost on top of him.
"Dodge him!" called out Dick. "Dodge him, Tom!"
"Shoot him, somebody!" yelled back Tom. "Shoot him, quick!"
And then he dodged behind some nearby brush. But the bear was almost as
quick, and ran directly into the brushwood, to face him on the opposite
side.
By this time John Barrow had the rifle reloaded, and now he skirted the
brushwood, followed by Dick. Crack! went the rifle again, just as bruin
was about to pounce upon Tom. But the bullet merely clipped the hair on
the bear's back, and in a twinkle the beast was on Tom and had the lad
down.
With his heart in his throat, Dick made a leap with the shotgun. Bang!
went the piece, when he was not over three yards from the bear. The
charge entered the beast's ear, and with a snort he rolled over and over
in the snow, sending it flying in every direction.
Freed of the bear, Tom lost no time in scrambling to his feet. Soon the
struggles of the beast ceased, and they knew he was either dying or
dead. To make sure, John Barrow stepped in, hunting knife in hand, and
plunged the blade into his throat. Then the other bear was served in the
same fashion.
The fight had been of short duration, yet the peril had been extreme,
and after it was over poor Tom found he could scarcely stand. Dick led
him to a rock and set him down, asking him if he was hurt.
"I got a scratch on the arm, but I reckon it's not much," was the faint
answer. "But it was a close call, wasn't it?"
"Those bears must have been awfully hungry, or they wouldn't have put up
such a fight," said the guide. "Their being at the cache proves they
wanted food."
"Well, we've got the food now," returned Dick grimly. "We'll have all
the bear steaks and roasts anybody wants."
"Yes, and I can tell you a juicy steak will just be boss!" put in Sam
enthusiastically.
It was seen that Tom was hurt more than he cared to admit, and the
others lost no time in building a big camp-fire, that they might warm
themselves, while Dick took off his brother's coat, rolled up his
shirt-sleeves, and bandaged an ugly scratch with a bit of linen.
"You can help here," said John Barrow to Jasper Grinder. "I'll fix it as
your duty to keep the fire a-goin'. There is a hatchet and there is the
brushwood. Don't let the fire go down, or I'm afraid there won't be
enough heat for cooking your supper." And the guide smiled grimly.
At this indirect threat Jasper Grinder scowled. But he did not dare to
complain, and was soon at work cutting brushwood and dragging it to the
spot.
"Gosh, but he's not used to hard work," was Sam's whispered comment.
"I'll wager he doesn't like that for a cent."
"It's time he was set to work doing something," answered Dick. "It will
keep him from getting into mischief."
As late as it was, and although all were tired out from their long walk
through the deep snow, they found it necessary to construct some shelter
for the night. The guide located a number of cedars growing close
together, and this spot was cleaned out and made as comfortable as
circumstances permitted. The fire was shoved over to the new location,
and then John Barrow cut up one of the bears and procured a big juicy
steak for supper. It is needless to say that all enjoyed the treat set
before them, even Jasper Grinder eating his full share.
"We'll hang the meat up on a tree," said John Barrow. "If we don't some
hungry foxes or other wild animals will surely be after it." And
procuring the necessary ropes, he flung them over some limbs and all
hauled the carcasses up, Tom, of course, being excused from the task,
because of his wounded arm.
The wind had gone down, and when all retired within the shelter not a
sound but the merry crackling of the fire broke the stillness around
them. In front of the camp was a long stretch of the pond, now thickly
covered with snow; in the rear a slope of a mountain, rock-ribbed and
covered with cedars and hemlock. To the left was located one of the
branches of the river and a hundred yards distant was a second branch.
At first John Barrow had thought to set a guard for the night, but as
the spot seemed free from danger for the time being, this was dispensed
with, and all went to bed, to sleep soundly until sunrise.
"And now for the treasure hunt!" cried Sam, who was among the first to
awaken. "It's just a perfect day, and we ought to accomplish a good
deal, if we set to work right after breakfast."
He talked freely, for Jasper Grinder was still asleep--snoring lustily
in a corner of the shelter. John Barrow was already outside, boiling
coffee, broiling another bear steak, and preparing a pot of beans for
cooking. He had likewise set some bread for raising.
"Goin' to give you a breakfast as is a breakfast," said the guide; with
a broad smile. "Reckon all of you are ready for it, eh?"
"I am," said Dick. "Phew! but this mountain air does give one a
tremendous appetite!"
While Jasper Grinder still slept Dick brought forth the precious map
and studied the description, and also the translation of the French text
into English, which Randolph Rover had made for them.
"'To find the box of silver and gold, go to where Bear Pond empties into
Perch River,'" he read. "Well, we are at this spot, or, at least, at one
of the spots. It may mean this branch, and it may mean one of several
others."
"We can try one branch after another," put in Sam. "Go on with the
description."
"'Ten paces to the west is a large pine tree which was once struck by
lightning,'" continued Dick. He looked around. "I don't see any tree
like that around here."
"You must remember, my lad, that that writin' was put down years ago,"
said John Barrow. "More'n likely if the tree was struck an' blasted,
it's fallen long ago, and the spring freshets carried it down the
river."
"That's true," said Sam, with a falling look. "But, anyway, we ought to
be able to locate the stump."
"Yes, we ought to be able to do that."
"I'm going to locate it now," cried Sam, and stalked off to where the
pond emptied into the stream. From this spot he stalked ten paces
westward, and of a sudden disappeared from view.
"Help!" he cried.
"Hullo, Sam's disappeared!" cried Dick, and ran toward the spot.
"Look out!" sang out John Barrow. "There may be a nasty hole there!"
Nevertheless, he too went forward, and they soon beheld Sam floundering
in snow up to his neck. He had stepped into a hollow between the rocks,
and it took him some time to extricate himself from the unpleasant
position.
"Oh, my, what a bath!" he exclaimed ruefully, as he tried to get the
snow from out of his collar and his coat-sleeves. "I--I didn't think of
a pitfall like that!"
"You want to be careful how you journey around here," cautioned John
Barrow. "If that hollow had been twice as deep the snow might have
smothered you to death."
"I will be careful," answered Sam. "I don't want any more snow down my
back and up my coat-sleeves," and he hurried back to the camp-fire to
warm himself.
By this time Tom was outside, and he was followed by Jasper Grinder, and
presently all sat down close to the blaze to enjoy the generous
breakfast the guide had provided. Tom said that his arm was a little
stiff, but that otherwise he felt as well as ever.