e day's hunt.

* * *

We were up early the next morning and had our lunch packed in our
knapsack, ready for an early start. It had turned warm during the
night and the light snow that was on the ground, was fast
disappearing. So we lost no time in getting back to where we had left
Bruin's track the night before. We could still manage to follow the
trail on the snow and we soon found where Bruin had broken down a few
laurel and tried to make a bed. But he would not stop long,
apparently, when he would move on for a short distance and again
break down a few laurels as before to make a nest. We could see a
little more blood at each place where he stopped than the one before.

We were working the trail as cautious as we could, when we heard a
noise in the thick laurel to our left and got a glimpse of Bruin
going through the laurel. We emptied both barrels of our guns in the
direction where we could see the brush wiggle, but all of our shots
failed to take effect. Bruin now left this laurel patch, crossed a
ravine and began to climb another spur of the main ridge. We did not
follow the trail long, when we discovered that it was becoming hard
work for Bruin to travel far at a time, as he would stop to rest. The
snow was now gone so that it was a little more difficult to follow
the trail of the bear. We thought that it would be better for one of
us to go up the ravine to the top of the ridge and stand about where
he thought that the bear would come out at the top of the ridge. Mr.
Howard went to the ridge, while I was to follow the bear's trail.

After waiting long enough to give Mr. Howard time to get to the top
of the ridge, I took up the trail of the bear. I had not gone far
when I came to a bed, where the bear had stopped for a time. I was
now sure Mr. Howard would get to his watching place before the bear
reached the top of the hill. I was not mistaken, for it was not long
until I heard Mr. Howard fire both barrels of his gun in rapid
succession. I thought when I heard the two shots that the bear hunt
was surely over, but after listening a few moments and hearing
nothing from Mr. Howard I was then unable to give a guess what he had
done. I worked along on the trail until near the top of the hill when
I saw Mr. Howard standing with head down and bearing the expression
of a motherless colt.

When I got up to him he said that the bear had stopped near the brow
of the ridge and when he came in sight, the bear started ac