s," he went on, "if you want to get a grizzly bear rug for
a Boy Scout club room in Chicago in the month of September."

"Yes," Tommy admitted, "I think the month of September was mentioned in
the information I received on the subject."

"And the best place to get a grizzly bear rug for a Boy Scout club room
in Chicago," Sandy laughed, "is in a range of foot hills built mostly of
limestone. You see," the lad continued, "water washes out limestone and
leaves caves and holes which the bears occupy. Sometimes these caves and
holes furnish accommodation for a whole family of baby bears, I have
heard, so we may be able to take a pet cub back to Chicago with us. That
would be pretty poor, I guess!"

"Well," Tommy said, rummaging the provision box, "if we start out to get
a couple of grizzly bear rugs for a Boy Scout club room in Chicago, we
probably won't get back before sunrise, so we may as well take a little
something to eat with us."

"Trust you for always taking something to eat with you!" laughed Sandy.
"It's a sure thing you'll never starve to death."

The boys provided themselves with plenty of sandwiches and a couple of
cans of pork and beans and, after seeing that the fire was safe and not
likely to spread to the tents and provisions, and after changing the
feeding ground of the burros so that they had plenty of grass, started
away toward the foothills.

"Of course," Tommy said as they walked along, "we may find Wagner while
we are looking for bear, and Will and George may find bear while they're
looking for Wagner. I've heard of such things before now."

The boys crossed the valley to the foothills and clambered up the slope
not far north of the spot where their chums and Chester had gained the
summit. They descended into the gulch, too, and turned to the left.

"Now," Tommy said, seating himself on the slope, "the moon ought to be
up in half an hour. I've heard that at the time the moon comes up bears
leave their beds in search of food. We'll just sit here on the slope and
watch the line of foothills."

"And I suppose," Sandy scoffed, "that you've got a notion in your nut
that a couple of grizzly bears will come walking out into the gulch,
take off their hides, and make you a present of them in a nice little
speech."

"Now don't get smart, Freshy!" exclaimed Tommy. "According to all
accounts, the walls of many of these foothills are punctured with
limestone caves. There's where the bears live. From wher