t.

Fritz took up his post at my side, while Jack and Ernest kept in the
rear. Our first shot was "a miss," as Jack said; but we took a sure aim
the next time, and both shots told. We would have let fly at them once
more from this spot, but as we thought we might hit our brave dogs, who
were now in the heat of a hard fight with their foes, we ran up close to
them.

"Now, Fritz," said I, "take a straight aim at the head of the first,
while I fire on the one at his back."

We both shot at once; the bears gave a loud growl, and then, with a
moan, fell dead at our feet.

As it was now time to go back, we put the bears in the cave, but took
care to cut off their paws, which form a dish fit to grace the feast of
a king.

We had a long walk back to the place where I had left my wife. The boys
told her what a hard fight the dogs had with the bears, and how Fritz
and I had shot them, and then gave her the paws. With the aid of Frank
she had fed our live stock and brought in wood to make up our watch fire
for the night, so we sat down to sup at once, and then went to rest.

Next day we put our beasts to the cart and drove as far as the bear's
den. As we came near to the spot a flock of birds flew out of the mouth
of the cave, two or three of which Fritz brought down with his gun. It
took us the whole day to cut up the bears. The hams were laid by to be
smoke dried; while my wife took charge of the fat and the skins.

CHAPTER XIII.

WE had now so much work to do, and the days and weeks came and went so
quick, that I do not think we should have known the time of year had it
not been for our log.

Some days were spent at the Cave, where we made our goods, ground our
flour, stored our food, and kept our tame live stock. Then we had to
take care of our crops in the fields near The Nest, and this took us two
or three days in each month. Once in ten days at least we went to the
Farm on the hill, and at the same time made a call at the Half Way
House; so that there was not a day that we had not our hands quite full.
Now and then we went out to hunt for sport or to add to our stock of
beasts, which had grown so large that there were few we could name that
had not been caught and brought home. We had birds of the air, fowls of
the land, and beasts of all kinds' from the great black ox of the plain
to the small wild RAB-BIT that came and made its hole close by our cave.

But there was one bird that we had not yet caught, tho