to her heart, and she ran to meet her.

"Hecla, Hecla, old friend, what is it?" cried the mother, as the
faithful canine, panting from the hard run, capered breathlessly about
her mistress, wagging her tail and quivering with excitement.

"Can't you tell me, Hecla? Is my baby safe?"

For answer the dog gave several glad barks, and barking and capering,
plainly invited her mistress to follow her and see that she brought
good news.

The mother, whose arms seemed so empty, was only too glad to do this.
It had only been because of her husband's stern command and for fear
that her presence might defeat the enterprise, that she had stayed at
home at all.

With the trained sight of a woodsman, John saw them coming long before
his wife saw him, and he hallooed to them at the top of his voice.

"It's all right, mother," he cried, "I've got little John."

A few seconds later he placed the baby in its mother's arms and sank
down in the snow exhausted from his long, hard run.

When he had recovered his breath and had gasped out a few words of
explanation, all hurried back to the farmhouse, the old dog leading the
way.

In half an hour's time the cozy kitchen was righted. The door had been
rehung and the accustomed warmth and good cheer had returned to the
room, where the kettle hummed and the clock ticked just as though
nothing had happened.

But to the young couple, who sat by the fireside talking it over, that
last half hour seemed like a nightmare.

The following morning, when the first faint streak of daylight was
whitening the east, the young farmer and his faithful dog again took
the trail for the woods.

How different was their going now, from that of the night before!
Then, an awful fear had gripped the man's heart, and the sympathetic
dog had felt her master's misery; but now, the man's step was quick and
joyous, and the dog bounded about him with barks of delight.

The tracks made the night before were still quite plain, and they soon
came to the beech where the bear had stood when the hair-raising shot
was made. There lay the great carcass in the snow just as it had the
night before.

The coat was long and glossy, of a deep black on the outside, and
rather lighter on the under side. Her forearms were strong and her
claws were most ample. Her jaw was massive, and altogether she was a
beast that one would not care for a close acquaintance with, especially
if she thought her young were in danger.

I