ther side of the
bear so that the wind would not carry his scent to the bear. Finally he
got within one hundred yards of the bear. The latter then showed signs
of uneasiness, and as there were some thick woods near Pierre thought
that he had better not take a further chance.

He gave the bear one shot, which hit him in the shoulder. The bear, in a
frenzy, rushed straight at him. He had only an old-fashioned rifle and
before he could break his gun and put in another cartridge the bear was
only a few feet away. Taking hasty aim at the glaring eye of the bear,
he pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the bear plump in the eye and he
dropped dead in his tracks.

"Gosh!" said Pud. "I don't know what I'd do if I saw a wounded bear
coming right at me. I guess I'd drop my gun and run."

"That would be the worst thing you could do, for in spite of their size,
bears are remarkably active, and they go through the woods like a
streak," said Mr. Waterman.

"I bet that you'd stand your ground, all right," said Bob. "You've lots
of nerve, Pud, and that's all that's necessary in a pinch."

"I suppose I would, but at the same time, I am not aching for the
experience," answered Pud.

"Men are generally braver than they think," said Mr. Waterman. "I've
known pretty poor sort of fellows that would stand up in a pinch and
fight like sin, either against some animal like the bear, or even
against their fellows."

"I think that that's so," said Bob. "You know that in time of war,
practically everybody enlists."

"Yes," said Pud, "but some of them are really forced to do it by public
opinion."

"That's very true," replied Bob, "but even the fellows that do not care
to enlist are just as brave as the others when a battle comes."

The conversation drifted on until at last Mr. Waterman looked at his
watch and piled them all off to their blankets. They were up early the
following morning. After a hearty breakfast they set out down the
stream. This proved so small that they were compelled to get out of
their canoes and portage. A half hour later they came into another lake,
which both Pierre and Mr. Waterman recognized at once.

"I've been here before," said Mr. Waterman. "The outlet of this lake
leads directly north, so that we shall hit the Portneuf River some
seventy miles from its mouth. They journeyed on, and by that night they
had reached the river.

"We'll have some fast water that we had not counted on when we left,"
said Mr. Wa