ttle valley had proved themselves his friends, and he
felt an actual grief for those that had been slain.

It was the truth that in these days of hiding and waiting Henry was
reverting to some ancient type, not one necessarily ruder or more
ferocious, but a primitive golden age in its way, in which man and beast
were more nearly friends. There was proof in the fact that birds hopped
about within a foot or two of him and showed no alarm, and that a rabbit
boldly rested among the leaves not a yard away.

It would be, in truth, his happy valley were it not for the presence of
the Indians. But they were drawing nearer. Call now answered to call,
and they were only a few hundred yards away. He divined that they had
threshed up most of the maze, and that a close circle was being drawn
about him in the bowl. The next night, when he went out for water, he
caught a glimpse of warriors stalking in the brush, and he did not
believe that his lair would hide him more than a day or two longer. He
must find some way to creep through the ring, but, for the present, he
could think of none.

Another day passed, and he did not sleep at all in the night that
followed, as the warriors were so near now that his keen ear often heard
them moving, and once the sound of the men talking to one another came
to him distinctly. It was obvious that he must soon make his attempt to
break through the ring. Fortunately the night was foggy again, and while
he was deliberating anew, concentrating all the power of his mind upon
the attempt to find a plan, he heard a faint rustle in the thicket
directly in front of him, and he instantly threw his rifle forward, sure
that the warriors were upon him. Instead, a shambling figure poked its
head through the thicket and looked curiously at him out of little red
eyes.

It was the black bear that he had ousted, and Henry thought he saw
sympathy as well as curiosity in the red eyes. The bear, far from
upbraiding him for driving it from its home, had pity, and no fear at
all. He could not see any sign of either alarm or hostility in the red
eyes. The gaze expressed kinship, and his own was reciprocal.

"I hope the warriors won't get you, but you're running a mighty big
risk," was his thought. Then came a second thought quick upon the heels
of the first. How had the bear come through the ring of the warriors?
Had the Indians seen it they would certainly have shot at it, because
they loved bear meat. Not only had