e isn't a bear! I see his feet! Bears don't wear--SHOES!"

Alas! Her cry came too late. As bruin reared himself old Peter's shot
rang out. An instant later, with such a cry as never issued from the
throat of any bear, he dropped to the veranda floor and lay there
motionless. The great bear hunt was over.

Five minutes later the grizzly rug was back on the floor of Leslie's
room and the lad who had masqueraded in it to frighten a few girls,
the over-zealous Mateo, lay on his own little bed with Doctor Jones
probing for the bullet which had entered his shoulder.

Fortunately, it had not lodged there but passed straight through leaving
a clean flesh wound which would promptly heal, the doctor said, but that
would keep unhappy Mateo in bed for a few days. He had feigned sickness
when there was none, dreading to act the part he had just so
unfortunately done. But the young master's will had been too strong and
the suggestion had been Mateo's own.

"The punishment, for once, has fallen upon the guilty person. You'll
have time to reflect, Mateo, that frightening timid people is scarcely a
manly pastime. I trust there'll be no more skylarking till Mr. Ford is
home. You will be kept upon a rigid diet till I order otherwise, and
good night."

So said the doctor, leaving his patient to his own thoughts and assuring
himself that all the young folks had retired to their rooms again. He
had administered no further reproofs--nor needed to do so. It was an
exceedingly crest-fallen trio of lads who disappeared from view, when
once the extent of Mateo's injury was learned, and a very quiet one.

But the excited girls were not so quiet. They had to talk it over,
simply had to!

"I thought it was queer all the boys were in their day clothes," said
Helena, with her arm about Molly, who was still shaking with fright, now
and then, despite the fact that the affair was all over.

"I noticed, too, but I thought they'd just dressed awful quick. But
suppose it _had_ been a real one--would it have eaten us up?" she begged
to know.

To which Alfy replied from her own room:

"No, Molly Breckenridge, don't be a goose. _We'd_ have eaten _him_
up, course. We'd have had bear steak for breakfast--Some say it's
good. Don't s'pose with all them men around they'd have let it live
very long? No, indeedy. But Matty did it real cute, after all, didn't
he? Must ha' been terrible hot, trampin' around under all that skin.
Well, we ought to go to sleep