quietly, pointed through an opening in the
bushes. There, lying before them in a little glade, lay a vast, black
body, motionless.

Rob grounded his rifle-butt, almost in disappointment, but later
expressed his satisfaction.

"Now, boys, I got him," said he, "and I guess it's just as well he
didn't have to wait till now for us to come. But speaking of
trailing, Moise, you certainly know your business."

"Oh yes," said Moise, "every man in this country he'll mus' know how
to trail, else he'll go hongree some tam. My onkle she'll taught me
how for follow trail."

"Well," said Alex, "here's some more meat to get down to the boat, I
suppose, and we need meat badly, too. We ought not to waste it, but if
we take it all on board we'll have to hurry to get down to Peace River
Landing with it, because it is more than we can possibly eat."

The two older hunters now drew their big buffalo knives and fell to
work skinning and dismembering the carcass of the bear, the boys
helping as they could. It was plainly the intention of Alex and Moise
to make one trip with meat and hide.

In order to carry the green bear hide--always a slippery and awkward
thing to pack--Moise now showed a little device often practised, as he
said, among the Crees. He cut two sharpened sticks, each about a
couple of feet in length, and placing these down on the hide, folded
the hide around them, so that it made a sharp, four-cornered pack. He
lashed the hide tightly inside these four corners, and then lifting it
up and down, smilingly showed the boys that the green hide now would
not slip, but would remain in place, thus making a much better pack.
He slung his belt at the corners of the pack, and then motioned to
Alex to throw up on top of his pack one of the hams of the bear which
had been detached from the carcass. When Moise got his load he started
off at a trot, taking a course different from that on which they had
come.

Alex in turn used his belt and some thongs he had in making a pack of
the remainder of the meat, which, heavy as it seemed, he managed to
shoulder, leaving the boys nothing to carry except the skull of the
bear, which they had expressed a wish to retain with the robe.

"Do you suppose we'll ever get to be men as strong as that?" asked Rob
in a whisper, pointing to the solitary figure of the breed now passing
rapidly down the slope.

"I didn't know anybody was so strong," admitted Jesse. "They must be
pretty good men, I'm th