me faintly, at last, and Jasper Grinder slowly opened his eyes,
"Oh!"

"Take it easy, Mr. Grinder," said Dick kindly. "You are safe now."

"But the bear! Where is the bear?" murmured the dazed man.

"There is no bear here."

"He is after me! He wants to chew me up!"

With this Jasper Grinder relapsed into unconsciousness once more.

"I reckon a b'ar chased him and he lost his reckonin'," was John
Barrow's comment. "Bring him up to the fire. He wants warmin'."

Yet, with all the care they were able to bestow, it was a good hour
before Jasper Grinder was able to sit up and relate what had occurred to
him. He was very hungry, and eagerly disposed of every scrap of food
they had to offer him.

"I have been lost in the timber since yesterday," he said. "Oh, it was
awful, the wind and the snow, and the intense cold. Sometimes I could
not feel my feet, and I knew I was freezing to death. And I hadn't a
mouthful to eat!"

"But where are the others?" questioned Dick.

"I don't know--back to that cave, I suppose. We were out looking for
some trace of--ahem--of Tom and Sam, when I became separated from the
others. Then, in trying to find my way back to the cave, I fell in with
a big black bear. The ugly creature came after me, and I ran for my
life, through the brushwood and the snow, until I came to a cliff. I
fell over this, landed on an icy slope, and rolled and rolled until I
struck the river. Then I got up and tried to get back to the cave, but
it was out of the question. I found an opening in the cliff, on going
back, and remained there until morning, when that bear, or another like
him, roused me and caused me another roll down to the river."

"Didn't the bear follow you?" asked Tom.

"He followed as far as the river. But I ran with all my might through
the deep snow, and presently he gave up the pursuit. Then I went on and
on until I happened to catch a glimpse of your camp-fire, and set up a
cry for help. I slipped on a rock and hit my cheek, and the loss of
blood and the shock made me dizzy. The next I knew I was here."

"You may be thankful that we found you and brought you in," was the
remark made by John Barrow. "If you had remained out there this night,
you'd 'a' been a corpse by mornin', sure!"

"I suppose that's true," said Jasper Grinder, with a thoughtful look.
His experience had humbled him greatly. He was so exhausted that he soon
fell asleep, breathing heavily. The boys and John Barrow gazed at