Bear could not have been in that attitude while standing.
Nay, there is more. The Great Bear sat down here not to rest but to think."

"It's just supposition with you, Tayoga."

"It is not supposition at all, Dagaeoga, it is certainty. Look, several
little pieces of the bark on the dead log where the Great Bear sat, are
picked off. Here are the places from which they were taken, and here are
the fragments themselves lying on the ground. The Great Bear must have been
thinking very hard and he must have been in great doubt to have had uneasy
hands, because, as you and I know, Dagaeoga, his mind and nerves are of the
calmest."

"What, then, do you think was on his mind?"

"He was undecided whether to go on towards Oneadatote or to turn back and
seek us anew. Here are three or four traces, a short and detached trail
leading in the direction from which we have come. Then the traces suddenly
turn. He sat down again and thought it over a second time."

"You can't possibly know that he resumed his seat on the log!"

"Oh, yes, I can, Dagaeoga. I wish all that we had to see was as easy,
because here is the second place on the log where he picked at the bark.
Mighty as the Great Bear is he cannot sit in two places at once. Not
Tododaho himself could do that."

"It's conclusive, and I find here at the end of the log his trail, leading
on toward the east."

"And he went fast, because the distance between his footprints lengthens.
But he did not do so long. He became very slow suddenly. The space between
the footprints shortens all at once. He turned aside, too, from his course,
and crept through the bushes toward the south."

"How do you know that he crept?"

"Because for many steps he rested his weight wholly on his toes. The traces
show it very clearly. The Great Bear was stalking something, and it was not
a foe."

"That, at least, is supposition, Tayoga."

"Not supposition, Dagaeoga, and while not absolute certainty it is a great
probability. The toeprints lead straight toward the tiny little lake that
you see shining through the foliage. It was game and not a foe that the
Great Bear was seeking. He wished to shoot a wild fowl. Look, the edge of
the lake here is low, and the tender water grasses grow to a distance of
several yards from the shore. It is just the place where wild ducks or wild
geese would be found, and the Great Bear secured the one he wanted. If you
will look closely, Dagaeoga, you will see the faint