nd hunters
usually adopt this plan, when they have no time to wait for a regular
"jerking."

The second cub was singed, and cut up without skinning, as pork usually
is. It was roasted, to be ready for eating at once--as they designed
bringing it "to the table" before many hours.

While the meat was drying, Basil melted some of the fat in the kettle,
which fortunately was one of the utensils that still remained. With
this fat--which beyond a doubt was genuine _bear's grease_--he anointed
poor Jeanette's shanks, that had been almost clean skinned by the teeth
of the javalies. She had been suffering with them ever since, and the
application of the bear's grease seemed to give her great relief.

CHAPTER TWENTY.

A NOCTURNAL ADVENTURE.

When night came again the young hunters went to sleep by the fire. As
it had suddenly grown chilly, they lay with their feet towards it, such
being the usual practice of hunters when sleeping by a fire. When the
feet are warm, the remainder of the body can easily be kept so; but, on
the contrary, when one's feet become cold, it is scarcely possible to
sleep. They were not troubled with cold, and all three were soon
sleeping soundly.

From the necessity of supplying the barbecue every now and then with
fresh embers, a large fire had been kept up during the day. It still
continued to blaze and crackle in a bright red pile. The meat remained
resting upon the saplings, where it had been placed to dry.

No one had thought of keeping watch. When camping out at night, in
their hunting expeditions in the swamps of Louisiana, they had not
accustomed themselves to this habit, and they did not think of its being
necessary here. It is the fear of Indians alone that causes the prairie
traveller to keep sentry during the live-long night; but our young
hunters had much less fear of them than might be supposed. There had
been as yet no hostilities in this quarter between whites and Indians;
besides, Basil knew that he carried a token of friendship should the
latter come upon them.

They had not been more than half-an-hour asleep when a growl from
Marengo awoke them. They all started up into a sitting posture, and
looked anxiously out into the darkness. They could see nothing strange.
The great trunks of the trees, with the long silvery moss of whitish
hue, were glistening in the light of the still blazing fire. All the
space between was gloomy and black as ebony. They could hear