which had come over me; and I saw him smile as Esau came up with his
arms full of dead wood for the fire, and directly after we were seated
at our meal.

If I had been alone I should have left that spot, beautiful as it was,
directly, and I have no hesitation in confessing that it was the most
uncomfortable meal I ever ate. But I kept my fears to myself, and only
once was caught by Gunson looking anxiously around at the slope clotted
with tree, bush, and clump of mossy rock, when his smile made me turn to
my tin mug of tea directly.

"I thought you would be the first ready," said Gunson, about half an
hour later, when the sun was shining over the shoulder of one of the
eastern mountains. "But look at Dean, how slow he is about shouldering
the pack, and--what's the matter with Quong?"

For that little individual suddenly came up smiling, with his hand under
his blouse.

As he came close up, he drew his tin plate from where it had been tucked
up his breast.

"Stop velly little while. Quong washee--see gole."

"Yes," said Gunson, giving me a meaning look, and then taking a step or
two nearer the stream; "it looks a likely place; but hallo, arn't these
bears' footprints?"

He pointed to the moist earth close to the water's edge, and both Esau
and the little fellow ran to look.

Directly after Quong came trotting back in a quick, comical manner,
tucking his plate up under his blouse, and seizing and shouldering his
pack, an example followed by Esau, who was the quicker of the two, and
he kept a sharp look out all the time.

"Now if you went behind that rock and roared, Gordon, or I was to fire
my piece, there would be a stampede."

I looked so ready to do what he first proposed, that Gunson said
seriously--

"No, no; we have no time to waste;" and we went on up the valley, both
Esau and Quong stepping out famously, while I was not at all sorry to
leave our baiting-place behind, my liking for bears being decidedly in
association with pits, and a pole up which they can climb for buns.

It was a wonderfully beautiful walk that morning, and we determined to
try and arrange our halts better, for at the end of about half an hour
we found that had we known we could have rested under a roof; two men,
who gave us a very friendly welcome, having started a rough kind of
ranch, in a level nook close down by the river. In fact they were
disposed to be so hospitable that they were half offended because we
went almost d