heir skins were added
to the rapidly growing heap.

They baited the trap gun once more, hoping that a fifth cougar
might prove rash enough to dare it. No cougar came, but on the
third night a scornful grizzly swallowed the deer meat as a
tidbit, and got a bullet in the neck for his carelessness. In
his rage, he tore the trap to pieces and tossed the rifle to one
side, but, fortunately, he did not injure the valuable weapon,
his attention turning instantly to something else. Later on the
boys dispatched him as he lay wounded upon the ground.

Their old clothing was now about worn out and it also became
necessary to provide garments of another kind in order to guard
against the great cold. Here their furs became invaluable; they
made moccasins, leggings, caps, and coats alike of them, often
crude in construction, but always warm.

They found the beaver father in the mountains, as Dick had
surmised, and trapped them in great abundance. This was by far
their most valuable discovery, and they soon had a pack of sixty
skins, which Dick said would be worth more than a thousand
dollars in any good market. They also made destructive inroads
upon the timber wolves, the hides of which were more valuable
than those of any other wolf. In fact, they made such havoc that
the shrewd timber wolf deserted the valley almost entirely.

As the boys now made their fur hunting a business, they attended
to every detail with the greatest care. They always removed the
skin immediately after the death of the animal, or, if taken in a
trap, as soon after as possible. Every particle of fat or flesh
was removed from the inside of the skin, and they were careful at
the same time never to cut into the skin itself, as they knew
that the piercing of a fur with a knife would injure its value
greatly. Then the skin was put to dry in a cold, airy place,
free alike from the rays of the sun or the heat of a fire. They
built near the cabin a high scaffold for such purposes, too high
and strong for any wild beast to tear down or to reach the furs
upon it. Then they built above this on additional poles a
strongly thatched bark roof that would protect the skins from
rain, and there they cured them in security.

"I've heard," said Dick, "that some trappers put preparations or
compounds on the skins in order to cure them, but since we don't
have any preparations or compounds we won't use them. Besides,
our furs seem to cure up well enough with