ey are tunneling in for us,"
said Sullivan. "They want those hams; but they won't get them."

After a time the bears quit digging and started away, occasionally
stopping to look hesitatingly back. It was almost eleven o'clock, and
the full moon shone splendidly through the pines. The prospectors
hoped that the bears were gone for good. There was an old rifle in
the cabin, but there were no cartridges, for Sullivan and Jason never
hunted and rarely had occasion to fire a gun. But, fearing that the
animals might return, Sullivan concluded to go to one of the vacant
cabins for a loaded Winchester which he knew to be there.

As soon as the bears disappeared, he crawled out of the window and
looked cautiously around; then he made a run for the vacant cabin.
The bears heard him running, and when he had nearly reached the cabin,
they came round the corner of it to see what was the matter. He was up
a pine tree in an instant. After a few growls the bears moved off and
disappeared behind a vacant cabin. As they had gone behind the cabin
which contained the loaded gun, Sullivan thought it would be dangerous
to try to make the cabin, for if the door should be swelled fast, the
bears would surely get him. Waiting until he thought it safe to
return, he dropped to the ground and made a dash for his own cabin.
The bears heard him and again gave chase, with the evident intention
of getting even for all their annoyances. It was only a short distance
to his cabin, but the bears were at his heels when he dived in through
the broken window.

A bundle of old newspapers was then set on fire and thrown among the
bears, to scare them away. There was some snarling, until one of the
young bears with a stroke of a fore paw scattered the blazing papers
in all directions; then the bears walked round the cabin-corner out
of sight and remained quiet for several minutes.

Just as Jason was saying, "I hope they are gone for good," there came
a thump on the roof which told the prospectors that the bears were
still intent on the hams. The bears began to claw the earth off the
roof. If they were allowed to continue, they would soon clear off the
earth and would then have a chance to tear out the poles. With a few
poles torn out, the bears would tumble into the cabin, or perhaps
their combined weight might cause the roof to give way and drop them
into the cabin. Something had to be done to stop their clawing and if
possible get them off the roof. Bundl