he other said, in a moment, after a casual survey
of the boy. "I'm a hunter and trapper. I saw the bears looking
in, and knew from the smoke coining out that there was a human
being in here, too. Knowing that bears and humans don't mix
remarkably well, I came in, too. That's all there is to it!"

"I guess they would have mixed with me all right in about a
minute," George said with a smile. "I had about abandoned hope!"

"How'd you get here?" asked Antoine.

George related the story of the adventures of the previous night,
omitting, however, any mention of the Little Brass God. While he
talked, there came to his mind an indistinct impression that the
face of the man he had seen sitting by the fire was the face of the
man who now stood before him.

He put the thought away instantly, for he did not believe that the
person who had left him on the floor of the cavern to die of cold
and exposure, or to be devoured by wild beasts, could be the same
who had so opportunely rescued him from death.

"You must be hungry, I take it," Antoine said, after the boy bad
concluded his recital. "Boys usually are hungry."

"You bet I'm hungry!" George replied.

Antoine glanced smilingly about at the two bears lying on the floor.

"Can you cook bear steak?" he asked.

"Can I?" repeated George.

Antoine pointed to the Boy Scout medals on the lad's coat sleeve.

"You have the Stalker and Pioneer medals," he said. "You ought to
know something about forestry."

"How do you know what they are?" smiled George.

"Oh," was the hesitating reply, "I know quite a lot about Boy Scout
work and training. Fine lot of fellows, those Boy Scouts!"

"Right you are!" declared George.

Antoine now drew forth a hunting knife which seemed to be as keen
as a razor and began removing the skins from the dead animals. He
worked swiftly and skillfully, and in a short time the making of
two fine black bear rugs were laying in the sun outside.

"Now," the man said, "you get busy with that steak over the coals,
and I'll tote in more wood. You don't seem quite up to carrying
heavy loads yet. That must be a bad wound."

"I think I must have lost considerable blood," George answered.

After the steak was nicely broiled, Antoine brought water from a
nearby stream, and the boy's head was carefully and rather
skillfully attended to.

"And now," said Antoine, "we'll go to my own home, which isn't far
away."

Without a word the boy followed t