first remove,
putting great stones in their place; and we proceeded to do so. In a
few minutes that was accomplished: the grass and leaves were staffed in;
some tufts were set on fire and thrust through; more rubbish was piled
on top, until it reached up on a level with the hole; and then the hole
was closed with a bundle of grass, so as to prevent the smoke from
escaping.

"In a few moments we saw that everything was progressing as we had
intended it. A blue rope of smoke came oozing out of the bee-hole, and
the terrified bees swarmed out in clusters. We had not thought of this
before, else we might have saved ourselves the trouble of making the
gloves and masks.

"Bruin soon began to give tongue. We could hear him high up the tree
snarling and growling fiercely. Every now and then he uttered a loud
snort, that sounded like an asthmatic cough. After a while his growls
changed into a whine, then a hideous moan, and then the sounds ceased
altogether. The next moment we heard a dull concussion, as of a heavy
body falling to the earth. We knew it was the bear, as he tumbled from
his perch.

"We waited for some minutes. There was no longer any stir--no sound
issued from the tree. We removed the grass from the upper hole. A
thick volume of smoke rolled out. The bear must be dead. No creature
could live in such an atmosphere. I introduced my ramrod through the
opening. I could feel the soft hairy body of the animal, but it was
limber and motionless. It was dead. Feeling convinced of this, at
length, we removed the rocks below, and dragged it forth. Yes, the bear
was dead,--or, at all events, very like it; but, to make the thing sure,
Cudjo gave him a knock on the head with his axe. His long, shaggy hair
was literally filled with dead and dying bees, that, like himself, had
been suffocated with the smoke, and had fallen from their combs.

"We had hardly settled the question of the bear, when our attention was
called to another circumstance, which was likely to trouble us. We
perceived that the tree was on fire. The decayed heart-wood that lined
the cavity inside had caught fire from the blazing grass, and was now
crackling away like fury. Our honey would be lost!

"This was a grievous _finale_, after all--in short, a complete
disappointment to our hopes, for we had calculated on having honey on
our table at supper.

"What could we do to save it? But one thing, that was evident:--cut
down the tree