“Maybe that’s so,” responded Balser. “I know that cats and owls can see better by night, but I didn’t know about bears. How do you know it’s true?”
“How do I know? Why, didn’t that there bear make a bee-line for this place last night, and wasn’t last night as dark as the inside of a whale, and don’t they go about at night more than in the daytime? Tell me that. When do they steal sheep and shoats? In daytime? Tell me that. Ain’t it always at night? Did you ever hear of a bear stealing a shoat in the daytime? No, sirree; but they can see the littlest shoat that ever grunted, on the darkest night,—see him and snatch him out of the pen and get away with him quicker than you or I could, a durned sight.”
“I never tried; did you, Polly?” asked Balser.
Polly wasn’t above suspicion among those who knew him, and Balser’s question slightly disconcerted him.
“Well, I—I—durned if that ain’t the worst fool question I ever heerd a boy ask,” answered Polly. Then, somewhat anxious to change the conversation, he continued:—
“What night do you propose to come down here? To-morrow night?”
“No, not for a week. Not till seven nights after to-night,” answered Balser, mindful of the charm which he hoped Liney’s prayers would make for him.
“Seven nights? Geminy! I’m afraid I’ll get scared of this place by that time. I’ll bet this is an awful place at night; nothing but great chunks of blackness in these here gullies, so thick you could cut it with a knife. I’m not afraid now because I’m desperate. I’m so afraid of dyin’ because I saw the Fire Bear that I don’t seem to be afraid of nothin’ else.”
Polly was right. There is nothing like a counter-fear to keep a coward’s courage up.
After they were warm and had rested, Balser and Polly went out of the cave and took another survey of the surrounding country from the top of the hill. They started homeward, and reached the cozy cabin on Blue River soon after sunset, tired, hungry, and cold. A good warm supper soon revived them, and as it had been agreed that Polly should remain at Mr. Brent’s until after the Fire Bear hunt, they went to bed in the loft and slept soundly till morning.