On nearing the spot where he had first encountered the bear, his ears caught the sound of some one treading softly. As he slipped behind a tree trunk and fitted an arrow to his bowstring, he heard Raven Wing's voice calling.
"Thought at first you might be the mate of the bear I killed a while ago," cried Hawk Eye, coming out into the open.
"What! You say you have slain a bear?" exclaimed Raven Wing, dropping a couple of prairie chickens which he had shot.
"Come, I will show you my kill," answered Hawk Eye.
"I was following your trail from the hillside when I caught sight of you at the edge of the timber," explained Raven Wing. "From what I now see of the trail I should judge you were being chased by the bear."
"I was," admitted Hawk Eye, with a grin. "But it was no laughing matter at the time, as you will soon see for yourself."
Presently they came to the rocky, flat open space. As Raven Wing advanced and caught sight of the animal's huge form lying close to the base of the giant boulder, he uttered a cry of amazement.
"What a bear!" he cried. "But look! Someone has already removed the claws."
"They are safe in my doeskin pouch," answered Hawk Eye. "I wished to make sure of a necklace of bear claws before leaving the body."