The travelers were destined not to be allowed to rest undisturbed. James Morris slept several hours when he was awakened by having a cold nose pressed against his face. He opened his eyes and sat up and at the same instant heard a low growl.
“A bear!” he yelled, as loudly as he could. “A bear! Two of them!”
The trader was right—two full-grown bears had entered the camp, evidently attracted by the smell of venison and bacon. As James Morris arose the bears retreated to another part of the shelter, one stepping directly upon Peaceful Jones.
“Git orf o’ me, ye sinner!” gasped the frontiersman, wrathfully. “Git orf, I say!” And then as the bear backed away, he reached for his rifle and tried to take aim. But Mr. Morris was in the way, and he did not dare to pull the trigger.
By this time the whole camp was in an uproar. Tony Jadwin tried to rise, but just as he did so one of the bears ran against him, pitching him down in such a fashion that one hand went into the smoldering fire.
“Great hamstrings!” roared the trapper, wiping the hot ashes from his hand. “What’s this mean? Two b’ars, eh? Shoot ’em, somebody! Shoot em!”
The bears were now evidently as much frightened as those who had been asleep, and tumbling against the rocks and the tree-roots they got out of the shelter and ran off along a stretch which the wind had swept clear of snow. The commotion made some dirt and snow fall on the fire, practically extinguishing it.
“Stir up that fire, Pomeroy,” said James Morris, as soon as something like quietness had been restored. The man addressed did so and piled on some light brushwood, so that they might look around them. They found much in disorder, and soon made the discovery that the bears had carried off every pound of the meat.
“They didn’t do it just now,” said Tony Jadwin. “They must have made two trips o’ it. Likely they didn’t get enough the first time. Drat the luck, anyway! We kin shoot some more venison, but we can’t git no bacon, an’ bacon is what I like best.” In those days deer meat was so plentiful among the hunters that many grew tired of eating it, just as many farmers to-day get tired of eating chickens.
Had it been daylight some of the party would have been in favor of following the bears up and shooting them. But this was voted out of the question in the darkness, and so they retired once more, leaving one man, however, to remain on guard and attend to the fire.