Snap walked slowly to the very mouth of the cave and peered inside.
Nothing was to be seen. He picked up a stone and threw it inside.
Not a sound but the falling of the stone followed.
"I believe the bear has gone," he announced. "I can't hear a thing."
"He may be playing a trick on you, Snap," said Giant.
"No, I think he has run away, by some back door, as you might call it."
One after another the young hunters approached the mouth of the cave timidly and peered inside. As their eyes became accustomed to the gloom they made out that the cave was of good size. The other end was lost in the shadows.
It had now begun to rain steadily, and to keep from getting soaked they stepped into the mouth of the cave, taking with them several dry sticks and some dry leaves from the bottom of the outer hole. These they lit, and used the sticks for torches. They saw at once that the cave was really a bears' den, for the bones of numerous animals lay scattered over the uneven flooring. But no bears were in sight, and this made them bolder and more willing to inspect their surroundings.
"I believe that bear ran away," said Snap, at last. "For all we know, we'll never see him again."
"Well, I want to see him, but not at too close range," answered the doctor's son.
They soon discovered that the cave was very irregular in shape, running around under the mountain in something of the form of a double letter S. In some places the roof was far overhead while in others it came down in sharp rocks that they could readily touch with their hands.
"A fellow could camp out here, if he wanted to," said Snap, as he gazed around in curiosity.