Ben came running down, rifle in hand, and quickly lighted the lantern, which they had prudently extinguished when they took their stand. Calling to them to follow, he dashed off on the trail of the wounded bear.
“He’s hard hit; you must have been pretty close,” he declared, when they had gone some distance, and he stooped to examine the tracks. “See how he’s dragging one leg?” And he held the lantern so they could see the telltale mark on the snow.
In spite of its injuries, the animal was galloping along in a series of short jumps. Should he hold to his pace it would be impossible for the trailers to overtake him.
After they had tracked the bear some distance and noted that he was continuing the pace, Ben declared it useless to try to come up with him before morning. He said they would start at daylight and track the bear to its den.
“He’s a big one; and unless he’s dead by the time we come up with him, there’ll likely be some fun,” he promised.
When they reached the cabin, the boys told how the unwelcome visitor had almost run into them. Ben laughed when they acknowledged how startled they had been, and said they had done well to shoot, but declared that shotguns were not appropriate weapons for such large game.
Once during the night the lads awakened and thought they again heard the savage roar of the wounded bear. They called to Ben, who sat up in his bunk and listened drowsily for some minutes. Finally he laughed and said they must have been dreaming. He advised them to go to sleep, so as to be in good shape for the hunt on the morrow.
XI
AN ADVENTURE WITH A BEAR
Next morning the two eager young hunters were awake and up long before daylight. They carefully oiled and inspected their rifles, while Ben cooked breakfast. The boys were too excited to eat, but each put a substantial lunch in the rear pocket of his hunting-coat.