“I’ll tol’ Leo those boy she’ll been all right,” said Moise. “I’ll been out with those boy when she’ll ain’t one year so old as he is now, and she’s good honter then, heem. Those boy she’ll not get scare’. Better for those bear he’ll get scare’ and ron off!”
Accordingly, there were five rifles in the party which at length started up the mountain after Moise and George had gone back down the trail to the main camp on the river. They climbed upward in country now grown very steep, and at last turned into a high, deep gorge out of which came a brawling stream of milky-colored ice-water, some twenty or thirty yards across. Without hesitation Leo plunged in and waded across, proving the stream to be not much more than knee-deep. And truth to say, Uncle Dick was proud of his young comrades when, without a word or a whimper, they unhesitatingly plunged in also and waded through after their leader. Nothing was said about the incident, but it was noticeable that Leo seemed more gracious thereafter toward the young hunters, for pluck is something an Indian always admires.
“Now, Leo,” said Uncle Dick, when after a steady march of some time they had reached the foot of a slide perhaps half a mile or so in extent, which lay like a big gash of green on the face of the black mountain slope, “I suppose this is where we make our first hunt.”
Leo nodded, and began to feel in his pockets for some cartridges.
“Now never mind about loading up your magazine any more than it is, Leo,” went on the other, “and just pump out the shells from your rifle. If there’s any bear-killing done by this party this afternoon these boys are going to do it, and you and I will only serve as backing guns in case of trouble. My gun’s loaded, but I know you well enough, Leo, old man, not to let you load your gun just yet awhile—you’d be off up the hill if we saw a bear, and you’d have it killed before any of the others got a chance for a shot. You just hold your horses for a while, neighbor, and give my boys a chance.”
“Me no like,” said Leo, rather glumly. “Me heap kill ’um grizzlum.”
“Not this evening! These boys hunt ’um grizzlum this evening, Leo. They’ve come a long way, and they have to begin sometime. You live in here, and can kill plenty of bear any time you like. Besides, if any one of these boys kills a bear this afternoon I’m going to give you twenty dollars—that’ll be about as good as though you killed one yourself and got nothing but your wages, won’t it, Leo?”
Leo broke out into a broad smile. “All right,” said he. “But please, when you come on bear, let me load gun.”
“Certainly,” said Uncle Dick. “I’m not going to ask any man to stand in front of a grizzly with an empty rifle. But I’m not going to let you shoot until the time comes, believe me.”
The boys found it right cold sitting about in this high mountain air with their clothing still wet from their fording of the stream. They could see on ahead of them the flattened valley of the creek which they had ascended, and Leo promised that perhaps on the next day they would move their camp farther in that direction and so avoid fording the icy torrent twice a day.