The boys opened the door a little and peered out. There, looming up in the dim starlight, was a huge black animal, picking up scraps of meat and digging up the tins that were buried in the garbage hole. All doubts were dispelled. Guy had another triumph, and he would have expressed his feelings to the full but for fear of the monster outside.
"What had we better do?"
"Better not shoot him with arrows. That'll only rile him. Guy, you blow up the coals and get a blaze."
All was intense excitement now, "Oh, why haven't we got a gun!"
"Say, Sam, while Sap—I mean Hawkeye—makes a blaze, let's you and me shoot with blunt arrows, if the Bear comes toward the teepee." So they arranged themselves, Guy puttering in terror at the fire and begging them not to shoot.
"What's the good o' riling him? It—it—it's croo-oo-el."
Sam and Yan stood with bows ready and arrows nocked.
Guy was making a failure of the fire, and the Bear began nosing nearer, champing his teeth and grunting. Now the boys could see the great ears as the monster threw up its head.
"Let's shoot before he gets any nearer." At this Guy promptly abandoned further attempts to make a fire and scrambled up on a cross stick that [469] was high in the teepee for hanging the pot. He broke out into tears when he saw Sam and Yan actually drawing their bows.
"He'll come in and eat us, he will."