He whistled more loudly than ever and walked bravely on.
"I wonder if there are any bears in these woods," he was thinking. "Tom Shaw's father saw a bear on the mountain last week. Tom says he would like to meet one. I should run if I heard a bear coming."
Nathan stopped a moment to listen. His heart beat fast. He could feel it thump, thump, thump against his jacket. But there was no sound except the breaking of twigs and the rustling of leaves under the heavy step of the cows.
"Home at last!" said Nathan.
His father heard him open the great gate, and came out with a light.
Nathan stood aside to let the cows go through the gateway. He always counted them as they went through.
One, two, three, four, five—one, two, three, four, five—Nathan rubbed his eyes. Then he counted again. One, two, three, four, five, six! Where did the sixth cow come from? Was it a cow? It looked more like a dog.
"Father!" cried Nathan. "Here's a bear with the cows!"
Mr King laughed. He had opened the barn door. The cows were going in, one by one.
"What a boy you are!" he said. "You and Tom Shaw—why, it is a bear!"