"A bear!" ejaculated Fred.
"Yes, a bear, that must have had his winter den in that big log. He was hibernating there, and our fire burned into his den and roused him out. That's all."
"Quite enough, I should think," said Maurice. "Bears are ugly-tempered when they're disturbed from their winter dens, I've heard. He's got possession of our camp, now. What'll we do?"
"We'll freeze if we don't do something pretty quick," Fred added.
In fact the boys were standing in stockinged feet in the snow, and the night was bitterly cold. All looked quiet in what they could see of the camp.
"I don't see why one of us hadn't the wit to grab a gun!" said Peter bitterly.
He turned and began to wade back cautiously toward the camp. The other boys followed him, till they were close enough to look into the pit. No animal was in sight.
"Perhaps he's bolted out the other side," muttered Peter. "Who's going to go down there and find out?"
Nobody volunteered. If the bear was still in the camp he must be under the roofed-over shelter, and, in fact, as they stood shivering and listening they heard a sound of stirring about under the cedar poles of the roof.
"He's there!" exclaimed Fred.