He finished removing it at last, and rolled it up to be taken home. It would need to be washed free of the blood-stains and combed as well, for there were at least a hundred bees tangled in the fur, where they had died in defense of their homes and honey. The carcass was fat and in fine condition.
“Want some bear steaks, Allie?” Carl demanded.
Alice thought not. The stripped carcass of the bear looked somewhat horribly human.
It was between three and four o’clock by that time, and as the moonlight did not penetrate the woods very well, they determined to wait for dawn before returning. The air was decidedly sharp; the warmth of the fire was welcome. They arranged themselves as comfortably as possible beside it, sat talking for a time, fell silent, dozed, and fell asleep.
They were awakened by a shout. It was broad day, and the east was crimson. By the old roadway Bob was just coming into the bee-yard. He had felt uneasy about them and had started for the lake at dawn, despite his lame foot, bringing a honey-pail full of coffee. At sight of the bear his chagrin was boundless.
“Think what I missed!” he exclaimed. “I’ve been hoping for a chance at a bear all this fall, and I’m laid up at the last moment and Carl kills the bear with my own rifle. Hard luck? I should say so!
“But we certainly ought to take one of this fellow’s hams back with us,” he continued. “They say it’s better than pork, and we’ve no fresh meat except what game we can pick up. Give me that knife.”
It was no easy matter to detach the hind quarter with nothing but a jack-knife, but Bob did manage at last to get it off, though he mangled it badly. It must have weighed twenty-five pounds, and the hide and meat would make heavy enough trophies to carry home.
How to dispose of the rest of the carcass was another problem. They did not want to leave it to putrefy in the apiary; they had no means of digging and did not care to throw it in the lake. Finally Carl discovered a little hollow back in the woods, and they scraped it out somewhat with sticks, put in the bear’s body, covered it with what loose earth they could gather, and piled stones over it.
“I suppose one of us ought to stay here to-day and watch the bees, in case of more robbing,” said Alice, doubtfully.