“The next time Alex leaves the boat,” Case grumbled, “we’ll tie a rope to him, so we can haul him back. He holds the blue ribbon for getting lost and meeting with foolish adventures.”
Teddy, the cub bear, by this time a chosen chum of the white bulldog, sat up on the prow of the Rambler, listening for the return of his playmate, his small ears bent forward expectantly. Occasionally he turned his nose to the west, sniffing at the light breeze now blowing from that direction. Clay called Case’s attention to the movements of the cub.
“I believe he scents Captain Joe!” the boy said. “He appears to be uneasy and expectant. The little chap has us beaten when it comes to discovering an approach not yet in sight. Anyway, he scents something.”
The boys were not in the boat, which lay at a great angle, the prow being on the land and the stern in the water, but were standing half concealed in the undergrowth which here fringed the natural levee. As the shadows grew longer, the boat more indistinct, a rustling was heard in the brush away to the west, up the rivulet, and then a heavy figure shambled into view. Case caught Clay by the arm and whispered:
“That’s Alex coming back with some of his monkeyshines! We’ll just lie still and see what he’ll make of the rakish attitude of the Rambler. Captain Joe is not with him, so he must have told the dog to lay low while he plays a trick on us. We’ll show him.”
The figure which had left the undergrowth was merely a dark bulk, moving cautiously toward the boat, on the same side of the pool as that on which the boys stood. It was without outline, and would not have been observed if it had remained stationary. It drew nearer to the Rambler noiselessly, like a person resolved to surprise an unsuspecting foe.
Teddy now began uttering low, coaxing whines, almost like those of a puppy at sight of its mother, and the boys hastily drew out their automatics and their searchlights, without which they never left the boat. The moving figure sprang forward, and then the growl that came out of the darkness left no doubt in the minds of the boys as to what it was that was paying a visit to their boat. Case pulled Clay by the arm again.
“That is a grizzly!” he cried. “A grizzly weighing about a ton and a half, come to see if Teddy is perfectly contented in his new home.
“Don’t shoot!” warned Clay. “We may not be as lucky as you were in the bush back yonder, and a wounded grizzly is a wicked thing to fight. Wait and see what she will do. Sure as you live, she’s going to board the Rambler! What do you think Teddy will do?”
“The question with me,” Case replied, “is not what Teddy will do, but what the bear will do. She can make a mess of that cabin in about a minute and a half! If I thought I wouldn’t hit Teddy, I’d shoot and frighten her off. Wish we could reach the switch that throws on the prow light! That would give her a shock, all right.”