“What’s the matter?” asked Nan, shifting from one hand to the other the bundle of lunch she carried.
“I thought I heard something,” said Bert in a low voice.
A moment later there was no doubt of this, for both he and his sister heard a grunting noise in the bushes, and then they heard the rustle of dried leaves and the snapping of twigs.
“Oh, Bert! Maybe it’s a bear!” cried Nan, clinging to her brother.
“A—a bear!” gasped Bert. He hardly knew what else to say.
“Oh, look!” gasped Nan. She pointed toward a bush, and, coming out from under it, was a little animal, somewhat larger than a rabbit, but with different kind of fur, small ears, and with a tail that seemed to have rings of fur around it.
“It’s a little bear!” gasped Nan. “Oh, Bert! we’d better run back to camp before the big bear comes.”
Bert looked at the furry animal, whose bright eyes peered at the Bobbsey twins, and then Nan’s brother laughed.
“I know what it is!” he said. “It’s a raccoon. I can tell by the rings on its tail.”
“A raccoon!” gasped Nan. “Will it—will it hurt us?”