“Lost! Now Betty, you don’t know that dog if you say he could be lost,” retorted Joan.
They all distinctly heard a shrill bark, now, and Tally said, “Sound like him got wild animal trapped, an’ wan’ us help.”
Finally they were near enough to hear Scrub bark and yelp in reply to the plaintive whining of some other animal. Then Tally advised the girls, “You no call Scrub when you come up. Dog look to see you, an’ animal jump on him. No say anyting, but wait an’ let Tally shoot.”
This was hard sense, and the scouts agreed to obey. Just then they reached a spot where the forest trees were not so closely grown. Tally held his rifle ready to shoot if necessary, to spare the dog’s life, but when he came out of the fringe of pines that circled the small clearing where the dog barked, he stood amazed.
The scouts deplored the fact that the camera had been left at camp, as usual, for here was a most unique picture. Scrub stood stiffly, the hair along his spine standing upright from excitement. His stub tail vibrated so swiftly that one could not see it move—it seemed a blur of action. His front legs were braced, and he was yelping and barking at two little bear cubs.
They appeared as distressed and confused as the dog. One, the larger of the two, glared at Scrub with ferocious mien and at intervals, when the dog stopped barking for time to breathe, it would charge threateningly, but never got near enough to grapple with the dog.
The smaller cub circled whiningly about a huddled mass that lay under a great pine log. It would sniff about the heap and then sit upon its little haunches and cry quiveringly. It was this wail the scouts had heard in the distance.
At times Scrub would run over to the trail whence he found his friends approaching, then the little male-cub would join his sister at the black heap, and both would whine pitifully to the mother that was insensible to their cry. The moment Scrub was aware of any movement on the part of his opponent, he would tear back to engage his enemy in another wrangle of sounds.
“Um! No wonder Scrub no come home las’ night!” laughed Tally.
“Maybe that’s why he was so excited the night before—he wanted to tell us,” ventured Joan.