Now and then the animal would appear to be disturbed by all this racket. On such occasions he would shuffle over to the sapling in which the fat boy was perched, raising his snout to sniff the air, as though half tempted to make the climb, and punish his detractor as seemed most fitting.
Nick evidently became fearful each time that he was going to be in for it. He would howl worse than ever, and make all sorts of dreadful threats as to what he might do in case such a thing happened.
“Oh! ain’t you the lucky thing, though?” he bellowed, just as the others ranged up to take the whole picture in. “If I hadn’t been silly enough to go ashore, carrying Herb’s old gun, and forget to put any shells in the same, I guess you’d be a dead bear right now, old top! Here, quit shaking this tree, won’t you? Think you own the whole ranch? Reckon other people got some right to live. Just go back to your jewfish dinner, and all may be forgiven; but you let our crackers and cheese and bacon and hominy alone, hear that? Wow! there, he’s gone and busted the hominy sack! Look at the gump wasting all that fine food, would you? Herb, can’t you please get some of those bully old shells over to me somehow? I’d give a heap to tickle him between the sixth and seventh ribs, sure I would!”
Just then Jack gave a peculiar little whistle. Nick heard it, and immediately “perked up his ears,” as Josh called it. He could be seen to twist his head around, and try to locate the one who had given the well known signal.
“Hey, Jack! wherever are you?” he called, in perplexity.
Jack did not dare make any reply. He had seen the bear start at the sound of the signal whistle, just as if the sly beast understood that it must surely spell danger for one of his type.
“Get ready to back me up, George, Jimmy!” Jack whispered.
They understood that since Jack carried the repeating rifle, it ought to be his duty to fire first. Should he make a failure, then they could come in, to try and load the marauding bear with all the lead possible. If, after all, the beast managed to get away, he would at least surely carry the marks of the warm engagement with him the rest of his natural life.
By this time both Herb and Nick had discovered what was going on, and, naturally enough, they were deeply interested.