That was the grizzly bear, disturbed and disgruntled by so many noisy newcomers. He lumbered away into the woods and never was seen again. Needless to say, Warde from that day to this has always been nicknamed “Old Grizzly.”
“What’s that?” echoed Warde airily, “why, that’s just my chum, Old Featherbed. Ain’t we cozy?”
“What’s the idea?” asked the startled Billy. When Warde explained that, though amiable, the bear’s curiosity made him too nosy among the films, Bill stuck out his hand.
“Put it there, pard!” he cried. “You saved the whole party. Without my films this trip is nothing. Mr. Wilde, you got to hand it to these boys. While one stars in a screen triumph of Daredevil Dick the other rescues the spare celluloids from all the wild animals in the ark. You better take them into the firm.”
“I guess I’ll have to,” agreed Mr. Wilde. “By the way, where’s that other member of the firm—Ed?”
CHAPTER XLI
A SCOUT MASCOT
As we already know, Ed did not return that night. Alarmed that some danger had befallen him, the campers took council as to what had best be done. To search that vast range at night on the mere chance that Ed was lost was worse than the proverbial needle-in-the-hay-stack hunt. Besides, Mr. Wilde said he was satisfied now that these scouts could ably take care of themselves in emergencies. This admission from him filled Westy and Warde with deep pride. They had indeed made good in his eyes. It was agreed that they wait until daylight and then hit the trail to Hermitage Rest to inquire if Ed had reached there safely, and if not to organize a search party. Mr. Wilde confessed to a twinge of conscience that the scouts had undergone such dangers. Until daylight could clear matters up it was thought best to get what rest they could in all that remained of the night in order to be fit for whatever emergency might tax them the next day. Westy, for one, was fatigued beyond any further endurance, and indeed the cliff climbing exertion had so worn out even Billy and Mr. Wilde that they were more than grateful for Warde’s thoughtfulness in having the bunks all ready to fall into. So fatigued were all three of the vulture hunters that they lay as if drugged and no wonder overslept themselves in the morning. They woke to find that the practical Warde had breakfast all prepared so that no time might be lost in starting out to find Ed.
Their late breakfast, however, had scarcely been finished when voices were heard coming up the trail and Ed himself appeared, leading a party of men. Although exhausted from his night’s hike, Ed insisted on guiding the relief party back as soon as he had been refreshed with black coffee and an ample breakfast. The party consisted of Buck himself, together with several men from Hermitage Rest, one of whom fortunately happened to be a doctor so that no time was needed to phone to Yellowstone for a surgeon after all. The doctor, kit in hand, hastened forward with Ed, expecting a nasty job with a mangled boy. Imagine his astonishment and Ed’s embarrassment when the unexpected outcome was explained.
“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,” jeered Warde, who ever since the bear episode had his mind pestered with nursery rimes. “Sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a big fall, all the Hermitage doctors and all Ed’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again.”
It was a long time before Warde, who had not been dashed to pieces ever the cliff, would quit calling Westy and Ed “Humpty” and “Dumpty.”