The ranch boy had been keeping his eyes well about him, and knew just where he could find what he wanted. First of all, he crept up to the frowning aperture, and looked in. Felix felt his heart in his throat, so to speak, with a sudden fear lest his chum take a reckless notion to enter that gaping hole; he was even on the point of calling out, and begging Tom not to incur such unnecessary chances, when he saw the other moving away again.
Evidently, whatever reason Tom had for going there to the mouth of the cave, he was perfectly satisfied; for, as he caught the eye of his chum, he nodded, and made suggestive motions, as if to say that he was more than ever convinced that the animal was somewhere inside, though possibly at some distance back from the opening.
Felix now watched him with deepest interest. If he had figured on how Tom meant to draw the grizzly forth, he could not have struck on the right answer to the question, for suddenly he gave an exclamation, and said as if to himself:
"Now, what's he gathering wood for? It sure doesn't seem like time for our noon lunch? And what would Tom want to camp here for in front of the place? Now he's got an armful, and—why, of course, he's going to stack it up in front of that hole. That's the ticket, Tom; smoke the old rascal out?" and he ended in calling aloud to his chum.
The other only turned, and nodded his head as he made his way cautiously up to where the black hole gaped silently. Here he tossed his bundle of small wood, and then went back for more.
Felix had gripped his gun a little nervously while all this was going on, ready to take up his part of the game should occasion arise; but even when the brush from under the trees was thrown down, the inmate of the den did not deign to show himself, and offer any objection. Felix concluded that there must be a mistake, and that the grizzly was away from home; or else the old fellow was so gorged with a recent dinner that he just could not bother moving, because some foolish boys chose to play pranks outside of his house.
Now Tom had returned with a second armful of wood, which he piled up on the other lot. Then Felix saw him stuffing a crumpled piece of newspaper under the pyramid, and he understood why Tom had put that in his pocket so carefully before leaving the shack.
Everything seemed ready, and he wished Tom would hurry, and come away from his dangerous quarters, for the bear might rush out at any second. So Felix breathed a little easier when he saw the other moving off, and noticed little spirals of blue smoke beginning to weave themselves in and out of the piled up brush and wood.
[CHAPTER XVIII—A HARD CUSTOMER]
"That's bound to settle it, one way or the other!" declared Tom, after he had climbed up into his tree again, and resumed his former position of squatting in a crotch, gun in hand.