Creeping to the exit Dick took an observation. He found it was indeed daylight, and that the wind had died down with the coming of the sun, though the air still felt pretty cold to him, especially after having been in so snug a retreat for many hours.
It was really time they were up and doing. The future did not look very promising. They would have to run the risk of firing their guns, so as to secure fresh meat, for they must eat to live. And somewhere within a radius of ten or twelve miles Jasper Williams might be found, either in a camp of his own, or as a prisoner of the hostile Indians.
If ever Dick Armstrong had cause to call upon his resolute and hopeful heart it was when he faced such a dismal outlook. Never once did he falter. His lips were firmly pressed together, and on his sunburned face there rested a look of determination that no amount of difficulties could dissipate.
He immediately awoke the others.
“The dawn has come, and we must be on the move!” he announced.
No one uttered a complaint. Roger had, before going to sleep, managed to remove the terrible claws of the dead grizzly. That would be the only token they could show as evidence of the truth of their story concerning the night attack, and the fight in the cave.
So they issued forth, shivering at first when the cold air struck them.
“Good-by, old cave,” said Roger, waving his hand back toward the small black hole amidst the rocks, the discovery of which had added so much to their comfort; “we will never forget you as long as we live. A bear’s den may be a queer place to spend a night in; but when it happens to be a bitter cold night it might be a whole lot worse.”
They took up the work in earnest, and as all of them were exceedingly hungry, their first duty was to secure food. Of course, they might have food for several days, if they cared to use the carcass of the dead grizzly, but the meat was so tough and coarse that, after one trial at making a breakfast of grizzly steak, they all agreed that they would rather rely on the chance of obtaining more palatable food. If they could only run across a deer it would supply them with all the meat they wanted for several days, and, although they realized the danger of discharging their guns while the hostile Blackfeet were in the vicinity, they were willing to run that risk.