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dead mother. After a stare, as we did not move, 

 they took a few steps toward us. Hesitating again, 

 they stopped, rose up and looked around, and then 

 hastily retreated to the rocks. Evidently their 

 mother had trained them to stay wherever she 

 left them until she returned. 



But they had waited long. For a while they stood 

 and whimpered very much like hungry, forsaken 

 children. They could scent their mother, and see 

 her, too, and were too hungry and lonesome to en- 

 dure without her longer. Again they started slowly 

 toward us, walking closely side by side. When very 

 near they paused, rose on hind legs, and looked in- 

 tently at us and in wonder and longing at their life- 

 less mother. Then they went to her. One little cub 

 sniffed in a bewildered, puzzled way over her cold, 

 still body. He gently stroked her fur with his paw 

 and then sat down and began to whimper and cry. 



The other little cub stood looking with awe into 

 his mother's moveless face, but at last shook off" his 

 fright and smelled her bloody head. Then, all for- 

 lorn, he turned to look eagerly into the face of the 

 hunter, who had been watching the little cub all 

 this while with big tears upon his cheeks. After a 

 moment he took a step toward him, rose up, and 



.24 



