THREE HARDY MOUNTAINEERS 251 



Avere now picking at the tufts of grass back of tlie 

 rocks. I was in no mood for hunting ; but Joe took it 

 for granted that we shoukl go on, and the excitement 

 soon put the Bear out of mind. 



" Before dusk we had killed our ram, but as he rolled 

 and fell for some distance down the cliffs one horn was 

 broken off and the other, that lies there on the mantel- 

 slielf, is the only trophy you can have of the day when 

 your father was nearly turned into Bear meat ! " 



"Oh, daddy ! daddy ! " cried Dodo, jumping on his 

 knee and hugging him, " what should we liav|i done 

 if the Bear had eaten you ? " 



" It was before you and Nat had come to live with 

 me. I haven't taken so many risks since I have had 

 two little bears of my own to care for." 



" Was the mutton good, and did you get it back to 

 camp, and did the other men get any Goats ? " asked 

 Nat. 



" Yes, w^e took the best parts of the ram back to the 

 main camp, also the skin of the Grizzly. Our comrades 

 did not get anything that day, though tliey did later 

 on, and I also have a single Goat horn as a souvenir to 

 niatcli my ram's horn. Hand them to me, Nat." 



Nat stood on a chair and reached the two horns from 

 the shelf. One was fifteen and one-half inches around 

 at the base and three feet long on the outside of the 

 curve, rough and yellowish gray, while the Goat's 

 horn was smootli, black, and only eight inches in 

 length. 



"- You see that these two horns are hollow, from a 

 little way above their base to the tip, like the horns 

 of a Buffalo or cow. Tliese are true horns and are 



