The Story of Ben 7 



accident, and once near the place we tied the horses 

 and crept forward as silently as might be, thinking 

 to steal up on the cubs unheard and perhaps catch them 

 before they could reach and climb a tree. The carcass 

 of the dead bear lay about fifty feet from a huge fir tree, 

 and we soon saw the three cubs, huddled together, 

 and sitting on the body of their dead mother. But it 

 was evident that they were aware of our approach, 

 for they were on the alert and keeping a sharp look- 

 out in our direction. So when we had worked up as 

 near as possible, and had reached the last cover be- 

 tween ourselves and them, we crouched behind a fallen 

 log and laid out a plan of campaign. 



It was plain to be seen that we were not going to 

 catch the cubs off their guard, and it was equally evi- 

 dent that we would have to do some mighty quick 

 sprinting if we were going to beat them to the foot of 

 the big fir tree. So we agreed to move forward little 

 by little until the bears began to be alarmed, and then 

 to make a dash for the tree in hope of intercepting 

 them. But we had scarcely wormed our way over 

 the log and begun our sneaking approach, when all 

 three cubs rose on their hind legs for a clearer view of 

 their suspicious visitors, and a moment later they 

 bounded down from their bed in the dead mother's fur 

 and began floundering through the snow and water 

 toward the fir tree. 



The little fellows (the largest of them would not have 



