A BEAR ON FIRE. 21 



see cattle in corrals, aye, as you see people 

 sometimes in the cars. 



And now came a torrent of little creep 

 ing things: rabbits, rats, squirrels! None 

 of these smaller creatures attempted to 

 cross, but crept along in the willows and 

 brush close to the water. 



They loaded down the willows till they 

 bent into the water, and the terrified little 

 creatures floated away without the least 

 bit of noise or confusion. And still the 

 black skies were filled with the solemn 

 boom of thunder. In fact, we had not yet 

 heard any noise of any sort except thunder, 

 not even our own voices. There was some 

 thing more eloquent in the air now, some 

 thing more terrible than man or beast, and 

 all things were awed into silence a pro 

 found silence. 



And all this time countless creatures, 

 little creatures and big, were crowding the 

 bank on our side or swimming across or 

 floating down, down, down the swift, wood- 

 hung waters. Suddenly the stolid leader 



