roared in a terrible voice, at the same time 

 pulling away his own.' Every hunter under- 

 stood. There was a sudden wild yell with a 

 thrill in it that made one's spine tingle glori- 

 ously. The dogs were dragged away by tails 

 and legs, struggling and howling against the 

 indignity; the big coon lay down quietly to 

 die; but the little fellow put his back up 

 against a rock, his eyes glowing like coals 

 that the wind blows upon, wrinkled his 

 nose like a wolf, and snarled his defiance 

 at the whole howling mob. And there 

 he stayed till I took a pole and amid 

 laughs and cheers drove him, still pro- 

 testing savagely, into another tree where 

 the dogs could not get at him. 



That was far a\vay from the place 

 where my first Little Brother to the Bear 

 lived, and many years had passed since 

 I had visited the ledge by the old beaver 

 dam. One day I came back, and turned 

 swiftly into the old wood road that had a 

 happy memory for me by every turn and 

 rock and moldering stump. Here was 



49 



