242 HUNTING THE GRISLY. 



throwing down and opening their packs, they 

 started up stream. The country was very 

 dense and hard to travel through, as there was 

 much down timber, although here and there 

 the sombre woodland was broken by small 

 glades of mountain grass. 



At dusk they again reached camp. The 

 glade in which it was pitched was not many 

 yards wide, the tall, close-set pines and firs 

 rising round it like a wall. On one side was 

 a little stream, beyond which rose the steep 

 mountain-slopes, covered with the unbroken 

 growth of the evergreen forest. 



They were surprised to find that during their 

 short absence something, apparently a bear, 

 had visited camp, and had rummaged about 

 among their things, scattering the contents of 

 their packs, and in sheer wantonness destroy- 

 ing their lean-to. The footprints of the beast 

 were quite plain, but at first they paid no par- 

 ticular heed to them, busying themselves with 

 rebuilding the lean-to, laying out their beds 

 and stores, and lighting the fire. 



While Bauman was making ready supper, 

 it being already dark, his companion began 

 to examine the tracks more closely, and soon 

 took a brand from the fire to follow them up, 

 where the intruder had walked along a game 

 trail after leaving the camp. When the brand 

 flickered out, he returned and took another, 

 repeating his inspection of the footprints very 

 closely. Coming back to the fire, he stood 

 by it a minute or two, peering out into the 

 darkness, and suddenly remarked : " Bauman, 



