352 HOW TOM WAS BORN A FRENCHMAN 



He had not long to wait. The bear, a huge animal, 

 followed exactly in his footsteps and marched straight 

 upon him. 



The situation was unpleasant, for the Captain's only 

 weapon was his stick, and when the bear arrived within 

 two paces of him, the Captain raised it. The bear in- 

 stantly rose on his hind legs and began to dance ! 



It was a tame bear, which had broken loose and 

 escaped. 



Captain Pamphile, reassured by his enemy's deport- 

 ment, now noticed that he was muzzled, and that part of 

 the broken chain still hung at his neck. 



He at once saw all the advantages to be derived from 

 such companionship, so, seizing the end of the chain, he 

 resumed his journey, leading the bear like a dog. 



Towards evening, as they were crossing a great field, 

 he noticed that the bear tried to stop near certain plants, 

 which were unknown to him. Thinking there must be 

 some special reason for this, he made a halt the next time 

 it happened. The bear began to claw the ground and 

 grubbed up a number of tubers or roots. Pamphile tasted 

 one, and found it excellent, with a flavour reminding him 

 of truffles. This was a valuable discovery, so he let the 

 bear continue his hunt, and in an hour they had collected 

 an ample supper for man and beast. 



Then the Captain took note of a tree standing by 

 itself, and having carefully examined it without discover- 

 ing the trace of any reptile, he tied his bear to the trunk, 

 used his back as a stepping-stone to the branches, and 

 soon made himself a bed, where he slept soundly all 

 night. 



Next morning he woke refreshed and saw the bear 

 sleeping quietly below. He climbed down and roused 

 him, and both marched on so briskly that they reached 

 Philadelphia by eleven o'clock that night. 



Here a fresh difficulty arose. No innkeeper cared to 

 house a savage bear at such a late hour. One after 



