on ^e (Roc&e* 



roof. As there was no firewood in the cabin, 

 and as fuel was necessary in order to heat the 

 drills, a part of the floor was torn up for that 

 purpose. 



The young bears soon found hot drills too warm 

 for them and scrambled or fell off the roof. But 

 the old one persisted. In a little while she had 

 clawed off a large patch of earth and was tearing 

 the poles with her teeth. 



The hams had been hung up on the wall in the 

 end of the cabin ; the old bear was tearing just 

 above them. Jason threw the hams on the floor 

 and wanted to throw them out of the window. He 

 thought that the bears would leave contented if 

 they had them. Sullivan thought differently ; he 

 said that it would take six hams apiece to satisfy 

 the bears, and that two hams would be only a 

 taste which would make the bears more reckless 

 than ever. The hams stayed in the cabin. 



The old bear had torn some of the poles in 

 two and was madly tearing and biting at others. 

 Sullivan was short and so were the drills. To get 

 within easier reach, he placed the table almost 

 under the gnawing bear, sprang upon it, and 



226 



