ii8 TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 



ous push as though to indicate the precise moment 

 for me to pull the trigger. My shot, naturally, fell 

 very wide indeed, and went ricochetting into space. 

 Cecily got in two, which she declared were effective, 

 because she saw the disappearing animal half stop 

 and raise himself as the bullets told. As the bear 

 must by then have been quite two hundred yards away 

 from us I confess I had my doubts. Cecily had none, 

 and we followed our bear up immediately. It was as 

 though the earth had swallowed him. 



We spoored in every direction, trying to pick up 

 the trail, but there was nothing to guide us. The 

 grass-covered ground gave no sign of the bear's 

 passing, and every clump of alders looked like another. 

 At last Cecily, stooping, discovered the faintest spot 

 of blood, and taking lines to various points we came 

 on another and another. A dense fastness of alders 

 lay ahead, and as we cautiously neared the place a 

 low continuous growling met our ears, changing to 

 ugly snarls and short, savage throaty mutterings. 

 We prepared for action, confidently expecting to be 

 charged. We could see nothing but the alders 

 stirring in the light breeze, and though they 

 were so stunted they were thick enough to be a bit 

 of a poser. To go in recklessly meant a certain 

 mauling, to remain outside and await developments 

 required time, and this last was just what we had 

 not got. 



Night, like "the big black crow" of Alice's ad- 

 ventures, darkened all the sky. The only common- 

 sense solution of the difficulty was to wait for the 



