OH, SHOOT! 



dance on the sand bar which had so kindly 

 delayed our departure. 



We all talked at once, but my companion 

 had more ground for joy than I, for this was 

 his first bear, and it had charged unexpectedly 

 at a distance of fifty feet. 



"She was coming so fast when I saw her 

 that I didn't have time to get scared," said 

 Fred, "and it took four shots to drop her." 



"He only had four shells in his gun," Joe 

 chimed in, admiringly. "He could almost 

 touch her when she fell." 



"We came back for you and the camera. 

 Get your gun quick and come with us; you 

 never saw so many bear signs in your life." 



"They've all left the hills for the flats," de- 

 clared our guide. "That's why we've had 

 such bad luck. We'll get a boatload before 

 dark." So, taking time to gulp a mouthful of 

 cold food, we headed back towards the thick- 

 ets where Fred had disproved the old theory 

 that your bear is a peaceful brute and will 

 never deliberately attack a man. 



Within a mile of the launch Fred and Joe 

 had picked up the tr,ail of two big grizzlies, so 

 fresh that the moss was still creeping and 

 straightening where they had stepped. In the 



72 



