296 PASTING COMPANY. 



he heard something walking just over the precipice ; and 

 how he picked up his rifle that lay in the bottom of the 

 boat, to be ready for any emergency; and then how as- 

 tonished he was to see a great black bear walk out into 

 view along the edge of the rocks above, and how carefully 

 he sighted him; and how, at the crack of his rifle, the 

 animal came tumbling down the cliff, and how quick he 

 reloaded and gave him a settler hi the shape of a second 

 bullet ; and how he tugged, and strained, and lifted to 

 get him into the boat, and how astonished we all were 

 when he returned with his prize to camp. While relating 

 this wonderful achievement, he winked at the Doctor, as 

 much as to say, "fair play; remember our compact ; stand 

 by me now." And the Doctor did stand by him, boldly 

 endorsing, with a gravity that was refreshing, every inven- 

 tion of Smith's prolific imagination, on the subject of his 

 slaughtering the bear. 



We left our new friends in the afternoon; they to start 

 in the morning for our old camping-ground on the lake 

 above, and we down the stream on our retreat from the 

 wilderness. We came back to our tents, after securing a 

 string of trout from the mouth of the little stream across 

 the bay. Our evening meal was over, and we sat around 

 our campfire just as the sun was hiding himself behind 

 the western highlands, when, from a little hollow in the 

 forest behind us, and but a short way off, we heard the 

 call of a raccoon. Martin started over the ridge with the 

 dogs, and in five minutes he hallooed to us to come with 



