242 BIG GAME FIELDS 



yards back so that the click would not disturb him. 

 Peering through one little opening after another, 

 the moments dragged until I just had one more 

 small bush to reach before I intended to 

 straighten up from a stooping position which I 

 had assumed, when, with a rattle and a snap- 

 bang, I straightened up in a hurry with gun 

 to shoulder. A big stone came rolling down 

 the slope and bounced not twenty yards in front 

 of me. There was no bear. With his keener 

 senses he had detected me a few seconds too soon 

 and was making off at a merry clip up the hill, 

 his great weight loosening a large rock, which had 

 tumbled down and greeted me with a thud. He 

 had a good start and kept well out of view, as I 

 could not catch a glimpse of him as he went. 

 Pulling out the old pipe, I sat down to have a 

 smoke, for I had not realized until this moment 

 how tired I was. 



When I climbed back to where I had been 

 watching, Hi was there with the horses. He 

 greeted me with "Well, I didn't hear you shoot." 

 Then I explained to him how it all happened. 



"I can't see why you want to fool away your 

 time watching for that old bear when we can 

 take the hounds up and settle the question in short 

 order," he remarked. I tried to explain it was not 



