294 BIG GAME FIELDS 



short stalk. I was just wondering if we had not 

 made a slight miscalculation, when I saw Mac 

 slowly sink to the ground until I thought he 

 would go right on through it. Almost uncon- 

 sciously I was doing the very same thing. Then 

 came the best sign of all, to proceed a little 

 in advance of him and shoot. 



As I crawled through the snow, I put my right 

 glove in Mac's hand, and he might have been 

 stone dead for all the movement he showed. 



Kneeling up, I saw the great black glossy coat 

 of the bear that showed in marked contrast 

 against the snow. He was looking straight at 

 me, his little furry ears cocked forward, not thirty 

 yards away. There was no time for careful aim- 

 ing, for here the cover was thick, and any instant 

 he might lose himself to view. "Shoot him 

 again," said Mac after the first shot, which I 

 thought hit him fair. But the bear was off in 

 the thicket before I could sight again. Here was 

 a chance to get warm, for we took up the trail on 

 the run, and by the dots of scarlet on the snow 

 we did not expect to go far. The bear ran diag- 

 onally down the mountainside. Just as he was 

 crossing a little brook I got a fair sight of him 

 and brought him down at 150 yards, with a shot 

 in the shoulder. 



