The Boy and the Lynx 
four buckshot, which he carried for emergency, 
he dropped them on top of the birdshot already 
in the gun, then rammed a wad to hold them 
down. 
The Bear had not moved and the boy could 
not see its head, but now he studied it care- 
fully. It was not such a large one—no, it was 
a small one, yes, very small—a cub. <A cub! 
That meant a mother Bear at hand, and Thor 
looked about with some fear, but seeing no 
signs of any except the little one, he levelled 
the gun and fired. 
Then to his surprise down crashed the ani- 
mal quite dead; it was not a Bear, but a large 
Porcupine. As it lay there he examined it with 
wonder and regret, for he had no wish to kill 
such a harmless creature. On its grotesque face 
he found two or three long scratches which 
proved that he had not been its only enemy. 
As he turned away he noticed some blood on 
his trousers, then saw that his left hand was 
bleeding. He had wounded himself quite se- 
verely on the quills of the animal without know- 
ing it. He was sorry to leave the specimen 
there, and Loo, when she learned of it, said it 
183 
