268 THROUGH CANADA 



to share the hut with him. The next night, during 

 the bewitching hours, the ranger received a dig in the 

 ribs : " Mark, Mark, that divil has come in agin'. 

 Wake up, man." 



Mark, tired and sleepy, responded with only a 

 grunt. 



" Wake up, man. I tell ye it's the bear, an' 

 there's no pays for him to-night, it's one of us he'll 

 be havin', bedad." 



The captain in his excitement betrayed his 

 nationality, but the ranger was obdurate. 



" Arrah, Mark avic, do ye hear me now ? Shure 

 it's killed and murthered we'll be in our sleep, if ye 

 don't stir yerself. Mark, ye divil, wake up ! Bejabers* 

 there he is in the dure." 



And, sure enough, the black form of the bear 

 loomed in the first shimmer of the breaking day. 

 Mark levelled his revolver and fired, and the 

 intruder decamped with a growl, the small bullet of 

 the revolver having little effect on his tough hide. 



Black bears are for the most part harmless, and 

 rarely attack human beings. In defence of their 

 cubs they are fearless and formidable. The general 

 tendency is to get out of a man's way as quickly as 

 possible. 



They travel rapidly, and it is difficult to track 

 them except with dogs. They return to places 

 where they have obtained food, so that it is not 

 very hard to trap them. The sense of hearing and 



