wriggling slowly down the road that has for 

 him no turning. Then I took up the caribou 

 tr^^il- Koskomenos 



I had gone nearly through the alders, fol- ^^ ^^J^^"^'^^^^ 



lowing the course of a little brook and steal- 

 ing along without a sound, when behind me 

 I heard the kingfisher coming above the 

 alders, rattling as if possessed, klrrr ! klrrr ! 

 klrrr-ik-ik-ik ! On the instant there was a 

 heavy plunge and splash just ahead, and the 

 swift rush of some large animal up the hill- 

 side. Over me poised the kingfisher, look- 

 ing down first at me, then ahead at the 

 unknown beast, till the crashing ceased in a 

 faint rustle far away; when he swept back 

 to his fishing-stub, clacking and chuckling 

 immoderately. 



I pushed cautiously ahead and came pres- 

 ently to a beautiful pool, below a rock, where 

 the hillside shelved gently towards the alders. 

 From the numerous tracks and the look of 

 the place, I knew instantly that I had stum- 

 bled upon a bear's bathing pool. The water 

 was still troubled ; huge tracks, all soppy and 

 broken, led up the hillside in big jumps ; the 



