114 
ALMOST HUMAN 
his forgetfulness, so he went serenely on his way. The gardens were 
still closed to the public, and there was no one about the place except 
the brothers Wilkie in their quarters. The elder went for a stroll to 
see that all was well before lunch, and as he walked along one path, 
lost in thought, and rolling some tobacco in his hands, he was suddenly 
bailed up by an unmistakable “Huif!” growled hoarsely close beside 
him. There was a great black bear disputing the right of way with 
him. 
Single handed, he was utterly powerless, so like Montmorency 
when the tom-cat stopped to argue the case with him, he beat a strategic 
retreat without raising the bear’s suspicions as to his intentions. He 
got into his house and warned his brother, who at once forgot his half- 
shaven face and assisted in the work on hand. They found it a difficult 
task to spread the snare in sight of the bird. The catching box, which 
is about seven feet long and nine feet high, with a sliding door at each 
end, was quickly placed on a lorry or low truck, and wheeled towards 
him. At about two hundred yards distance from the truant, they 
halted and threw some biscuits to him. He sniffed these carefully 
before eating them, for he suspected some trick in this unwonted gener- 
osity. He ate them very slowly, keeping vigilant watch the while upon 
the two men, and ready for instant flight should any movement on their 
part endanger his present liberty. But as the biscuits kept coming in 
an endless shower, he was drawn imperceptibly towards the box. Mr, 
Wilkie had pulled up one of its doors, and was standing behind it on 
the roof, ready for instant action as soon as he was enticed inside. As 
he drew nearer and nearer, Mr. Bruin sniffed suspiciously at every step.' 
There was something more about the business than met the eye, for 
he had fully expected to And them resenting the liberty he had taken 
instead of rewarding him in this wholesale fashion, and his knowledge 
of his deserts made him feel very uneasy lest worse remained behind 
even after a good beginning. He was not at all satisfied that the 
anxiety displayed by Mr. David Wilkie was entirely disinterested, 
especially when he threw the choicest of the biscuits on the floor of the 
box, but as the closest scrutiny failed to reveal the presence of the other 
brother behind the sliding door on the roof, he became convinced that 
as long as the one he could see remained at a safe distance he was 
justified in accepting his invitation to walk into the parlor. But once 
he was inside, he quickly discovered that his host was no more willing to 
part with his company than the spider from the fly, and down came that 
door before he could even turn around to escape. Even then the 
anxious men found that it was easier to leave a ladder in the pit for a 
bear to walk out than it was to persuade him to return to his quarters 
