Part 20 (1/2)

John protested at this. ”Well, Rob has got his bear, but, you see, Jess and I haven't had a shot yet--though I don't suppose that is why Rob is willing to go.”

”No, that isn't the reason,” commented Rob, quietly.

Uncle d.i.c.k thought for a time. ”Well, I'll tell you what we'll do,”

said he, at length. ”We'll stay at least one more day and hunt here to-morrow. Then if we don't have any luck to-morrow we'll run on down and have a look at the Columbia, and if she isn't too bad we'll stop at some good country below--say on Nagel Creek, down the bend.”

”That seems fair,” a.s.sented John; and Jesse also said he would vote the same way.

”How about you, Leo?” inquired Uncle d.i.c.k.

”Me not 'fraid of any water,” replied the courageous Indian. ”I like stay here. Most best grizzlum country of anywhere. Down below too much timber. Plenty black bear, not so much grizzlum. Not many place where you'll get grizzlum now. This plenty good place.”

”Agreed,” said Uncle d.i.c.k. ”I think you all reason pretty well, and am convinced that we could spend another day here to good advantage. And now, Rob, since you got your bear, I think I'm going to send you down to camp in the morning for Moise and George. They can carry down the hide and some of the other stuff which will have to go down.”

”All right,” said Rob. ”I'm not afraid. The only risky place is on the snow-slide at the side-hill. Then you go right down in the creek-valley and follow that to the camp.”

”Very well. That will leave the other two boys to make a hunt to-morrow, and if they have as good luck as you have had we certainly will have more hides in camp.”

With this arrangement already made, they at length turned to the little tent, where their blankets and the big hide of the bear made some sort of a bed for them.

At an early hour of the morning they had finished their breakfast, and Rob was ready to take the trail back to the camp.

”Well, so-long, Rob,” said John. ”We're going to try to kill as big a bear as you got. You're not afraid to go back through the woods, are you?”

”Certainly not,” said Rob; ”I have my ax, and my compa.s.s, and my match box, and a little something to eat, besides my rifle. I might be able to get clear through to the railroad or back to Tete Jaune if I had to. But I'll not have to. So-long.”

”That's good boy,” said Leo, approvingly, after Rob left and as they saw his st.u.r.dy figure trudging steadily onward toward the shoulder of the mountain.

”They're all good boys,” replied Uncle d.i.c.k. ”I'm going to make hunters out of all of 'em. And now, just as a part of their education, they'll all help us to flesh out this bear-hide.”

Jesse, hunting around on the side of the mountain, found a bit of coa.r.s.e stone which John and he used as a whetstone to sharpen up their knives. They knew well enough that work on the coa.r.s.e surface of a bear-hide dulls a knife very quickly. It was an hour or two before their leader was satisfied with the preparation of the big hide.

”I wish we had more salt,” said he; ”but as it happens Moise has put in a little tin of pepper, and pepper is very good to use around the ears and nose of a fresh bear-hide. The main thing is to flesh the hide carefully, and to skin out all the thick parts around the ears and nose very carefully indeed. Then you dry the hide--not in the bright sunlight, but in the shade--and never let it get near a fire.

Some hides get grease-burned from bad fles.h.i.+ng and bad drying. I think this one'll do all right, though, for we made a pretty good job at sc.r.a.ping it down.”

”Plenty all right now,” said Leo. ”Go hunt.”

”Which way next, Leo?” inquired John.

Leo pointed up the valley. ”Plenty slide farther up. S'pose we stay here three, four days, get plenty grizzlum. Best tam late in day.

Maybe-so get 'um now, maybe-so not. Don't know.”

”Yes,” said John; ”it's too bad we have to start back to camp in just the best part of the day. But we've agreed to do that, so all we can do is to do our best. I suppose bears do sometimes come out before evening?”

”Once in a while,” said Uncle d.i.c.k, ”a bear will come out on the slide just to look around, as I've told you. There are no absolute rules about it. They don't like the sun any too well, but sometimes there is a heap of snow on a slide, usually near the foot of it, and I've seen two or three bears at once come out and lie down on the snow to get cool. Then sometimes they like to go out where they can get a bare rock to scratch themselves against. Besides that, I don't suppose all the bears get hungry at just the same time, and come out on the slide when they hear a dinner-bell ring. Take it all in all, grizzly hunting is about as hard to cla.s.sify as anything you'll find. It's one thing that would make a man believe in luck, good or bad. Anyhow, we'll go and try our luck.”

On their way up the valley they had to wade their little stream once more, but at this hour of the day it was not very wide or deep, although it certainly was very cold.

”Me know one slide,” said Leo, after a time, ”very old slide, not steep. Plenty gopher on that slide. Dig in dirt. Grizzlum he like eat gopher. Sometam he come there and dig gopher most all day. Maybe-so ketch 'um grizzlum there.”