CHAPTER XIII.
BOYS AND A GRIZZLY.
Hardware and Persimmons found pretty much the same traveling as Ralph.But not as experienced as he in following a trail, they did not advanceso fast. Luckily, as it so fell out for them, the pony that they weretrailing was one known as White-eye. He was a harum-scarum sort of abrute, and for that reason Mountain Jim had fastened round his neck,the night before, a lariat with a heavy stone attached to it. The stonehad left a plainly swept path through the woods, and except in one ortwo baffling places the boys had followed it without much difficulty.
Instead of keeping to the open mountain side, like Ralph’s quarry,White-eye had made his way up a gully that cut deep into the hills,leading in a diagonal slash to the north. The two lads followed thebottom of the gully as far as it led and then, still following thetrail of the stone attached to White-eye’s neck, they made their way upa rough, rock-strewn slope to the summit of the ridge.
Unlike the country Ralph had struck, Hardware and his companion foundthemselves, on the summit of the ridge, in a forest of white birch andshady green timber, amidst which the sunlight filtered down cheerfully.Passing through this they emerged on a rocky hillside thickly grownwith “scotch-caps,” or sackatoons, Rocky Mountain blueberries and snakeberries, while under foot was a carpet of red heather.
The boys ate heartily of the blueberries and scotch caps, but onetaste of the snake berries was enough for them. They were bitter andnauseating to a degree, although Mountain Jim had told them that bearspreferred them to any other berry.
“No accounting for tastes,” commented Hardware in this connection,“and speaking of bears, I wonder if there are any hereabouts?”
“Bucking blueberries, I hope not,” exclaimed Persimmons, looking abouthim in some trepidation. “I’d like to have Mountain Jim along if we aregoing to run into anything like that.”
“This looks like the sort of country he said bears frequented,” wasHardware’s response. “I don’t see why we should be scared to meet one,either.”
“I suppose you’d go right up and say ‘Goodmorning, bear,’” snortedPersimmons.
“Well, we’ve got our rifles, and they are supposed to be powerfulenough to bring down any bear, and----”
“Howling hammerheads, what’s the matter now?”
The question was a natural one, for Hardware had stopped short and wasstaring ahead of them down the steep hillside.
“Why, something’s moving down there. It may be a bear. Get your rifleready.”
Hardware’s face took on a determined expression and he looked to themechanism of his rifle and slipped a magazine into place. Persimmonsdid the same, muttering to himself as he did so that it was no usefighting a bear, and that they’d better give Bruin a wide berth.
But the next instant their anxiety was relieved and gave place to highgood humor. The object Hardware had spied moving among the rocks andbrambles was not a grizzly, but the recreant White-eye, cropping thegrass as he moved about.
Suddenly he looked up and saw the boys. With upraised head and prickedears he watched their advance.
“Goodness! I hope he will let us get near him,” said Hardware. “I don’tmuch fancy a chase through this sort of country.”
“He looks as wild as a hawk,” was his companion’s response.
Indeed White-eye did not appear as if he meant to be docilely captured.
As the boys cautiously crept forward, trying to avoid any action thatmight startle him, the pony rolled his eyes back in the manner thathad given him his name and extended his nostrils, sniffing the airsuspiciously. Both boys had brought along some grain in their pockets,out of the supply carried for emergencies, and now Hardware dipped hishand into his pocket and extended it, full of oats, for White-eye’sinspection.
But seemingly, the pony had no mind to be caught just then. He gave aplunge and snort and dashed off.
“Oh, gracious!” groaned Hardware. “There he goes, lickety-split; itdoesn’t look as if we’d ever catch him.”
“Howling hen-roosts, no!” gasped Persimmons, who had just barked hisshin on a sharp rock. “And I tell you one thing, Hardware, I’m notgoing to chase very far after him. Hullo, what’s he doing now?”
White-eye had paused with startling suddenness in his mad career, andthe next minute the boys realized what had caused his abrupt stoppage.His long tether, with the stone attached, had caught around the stumpof a sage bush as it bounded down the hill, and twisted round the stumptwo or three times had captured the runaway as effectually as if he hadbeen tied by human hands.
“Well, that’s what I call luck,” declared Hardware fervently.
“It’s all of that and then some,” responded Persimmons puffingly.
“Let’s hurry up, he may get loose again,” urged his companion, and thetwo boys hastened forward regardless of brambles or rocks.
In a jiffy they had the lariat untied and were holding tightly on toit, prepared for another wild dash on the part of White-eye. But nowthat they had hold of the rope, the pony appeared, with equine wisdom,to perceive that further resistance was useless. He followed docilelyenough while they led him up the hillside.
“I hope the others have had as good luck,” remarked Hardware as theytrudged along.
“I hope so, too,” responded Persimmons, “I wouldn’t wish my worst enemyany more of this kind of work than could be helped.”
But just as they were congratulating themselves on the easy captureof the stray a sudden demon appeared to enter White-eye’s being. Hestarted leaping and bucking and snorting as if possessed.
“What on earth is the matter with him now?” gasped Hardware inwonderment.
“Bucking beefsteaks, he acts like he had a bad tummy ache,” exclaimedPersimmons; “maybe he’s been eating some of those snake berries.They’re enough to make anybody cut up if he takes too many of them,and one’s a-plenty--wow! Look! Harry! Look there!”
... a great brown form arose on its hind legs and stoodlooking at them.--_Page 131._]
The cause of White-eye’s sudden alarm became startlingly apparent. Froma patch of blueberries just ahead of them, where he had evidently beenfeeding, a great brown form arose on its hind legs and stood looking atthem.
“A g-g-g-g-grizzly!” yelled Hardware, quite forgetting his rifle thatwas slung over his back by a bandolier.
“Run! Run for your life!” shouted Persimmons, equally forgetful of hisweapon, which, in order to lead White-eye, he had been compelled tosling over his shoulders in a similar way.
The bear dropped on all fours and began coming toward them withoutundue haste, but with a sort of deadly deliberation.