Five Little Starrs in the Canadian Forest Part 14

Mike watched the milk diminish and when the bottle was half empty he took it away and opened the other little cub's mouth for its food. The first one, being comfortably fed, rolled over and went on sleeping.

The second cub was the smaller of the two and could not drink the milk as rapidly as the st.u.r.dier one. Several times it choked and had to cough and sneeze, which made the children laugh delightedly, but Mike waited patiently until it had recovered breath.

"Mike, won't they wake up and play?" asked Dot.

"Him wake up, tree-four-five day!" replied Mike.

"Not before?" asked Don.

"Not before him eye open--'bout five day!" returned Mike.

Mike made a bed of balsam tips covered with an old buck-skin shirt.

The cubs were deposited upon the new bed and curled up close together, never missing their old home or realizing that they had a foster-mother.

Mike fed them regularly, and the children found them a never-ending source of delight.

CHAPTER IX

FATHER BEAR VISITS THE CAMP

THE following morning after his return from the cave, Mike started off to inspect his traps. He rather suspected that the old father bear had deserted the mother and cubs and wandered over the mountain in another direction and possibly been trapped by some hunter. If such was not the case, he might have come upon his mate's tracks and followed her to the trap. In that case he might have been trapped as his mate was. There was still another thought which came to Mike, but he disliked dwelling on it: the bear might scent the man who stole the babies and follow him.

Mike knew of cases where a mother bear had followed her cubs for miles and miles and then fought with the thief.

Therefore, Mike was very observing as he crept through the woods and started through the glade where the trap was set. He saw tracks, which had been recently made, all over the soft top ground, for the thaw had melted the snow that bore the she-bear's tracks and soaked the ground enough to soften it for half an inch into the frost; here were plainly seen the marks of great paws as they trampled the area about the trap, but never came near enough to be caught.

But there was no sign of a bear about. Looking very carefully from right to left, Mike started back to camp, prepared at the first sound or sign to shoot.

Mike had almost reached the camp when he heard shouts and cries of terror. He ran as fast as he could, and found the women and Babs in the dining-room with doors closed, shouting directions from a partially opened window. Cookee was at the window of his kitchen waving a pail of boiling water about. The older children were shut in the office with faces pressed close against the panes of gla.s.s, but Don and Dot were in his own cabin which had but one small pane of gla.s.s let in the front of the door. The door was closed, but a ponderous s.h.a.ggy bear stood snuffling at the crack at the bottom, and uttering, ever and again, the most terrifying growls.

The people had sought safety wherever they had been caught at the time the bear marched into the clearing, after following the scent of his dead mate's body. With nose to the ground he must have been on his way toward the little shed where the she-bear hung, when a new scent greeted his nose. He made for Mike's cabin and began to realize that his children were in there.

Immediately he tore at the wood and demanded in stern tones to be admitted.

Don and Dot, looking at each other in dismay, peeped out of the window to behold that most appalling hulk standing at the door!

Mike understood, but he must plan to get a good sure shot at the maddened bear without hitting the gla.s.s in the door.

He crawled noiselessly across half of the clearing to get an aim at the bear from another vantage-point, but the bear, in his intensity, was all alert to sound, and heard the almost imperceptible noise the Indian made on the soft ground.

He turned, and stood glowering at his enemy who was about thirty feet away. He seemed to know intuitively that this was the man who had ruined his home, and he stood looking him over from head to foot.

Mike, very slowly, so as not to cause the beast any action, brought his rifle up to his shoulder, but before he could take aim, the bear sprang forward toward the man.

It took Mike but a moment to dodge into the children's cabin and shut the door. No, not quite!

The bear wheeled as soon as Mike dodged, and came after him. The time lost in turning the door-k.n.o.b and getting inside gave the bear time to get to the door. The door was almost closed upon the catch when the nose of the beast came plump up against the wooden obstacle. The door was pushed halfway open, but Mike exerted all of his strength to shove it back again, and dragged the bureau up against it. Before he could turn the lock to make the catch hold better the bear threw his entire weight up against the outside and forced the door in again.

While he held his shoulder against the door to keep the bear out, he used his rifle to smash in the gla.s.s of the little square window near the door.

The moment this was done, Mike jumped from his post behind the door and managed to squeeze his body through the window, while the bear, feeling resistance give way from inside, forced himself in to devour his enemy.

Mike got out and immediately caught hold of the door from the outside and banged it shut, caging the bear in the little room.

The bear's face appeared at the window whence his intended victim had escaped, and he tried to get out. He could barely push his large head through but his shoulders stuck fast in the opening.

Mike looked about for help and found every window about the clearing with a face pressed against it. He yelled for the cook.

"Cookee! Him make Mike's lil' gun ready!--in cabin!"

The cook, seeing that the wild beast was safely shut up for the time being, ran out of his kitchen and hurried over to Mike's aid. Mike made him understand that a revolver was to be found in his cabin. Cookee ran and loaded it, coming back to Mike's side, just as the bear, snarling and chewing at the inner sill in his rage to get out, poked his head through the opening.

"Cookee, hol' fas' door--Mike put gun in him head!" said Mike, as he motioned the cook to take his place at the door.

At that moment, Don came out and shouted to Mike.

"Hi, there, Mike! Let's leave him in there and keep him caged up until we go home. Dot and I'll sleep in the office if you'll let the bear live there."

"Yes, Mike, please do," added Dot.

"Whaf'fer?" asked Mike.

"To sell to the Central Park Menagerie!" shouted Don.

"The big father bear and his two children will be fine for everyone to come and see, and Dot and I'll get a heap of money fer 'em, and you can have half," added Dot.

Just at that crisis, when the ladies were going to call to Mike to shoot the bear and be done with it, the timber-men were heard coming from the cutting.

Mr. Starr and Mr. Latimer came first, and, seeing that some unusual event was going on, they ran over to Mike to ask the cause. Just as Mr.

Latimer's eyes came opposite the opening of the window, the bear stuck his big bushy head out and, with eyes like b.a.l.l.s of fire, he uttered a snarl that curled back his lips, showing frightful fangs ready to tear everyone to shreds.

Mr. Latimer made a queer noise, halfway between a shriek and a groan, and fell up against Cookee. It was so unexpected and sudden that Cookee was toppled off of his feet and the door swung halfway open again. In that second the bear came down from the window and thundered at the door, but Mike was too agile an Indian to have that door open, and before the bear could get his nose through the crack, the door slammed shut again, and Mr. Starr was stationed there to hold it.

"Meester Don an' Doot, say, 'Keep bear live for park,'" explained Mike, waiting orders from the bosses.

As soon as Cookee gained his breath, which had been knocked out by the sudden fall, he explained.

"The twins want to let the bear stay in this cabin and they'll sleep in the office. They want to sell him to the park and get a lot of money."

"Shoot him, quick!" ordered Mr. Starr, seeing the wet nose of the bear appear at the opening again.

Mike took a good aim this time and soon a crack of the gun, followed by a heavy thud inside the cabin, made them all breathe easier. The doors of the other buildings opened and the prisoners stepped out to ask if it was safe to come over.

Don and Dot did not wait for an answer but ran to join the men.

Mike carefully crept up to the window and tried to see the inside of the cabin, but he could only see the two bunks opposite the window. After a short time, not a sound being heard inside, Mike pushed his head inside the window.