Black Bruin | Page 8

of the wind, and the usual night sounds came to
her ears.
At last, in one of these anxious periods of listening, she thought she
detected the barking of old Hecla, but was not certain. Perhaps it was
only the wind playing pranks upon her overwrought nerves, or the
hooting of an owl.
She waited expectantly and a few seconds later, hearing the old hound's
glad bark as she bounded over the wall between the pasture and the
mowing, knew that John had sent her with a message for the mistress of
Clover-hill Farm. There was something in the dog's bark that put hope
into her heart, and she ran to meet her.
"Hecla, Hecla, old friend, what is it?" cried the mother, as the faithful
canine, panting from the hard run, capered breathlessly about her
mistress, wagging her tail and quivering with excitement.
"Can't you tell me, Hecla? Is my baby safe?"
For answer the dog gave several glad barks, and barking and capering,

plainly invited her mistress to follow her and see that she brought good
news.
The mother, whose arms seemed so empty, was only too glad to do this.
It had only been because of her husband's stern command and for fear
that her presence might defeat the enterprise, that she had stayed at
home at all.
With the trained sight of a woodsman, John saw them coming long
before his wife saw him, and he hallooed to them at the top of his
voice.
"It's all right, mother," he cried, "I've got little John."
A few seconds later he placed the baby in its mother's arms and sank
down in the snow exhausted from his long, hard run.
When he had recovered his breath and had gasped out a few words of
explanation, all hurried back to the farmhouse, the old dog leading the
way.
In half an hour's time the cozy kitchen was righted. The door had been
rehung and the accustomed warmth and good cheer had returned to the
room, where the kettle hummed and the clock ticked just as though
nothing had happened.
But to the young couple, who sat by the fireside talking it over, that last
half hour seemed like a nightmare.
The following morning, when the first faint streak of daylight was
whitening the east, the young farmer and his faithful dog again took the
trail for the woods.
How different was their going now, from that of the night before! Then,
an awful fear had gripped the man's heart, and the sympathetic dog had
felt her master's misery; but now, the man's step was quick and joyous,
and the dog bounded about him with barks of delight.

The tracks made the night before were still quite plain, and they soon
came to the beech where the bear had stood when the hair-raising shot
was made. There lay the great carcass in the snow just as it had the
night before.
The coat was long and glossy, of a deep black on the outside, and rather
lighter on the under side. Her forearms were strong and her claws were
most ample. Her jaw was massive, and altogether she was a beast that
one would not care for a close acquaintance with, especially if she
thought her young were in danger.
It was useless to think of moving the prize without a team, so the
exultant farmer went home for a horse and a sled, and in half an hour's
time the huge bear was lying upon the porch of the farmhouse.
News of the startling event spread rapidly and half a dozen neighbors
gathered to see the bear weighed. To the astonishment of all, she tipped
the beam at three hundred pounds, which is a few pounds short of the
record for the largest she-bear ever weighed.
Two of the neighbors helped remove the fine skin and received some
bear-steak in return for their labor.
Late in the afternoon, the now famous hunter again shouldered his gun
and set off for the woods, followed by old Hecla. He was not satisfied
in his own mind, that they had found out all there was to know about
the strange appearance of the bear at the farmhouse. If there should be
more "goods in the case," as he expressed it, so much the better; but if
not, he would keep his own counsel and no one would suspect that he
had been upon a second bear-hunt.
He went directly to the tree where the dead bear had lain, and examined
the snow carefully. He soon found a well-defined trail that led farther
back into the woods. This he followed easily, and it brought him to an
old fallen hemlock, which was partly covered with snow. The tracks led
into the deepest, thickest portion