Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-06-07
THE GRIZZLY KING
By JAMES OLIVER CURWooD
The Author of "Kazan"

EoIBeI the snow growled Bruce, and
LahRdon could hear him breaking off dry
pitch'hued twigs under O spruce.
Ho went to help him. and five minutes
iater they had fire going. The light IL
iumined their faces, and each saw that the
other was not unhappy. Bruce was grin
ming under his sodden hair
I was dead asleep when II came" he
explained An thought I'd fallen in a
Iake woke up tryin' to swim"
AN early July rain at o'clock in tho
morning in the northern British Columbia
mountains is not as warm as II might be.
| anu LOT the greater part OF an hour Lang
uon ana Bruce continued 10 gather fuel
anu dry their blankets and clothing
IL was o'clock before they had break
fast, and little after when they started
| win their two saddles and single pack up
the valley Bruce had the satisfaction
OF reminding Langdon that his prediction
had come true, for glorious day followed
| the thunder shower.
| Under them the meadows were dripping
The valley purred louder with the music
| OF the swollen streamlets From the noun
| tain tops half Of last nights snow was
gone and to Langrion the flowers seemed
taller and more beautiful. Tho air that
| drifted through the valley was laden with
the sweetness and freshness Of the morning
and over and through II all the sun shone in
warm and golden sea.
They headed up the creek bottom, bend
| ing over from their saddles to look at
| every strip OF sand they passed for tracks
| They had not gone a quarter OF a mile when
Bruce gave a sudden exclamation and
stopped. He pointed 10 a round patch of
sand in which Thor had left one OF his
huge footprints. Langdon dismounted and
| measured IT,
TITS he!" he cried, and there was a
thrill Of excitement in his voice Hadn't
we better 90 on without the horses, Bruce?"
| The mountaineer shook his head But
before he voiced an opinion he got down
| from his horse and scanned the sides OF
| the mountains ahead of them through his
| long telescope LanEdon used his double
barreled hunting class. They discovered
| nothing.
Hes still in tho creek bottom, an he's
| probably three or four miles ahead" said
Bruce Wen ride on couple o. miles
| an find a place good for the horses. The
grass an bushes will be dry then"
It was easy to follow Thor's course after
| this for he had hung close to the creek.
| Within three or four hundred yards of
| the great mass of boulders where the
! grizzly had come upon the tan-faced cub
was small copse Of spruce in the heart
| Of n grassy dip, and here the hunters
stripped and hobbled their horses Twenty
| minutes later they had come up cautiously
| to the soft carpet Of sand where Thor and
| Muskwa had become acquainted. The heavy
| rain had obliterated the cubs tiny foot
1
grizzly's tracks. The packers teeth cleaned
| as he looked at Langdon.
He amt very far" he whispered
| shouldn't wonder II he spent the night
| pretty close an he's mooshing on Just
| ahead of us"
He wet finger and held II above his
head To get the wind He hooded signi-
| hcantly.
Wed better get up on the slopes" he
said.
They made their way around the end OF
the boulders, holding their guns in readi-
ness and headed for a small coulee that
promised an easy ascent OF the first slope
At the mouth OF this both paused again.
Its bottom was covered with sand, and In
this sand were the tracks OF another bear.
Bruce dropped on his knees.
TITS another grizzly" said Langdon.
mo, It ain't: it's a black" said Bruce.
Jimmy can't ever knock into yo'r head
the difference between black an a grizzly
track2 This is the hind foot, an the heel
is round. II II was n grizzly II would be
pointed. An It's too broad an chubby
fr a grizzly an the claws are too long
fr the length Of the foot. It's a black
as plain as the nose on yo'r face"
"And going our way" said Langdon.
"Come on!"
TWO hundred yards up the coulee the
bear had climbed out on the slope. Lang.
don and Bruce followed. In the thick grass
and hard shale OF the first crest OF the
slope tho tracks were quickly lost, but
the hunters were not much interested in
these tracks now. From the height at
which they were travelling they had a
splendid view below, them.
Not once did Bruce take his eyes from
the creek bottom He knew that II was
down there they would find the grizzly,
and he was interested in nothing else just
at present. Langdon, on the other hand,
was Interested I'm everything that might
be living or moving about them: every mass
OF rock and thcket OF thorn held possibili-
ties for him, and his eyes were questing
the higher ridges and the peaks as we'll
as their Immediate trail II was because
Of this that he saw something which made
him suddenly grip his companion's arm and
pull him down beside him on the ground.
'LookP he whispered, stretching out
an arm.
From his kneeing posture Bruce stared.
His eyes fairly popped in amazement Not
more than thirty feet above them was a
big rock shaped like a drygoods box, and
pretrudinR from behind tho farther side
Of this rock was the rear half of a bear,
IL was a black bear, its glossy coat shin
ing in the sunlight. For full half minute
Bruce continued 10 stare. Then he grinned
"Asleep-dead AsassDi Jimmy you want
He put down his gun and drew out his
long hunting knife. He chuckled softly as
be felt Of its keen point.
"If you never saw bear run yo'r goin
70 see one run now. Jimmy You stay
He began crawling slowly and quietly
40 the slops toward The roek, ghile Lang |
don held his breath N anticipation of what |
eas atoutsto haPpsn Tviee preee isetsd