Page:Young Hunters of the Lake.djvu/220

204 of shelving rocks. He had gone but a short distance when he uttered a cry:

"A bear! a bear!"

"Where?" asked all of the others simultaneously.

"Over on yonder cliff! There he goes!"

The young hunters looked in the direction indicated, and saw a bear leaping swiftly from rock to rock. Almost before they knew it he was out of sight. They were too far away to take a shot, much to their disappointment.

"Any use of going after him?" asked Whopper.

"Not now," answered Jed Sanborn. "He'll be on guard all day. You can come back some other day if you want to. But be careful he don't chew ye up."

Again they went on, and now came to a slight hollow on the mountainside. Suddenly Snap saw something moving cautiously over the rocks close at hand.

"There's a wildcat!" he cried, and swinging around his gun he fired. The wildcat was hit in the side but kept on. Then Giant fired, hitting the beast in the head, and it rolled from the rocks to a position almost at their feet.

"Is it dead?" asked the doctor's son.