hunter at first thought the moonlight
must have deceived him.

"Sartinly it's the biggest that I've ever clapped eyes on," he thought
but he did not speak or move. So anxious was he not to scare the
animal, that he hardly breathed.

Bruin seemed to entertain suspicions of some sort, for he sniffed the
tainted air once or twice, and looked inquiringly round. Coming to the
conclusion, apparently, that his suspicions were groundless, he walked
straight up to the lump of buffalo-meat and sniffed it. Not being
particular, he tried it with his tongue.

"Good!" said the bear--at least if he did not say so, he must have
thought so, for next moment he grasped it with his teeth. Finding it
tethered hard and fast, he gathered himself together for the purpose of
exercising main force.

Now was Little Tim's opportunity. Slipping a cord by which the net was
suspended to the four stakes, he caused it to descend like a curtain
over the bear. It acted most successfully, insomuch that the animal was
completely enveloped.

Surprised, but obviously not alarmed, Bruin shook his head, sniffed a
little, and pawed the part of the net in front of him. The hunter
wasted no time. Seeing that the net was all right, he pulled with all
his might on the main rope, which partly drew the circumference of the
net together. Finding his feet slightly trammelled, the grizzly tried
to move off, but of course trod on the net, tripped, and rolled over.
In so doing he caught sight of the hunter, who was now enabled to close
the mouth of the net-purse completely.

Being by that time convinced, apparently, that he was the victim of foul
play, the bear lost his temper, and tried to rise. He tripped as
before, came down heavily on his side, and hit the back of his head
against a stone. This threw him into a violent rage, and he began to
bounce.

At all times bouncing is ineffectual and silly, even in a grizzly bear.
The only result was that he bruised his head and nose, tumbled among
stones and stumps, and strained the rope so powerfully that the limb of
the tree to which it was attached was violently shaken, and Little Tim
was obliged to hold on to avoid being shaken off.

Experience teaches bears as well as fools. On discovering that it was
useless to bounce, he sat down in a disconsolate manner, poked as much
as he could of his nose through one of the meshes, and sniggered at
Little Tim, who during these outbursts was naturally in a state