must have caught him well, for he set up a terrific howling.

"The next night, as the wolves came back again to pay their nightly
visit, we heard a new growl coming from a distance. I looked at Hal for
information, and he chuckled with satisfaction.

"'Ha! I thought so! I was sure a bear would come along before long.'

"'A bear! Oh, I wish we could get him in that trap!'

"'Will he attack the wolves?' I asked.

"'He will come sniffing about that pit for meat, and if the wolves
bother him they will most likely get into trouble,' said Hal, laughing.

"'Gracious, Hal! S'pose he gets our meat--what will we do?'

"'We'll have to prevent him from gettin' it, that's all,' said Hal,
looking at his rifle to see that it was in good order.

"'How are you going to do it?'

"'Shoot him while he's busy with the wolves, or try and get him while he
is digging at the pit.'

"'Wait and try the last plan. Let him kill off a pack of hungry wolves,
and when he has driven them away he will come to the pit. Then is your
time,' I said.

"'Kid, you're comin' on fine! Another season in the north and you will
be a regular hunter,' laughed Hal.

"I saw that I pleased the old man, and felt happy that I could do it so
easily. But my attention was attracted by the din of battle outside, as
howls and snarls mixed together so furiously that the dogs huddled down
in a corner of the hut and showed their teeth at the doorway.

"We couldn't tell from the sounds which was being worsted, but the fact
that the wolves were so numerous led us to believe that they could
finally tear to pieces any bear. Then, while we were checking off the
howls, quite a singular snarl came from the opposite direction.

"We could tell from the noises that another bear had taken a hand in the
fight, which continued for a long time. Then all was quiet.

"All that night we heard something scratching at the door and climbing
up to the smoke-hole, but a firebrand always met the inquisitive nose,
for we could hear the snarl of rage as a hasty retreat was made. One
queer thing, though, was the fact that we only heard one beast clawing
about.

"When light came again, Hal placed his ear to a chink in the door and
listened. He seemed satisfied that the coast was clear, so we started to
chop out the snow that bound the door on the outside.

"We got the door open about an inch, and Hal peeped out, but could see
nothing. Then we managed to push it open a little further, and