tre. In his suspicious eyes even a calf might be dangerous
to tamper with, under such unusual conditions as these. As he vanished
the calf shuddered violently, and tried to climb upon his mother's
mangled body.

In a few seconds the bear's head appeared again, close by the base of
the deadfall. With crafty nose he sniffed at the great timber which
held the moose cow down. The calf was now almost within reach of the
deadly sweep of his paw; but the man-smell was strong on the deadfall,
and the bear was still suspicious. While he hesitated, from behind a
bend in the trail came a sound of footsteps. The bear knew the sound.
A man was coming. Yes, certainly there was some trick about it. With a
grunt of indignant disgust he shrank back again into the thicket and
fled stealthily from so dangerous a neighbourhood. Hungry as he was,
he had no wish to try conclusions with man.

The woodsman came striding down the trail hurriedly, rounded the turn,
and stopped abruptly. He understood at a glance the evil work of the
game poachers. With indignant pity, he stepped forward and drew a
merciful knife across the throat of the suffering beast. The calf
shrank away and stood staring at him anxiously, wavering between
terror and trust.

For a moment or two the man hesitated. Of one thing he was certain:
the poachers who had set the deadfall must not profit by their
success. Moreover, fresh moose-meat would not be unappreciated in his
backwoods cabin. He turned and retraced his steps at a run, fearing
lest some hungry spring marauders should arrive in his absence. And
the calf, more than ever terrified by his mother's unresponsiveness,
stared after him uneasily as he vanished.

For half an hour nothing happened. The early chill passed from the
air, a comforting warmth glowed down the trail, the two rain-birds
kept whistling to each other their long, persuasive, melancholy call,
and the calf stood motionless, waiting, with the patience of the wild,
for he knew not what. Then there came a clanking of chains, a
trampling of heavy feet, and around the turn appeared the man again,
with a pair of big brown horses harnessed to a drag-sled. The calf
backed away as the man approached, and watched with dull wonder as the
great log was rolled aside and his mother's limp, crushed form was
hoisted laboriously upon the sled. This accomplished, the man turned
and came to him gently, with hand outstretched. To run away would have
been to run away fr