d bear wandered
on, lured ever by richer prizes just ahead; and the cub, stuffed till
his little stomach was like a black furry ball, no longer frisked and
tumbled, but waddled along beside her with eyes of shining expectancy.
As long as he was not too full to walk, he was not too full to eat
such delicacies as these. The fascinating quest led them on and on
till at last they found themselves at the water's edge.

By this time they had travelled a long way from the cleft in the
cliffs by which they had come down from the uplands. A good half-mile
of shining mud separated them, in a direct line, from the cliff base.
And the woodsman on the height, as he watched them, muttered to
himself: "Ef that old b'ar don't look out, the tide's a-goin' to ketch
her afore she knows what she's about! Most wish I'd 'a' socked it to
her afore she'd got so fur out--Jiminy! She's seed her mistake now!
The tide's turned."

While bear and cub had their noses and paws busy in a little dry pool,
on a sudden a long, shallow, muddy-crested wave had come hissing up
over their feet and filled the pool to the brim with its yellow flood.
Lifting her head sharply, the old bear glanced at the far-off cliffs,
and at the mounting tide. Instantly realizing the peril, she started
back at a slow, lumbering amble up the long, long path by which they
had come; and the cub started too at a brave gallop--not behind her,
for he was too much afraid of the hissing yellow wave, but close at
her side, between her sheltering form and the shore. He felt that she
could in some way ward off or subdue the cold and terrifying monster.

For perhaps two minutes the cub struggled on gamely, although, owing
to the fact that at this point their path was almost parallel with the
water, the fugitives made no perceptible gain, and the rising wave was
on their heels every instant. Then the greedy feeding produced its
effect. The little fellow's wind gave out completely. With a whimper
of pain and fright he dropped back upon his haunches and waited for
his mother to save him.

The old bear turned, bounced back, and cuffed him so bruskly that he
found breath enough to utter a loud squall and go stumbling forward
for another score of yards. Then he gave out, and sank upon his
too-distended stomach, whimpering piteously.

This time the mother seemed to perceive that his case was serious, and
her anxious wrath subsided. She licked him assiduously for a few
seconds, whining encou