t of them characterized the story as one big lie, and
thought no more of it. But not so Alec. He had seen that day in the
wood the most wonderful sight of his life, a bear eating like folks,
and he could not get out of his head the idea that the capture of that
bear meant a fortune to the trapper who should accomplish the feat.

Perhaps, there was also some superstition linked with his curiosity,
for nearly all Canucks are superstitious; but at any rate the very next
day he set about building the trap that should capture the "deevil
bar," and make him a rich man.

The trap upon which Alec relied for the capture of Black Bruin was a
pen-trap. It was made in the following manner:

Alec looked about until he discovered four trees, growing in two pairs
ten or twelve feet apart. These sets of pillars were to be the four
corners of the trap. He then set to work to cut small logs eight or
ten inches in diameter. These were a couple of feet longer than the
pen was to be and were built up one above another on the inside of the
pillars, being held in place against the trees by strong stakes driven
deep into the ground.

In this manner the two sides and the back end of the pen-trap were
formed. The top was covered with poles, weighted down with stones.
The trap-door, which was at the front, was made of plank and slid up
and down in a groove. When it was raised, it was held in place by a
cord which passed over the top of the pen-trap and down on the back
side, finally attaching to a trigger connecting with a spindle inside
the pen, at the farther end. The bait was to be placed on this spindle
and a tug upon it would let go the trap-door. As this was weighted
with stones, it came down with a bang and anything unfortunate enough
to be inside was caught in a prison of great strength.

It took Alec two days to build the trap, and when it was finished he
carefully removed all chips and traces of his carpentering.

Usually a bear will not go near anything so new and apparently man-made
as a green pen-trap. So Alec did not expect success for several days.
In the meantime he took pains to bait Black Bruin and keep him in the
vicinity by placing near the spring meat and other food, that his
woodsman's instinct told him would be appreciated by a hungry bear. He
did not forget an occasional bottle of coffee. Although he did not see
the bear again for several days, yet the meat and the coffee always
disappeared, which was pr