arter of an hour or
so. This was granted, and he promptly baited up and threw in.
As a consequence he soon caught a beautiful brook trout, and
several more followed.

"Wait; I'll take a snapshot of hauling in the next fish," said the
doctor's son, and he succeeded in getting a view that later on
turned out exceedingly well.

Not having anything else to do, Snap wandered down the brook for
a distance of a hundred yards. He was on the point of turning
back when he saw something at a distance, moving among the brushwood.
He looked sharply for a moment and then discovered that it was
a large black bear.

CHAPTER XXVIII

AFTER A BLACK BEAR

"Shep! Giant! Quick!"

"What's the matter, Snap?"

"A bear! Down the stream! Come on with the guns!" went on Snap
excitedly. He had returned hot-footed to where he had left his chums
and the firearms.

"Are you sure?" queried the doctor's son as he dropped his camera and
grabbed up his shotgun.

"Dead certain---but I don't know how long he will stay there. Oh,
if I had only had my gun with me!" groaned Snap. "I could have
brought him down as easy as pie!"

"Aren't you going to take your camera?" asked Giant as he drew in his
line and took both his photo outfit and his firearm.

"Yes, I forgot," said the doctor's son, and picked up his camera
again. "Don't shoot till we get a snapshot," he said to Snap, who,
gun in hand, was already off.

"All right; but we don't want to lose the bear," answered the other
young hunter.

"Of course not!"

With Snap in the lead, the three boys sneaked swiftly but silently
down the mountain brook until they came to the spot from which Snap
had discovered the bear. Here they halted, and the others looked
enquiringly at their leader.

"I saw him right over yonder," whispered Snap. "Go slow, now, or
you'll scare him."

With bated breath the three young hunters advanced down the tiny
stream. They gained the shelter of some dense brushwood and gazed
around eagerly. Not a sign of a bear was to be seen anywhere.

"Maybe you were dreaming, Snap," murmured Giant.

"No, I wasn't---I saw him just as plain as day."

"Then he must have seen you running back to the pool, and he must
have took out, too."

"Perhaps; but I was very careful to keep out of sight."

They advanced a little farther, and now saw ahead of them a slight
hollow, where there was another waterfall, sheltered on either side
by sharp rocks.

"There he