rk. Then they would scuttle a short distance, to become
glued again. Their beady eyes were twinkling. Henry could not see them,
but he knew it must be so.

A slender nose and a pointed head pushed through the bushes, and then a
long, strong figure followed. A great gray wolf! A beast of prey, but no
thought of the hunt seemed to be in his mind now. He was about twenty
feet from the rolling bears, and he regarded Henry with a look that said
very plainly: "I enjoy the sport, but I would not do it myself." Henry
gave back the look in kind, and the two, who would have been natural
enemies at any other time, stood at opposite sides of the berry patch,
looking with grave amusement at the sportive animals which still tumbled
about, crushing the ripe berries under them, until not only their noses
but almost their entire bodies were streaked with red stains.

A tiny spot appeared in the blue sky far overhead, grew with astonishing
swiftness, as a great bald eagle, descending with the utmost velocity,
and then abruptly checking its flight, alighted on the bough of a tree
over Henry's head, where it sat, its eyes upon the comedy passing in the
berry patch. At any other time the eagle would have regarded the youth
as his natural enemy, but now there was no hostility between them. They
were merely innocent spectators.

A rabbit, disturbed in its cosy nest under the briars, hopped out, sat
on a little mound and looked on with interest, unafraid of the bears,
the wolf, the eagle or the human being. A red bird flew in a circle over
the berry patch and then alighted among the leaves of a tree, where it
burned in a splash of flame against the glossy brown. Another bird, in a
more sober garb, poured forth a joyous song.

The wilderness was at peace. Moreover, it was witnessing a comedy,
presented by the true comedians of the forest, the young bears, and
Henry's sense of kinship grew stronger. It gave him a feeling of great
warmth, too, to see that they were not afraid of him. In a measure and
for the time at least he was received into the forest family.

A quarter of an hour passed, and the comedy was not yet finished, but
Henry heard a lone far cry in the south, and he knew it was the signal
of warrior to warrior. In a minute the answering signal was given, but
much nearer, and the two bears stopped in their play, standing up, their
stained noses in the air and their streaked bodies quivering with
apprehension. A third time came the