his
spot for the bears."

"The bears! Oh, Mr. Rason! you surely don't mean that?" cried Della
Ford.

"But I certainly do, ma'am. This was always a great place for bears.
That's why they call this end of the lake Bear Camp. I shot one of 'em
here last winter, and I got an old she-bear and her two cubs here two
years afore that."

"We haven't seen any traces of bears," said Phil.

"You'll see 'em sooner or later," returned the old hunter, with
conviction. "They are bound to come here."

"What makes you say they are bound to come?" questioned Dave, curiously.
"Is there any particular reason for it?"

"I think there is, young man. So far as I can understand it, I think the
bears come here in the fall to get certain roots and herbs that they
like to eat. I think they find more of 'em around here than they do
anywhere else, and that's what fetches 'em."

"And do you think the bears keep the deer away from here?" questioned
Roger.

"I don't know as to that. But I do know that bears and deer don't mix
very well," answered Tad Rason.

While Mr. Appleby was negotiating with Mrs. Wadsworth and Mrs. Basswood
for the loan of several pieces of rustic furniture which the bungalows
contained, Della Ford and her aunt visited with the boys. The young
actress wanted to know all about what the young folks at the bungalows
had been doing, and expressed her delight at the cosiness of the place,
and its beautiful surroundings.

Mr. Appleby, aided by Tad Rason, carried the borrowed furniture down to
the motor-boat. There was more of it than the manager had at first
anticipated taking, and, as a consequence, the craft was well loaded.

"I don't see how we are going to sit in there with all that furniture
packed around us!" exclaimed Della, in dismay, as she viewed the
situation.

"You might sit in that rocking-chair on the bow," suggested Phil, with a
broad smile; and at this suggestion there was a general laugh.

"No, thank you. I have no desire to be spilled overboard. I went
overboard once, and that was quite enough," answered the young actress.

"I'll tell you what we might do," answered Dave. "We could take you and
your aunt in one of the rowboats, and have the motor-boat tow it."

"Oh, that would be lovely!" cried Della. "What do you say, Aunt Bess;
shall we do it?"

"I'm willing, if it is safe," answered the aunt, "I don't want to go to
the bottom of this lake any more than I wanted to go to the bottom of
the Atlant