. He had
recently bought a track of land on the lake shore not far from Old Ti
and had gone to look it over and build some sort of a camp there, thus
utilizing his time to good advantage before the trapping season began.

Even after their fears were lulled, either Enoch or Bryce remained
always in sight of the house. But about a fortnight after the
hog-killing frolic an incident occurred which served to take both Bryce
and Enoch away from the cabin. There had been a second fall of snow and
the nights were becoming very cold. But all the wild animals had not yet
sought their winter sleeping quarters, for there descended upon the
Hardings' hog-pen an old bear who evidently desired one more meal of
succulent pork before retiring to his burrow. The remaining swine were
shut up now in a close yard of logs; but the bear got over that fence
with ease.

The trouble occurred in the early morning and aroused by the clamor
Enoch, despite the inch or two of snow on the ground, grabbed the rifle
and ran out just as he got out of bed and without shoes or stockings.
But when he saw the huge bear seeking to climb out of the enclosure,
hugging a lively shote to his furry breast, the boy was not likely to
notice the cold and snow. He climbed the end logs of the hog-pen himself
so as to get a shot at the marauder, and rested the rifle on the top
rail; but the logs were slippery and just as he pulled the trigger he
went down himself and the charge flew high over the bear's head, while
Enoch sprawled most ungracefully on the ground.

The old bear uttered a wild "oof-oof!" and without trying to climb the
barrier again, flung his huge body against it and a length of the fence
went down with a crash. By this time Bryce, who had kept the old musket
by his side since Crow Wing's warning, and slept in the loft, was
aroused by the disturbance, and he pushed up the corner of the bark roof
and blazed away at the beast just as it scrambled through the wreck of
the hog fence. The bear had continued to cling to the squealing and
kicking shote, for bruin is a strangely perverse and obstinate creature,
unwilling to give up what he has once set his mind upon. There was a
wild shriek of agony from the poor pig and when the bear moved clumsily
away still clinging to the porker there was a broad trail of blood on
the snow.

"I shot him! I shot him!" yelled Bryce, dodging down into the loft and
beginning to hastily pull on his breeches. But when he came d