it. They packed the floor with dead leaves, and
put on the top of the leaves a layer of thick bark with the
smooth side upward.

The bark shanty was within a clump of trees, and its open side
was not fifteen feet from the face of an abrupt cliff. Hence
there was never any wind to drive the smoke from the fire back
into their faces, and, wrapped in their furs, they slept as
snugly in the shanty as if they had been in the cabin itself.
But they were too wise to leave anything there in their absence,
knowing that it was not sufficient protection against the larger
wild animals. In fact, a big grizzly, one night when they were
at the cabin, thrust his nose into the shanty and, lumbering
about in an awkward and perhaps frightened manner, knocked off
half of one of the bark sides. It took nearly a day's work to
repair the damage, and it put Dick in an ill humor.

"I'd like to get a shot at that bear!" he exclaimed. "He had no
business trying to come into a house when he was not invited."

"But he is an older settler than we are," said Albert, in a
whimsical tone.

Dick did get a shot at a bear a few days later, and it was a
grizzly, at that. The wound was not fatal, and the animal came
on with great courage and ferocity. A second shot from Dick did
not stop him and the boy was in great danger. But Albert, who
was near, sent two heavy bullets, one after the other, into the
beast, and he toppled over, dying. It was characteristic of the
hardy life they were leading and its tendency toward the
repression of words and emotion that Dick merely uttered a brief,
"Thanks, Al, you were just in time," and Albert nodded in reply.

The skin of old Ephraim went to join that of his brother who had
been taken sometime before, and Dick himself shot a little later
a third, which contributed a fine skin.

The boys did not know how hard they were really working, but
their appetites would have bee a fine gauge. Toiling incessantly
in a crisp, cold air, as pure as any that the world affords, they
were nearly always hungry. Fortunately, the happy valley, their
own skill and courage, and the supplies that Dick had brought
from the last wagon train furnished them an unlimited larder.
Game of great variety was their staple, but they had both flour
and meal, from which, though they were sparing of their use, they
made cakes now and then. They had several ways of preparing the
Indian meal that Dick had taken from the wagon. They w