ating back," remarked Thad; "and so we'll
have to believe that either the bear is lying there, stone dead, or else
has skipped out to safe quarters. Bears never can stand being fired at
by cannon, they tell me."

"Cannon!" burst out Giraffe at this moment, for he had managed to
possess himself of the new gun by pointing to it, and having Eli Crooks
pass it along. "Cannon! well, I should smile! What d'ye think he did,
fellers? Just exactly what I warned him to beware of, when he saw game,
and got excited; pulled both triggers at the same time! Gee! no wonder
it knocked him over! I'd hate to have been behind that charge myself;
and I've stood a good many heavy ones."

"Ain't we going ashore to see if I did just happen to bowl that old bear
over?" whined Bumpus, looking appealingly at Thad. "I'd never forgive
myself, you see, if I found out that he _had_ died, and no one even
got a steak off him. A scout never wants to waste the good things of
life like that, does he, Thad?"

But the scoutmaster shook his head.

"I guess there's no chance of that happening, Bumpus," he remarked. "By
now your bear is a quarter of a mile away from here, and running yet."

"Don't blame him," said Step Hen. "That new gun makes enough noise to
burst your ear drums, Bumpus. And let's hope you won't ever pull both
triggers again. Just practice putting one finger at a time in action.
After you've shot the first barrel, let it just slip back to catch the
second trigger. It's as easy as tumbling off a log."

"Or going over backward, when you do bang away with both barrels at
once," added Davy Jones, wisely.

As they were descending the river the work was comparatively easy for
the two guides. They would have their business cut out for them later
on, when their plan of campaign, looking toward reaching the Eagle chain
of lakes, was more fully developed.

In the beginning there had been three of the paddlers in the party; but
a telegram had caught them as they left the train, calling the Oldtown
Indian, Sebattis, home, on account of the serious sickness of his wife.

Thad was capable of assuming charge of one canoe, with the assistance of
Step Hen and Davy, both lusty fellows. And so they had not bothered
trying to fill the gap at the last hour. The chances were that they
might have had to take some fellow along who would turn out to be
sullen, or else a shirk; thus spoiling much of their pleasure on the
trip.

These members of the Silver