and alarm
by the stories he had circulated. He really believed that every word he
had uttered was the truth; and he reached this conclusion by a process
of reasoning perfectly satisfactory to himself. He had heard the growls
and snarls uttered by the animal in the bushes, when attacked by the
dogs, and they were so appalling, that he felt safe in believing that
they came from some terrible monster. The conduct of the hounds, and of
Johnny's horse, confirmed this opinion. Besides, Frank and Archie had
pronounced the animal a grizzly, and Arthur was quite sure it was; for
nothing else, except a lion or tiger, could have uttered such growls. He
had heard that grizzlies were very tenacious of life, and hard to whip,
and, consequently, it followed, as a thing of course, that Frank and
Archie, and the dogs, were utterly annihilated.

"I'm safe, thank goodness!" said Arthur, to himself. "If those fellows
were foolish enough to stay there and be clawed to pieces, that's their
lookout and not mine. Johnny Harris insulted me by calling me a coward.
He may escape from the bear, and if he does, I shall think up a plan to
punish him."

When Arthur reached home, he repeated his story as he had told it to Mr.
Harris and Uncle James, and he straightway found himself a hero. He had
seen a grizzly bear with terrible claws, and a frightful array of teeth;
his horse had run away with him, and carried him eight miles before he
could stop him, and he had come home with a whole skin. It was
wonderful.

Arthur threw on airs accordingly. He strutted about among the herdsmen,
and entertained his servant, a Mexican boy about his own age, named
Pedro, with a description of the fight, in which he had seen four fierce
dogs completely demolished.

Pedro complimented him highly, and the Rancheros called him a brave
lad--although Arthur himself failed to see what he had done that was
deserving of praise. He went to bed in excellent spirits, and was
awakened in the morning, about daylight, by Pedro, who came into his
room, carrying in his hand a double-barreled shot-gun, a tomahawk, and
sheath-knife, and, under his arm, he held a hat, and a bundle wrapped up
in a newspaper. Pedro held his sombrero over his face, so that nothing
could be seen but his eyes, which were brimful of laughter.

"Now, then," exclaimed Arthur, raising himself on his elbow, and looking
fiercely at the boy, "what do you want in here at this barbarous hour,
and what are you