n of
the carriage and the log, and, in a moment afterwards, the log began to
go back again; the saw, all the time, ascending and descending as
before, but without doing any work. When the log had got back so far
that the saw came out of the cleft which it had made, the man stopped
it, and then, with an iron bar, he shifted the position of the log in
such a manner that when the carriage should be put in motion, the saw
would cut the log in a new place, at a little distance from the
other,--a distance just equal to the thickness of the board which they
wished to make.

Marco watched all these movements with great interest. Forester, who had
often seen them before, went back to the fire, and held his hands out to
it, for, as it was a cold evening, the feeling of the warmth was
pleasant. He could see that Marco remained talking with the millman; but
the noise of the machinery was so great that he could not hear what
they said.

The flashes of light from the fire illuminated Marco's face, however,
and Forester could see that he was much interested in what the millman
was telling him. The millman sat down upon the log, and made gestures as
if he was eating something. Then he took hold of Marco, and put him down
upon the log in his place, and he took a seat himself beyond him--that
is, between Marco and the saw. All this time, the log, riding upon the
great frame, was slowly advancing against the saw, carrying Marco and
the millman along with it. When it had carried them so far that the
millman was getting to be very near the saw, he turned suddenly round,
and made a gesture as if he was going to clasp the saw in his
arms,--laughing as he did it,--and, immediately afterwards, he got up
from the log, and Marco got up, too,--beginning to laugh himself, also,
though his countenance had expressed surprise and anxiety before.

A short time after this, when Marco came back to the place where
Forester was, Forester asked him what the millman had been saying to
him.

"He was telling me a story of a bear," said Marco.

"Of a bear?" said Forester.

"Yes," said Marco, "of a bear in a saw-mill."

"I don't see what a bear had to do in a saw-mill," replied Forester.

"It was a great many years ago, when there were bears in the woods about
here. There was a man sawing in a mill, and he was sitting on the end of
the log that he was sawing, eating his bread and cheese. The bread and
cheese were lying on the log, next to where the man