Teddy went on with the task he had set out to perform; while Amos busied himself with his cooking fire, which of course differed from the usual big camp fire about which the canoe cruisers liked to sit, after their evening meal was over.
Amos found stones to suit him, and built a cairn that was something like fourteen inches wide at the mouth, tapering along until at the other end it did not exceed four inches. On this he could place both frying-pan and coffee-pot, if both were to be used. And in the cavity, he proceeded to coax a red fire by adding just the proper kind and amount of small fuel.
Not more than six or seven minutes had passed when the two boys were startled by hearing Dolph shouting wildly at the top of his voice; and they judged that he was coming toward the camp with all the speed he could command.
“Bear! Big black bear! and chasing after me! Hurry up, and bring a gun, somebody! Quick! he’s right after me, I tell you! Whoop!” No wonder that both boys hurriedly snatched up a gun apiece, never looking to see whose these happened to be, and ran toward the spot from whence the cry for help proceeded.
Here was a pretty how-dye-do; Dolph going innocently back to the cranberry bog to pick up a dinner of frogs’ legs, and being chased by a savage old bear!
Somebody did get a move on, as Dolph had pleaded for them to do; everybody did, in fact; for Teddy dropped whatever he was doing, snatched up a gun, and put out as fast as he could run; while Amos, forgetting all about the chances of his fire going out just when it needed the most attention, followed close in the footsteps of his camp mate, also armed with a deadly weapon.
There was not the slightest difficulty in locating the scene of operations. The continued whoops of Dolph did that all right for them.
All at once the yells ceased, as if by magic, and a fear gripped the would-be rescuers that they were, alas, too late to be of help. Then they heard what sounded like a hysterical laugh, followed by the exclamation:
“Well, I’ll be hanged, if that ain’t a good one on me!”
That was Dolph’s well known voice; there could not be the slightest doubt about it; and to judge from the fact of his actually uttering a sort of laugh, it seemed as though Bruin could not have eaten him up, as yet. Both gallant rescuers felt vastly encouraged, and emboldened to push right on.