ILLUSTRATIONS.
| “Balser was more fortunate in his aim, and gave the bear a mortal wound” | Frontispiece |
| PAGE | |
|---|---|
| Bass and sunfish and big-mouthed redeye | 4 |
| “A wildcat almost as big as a cow” | 14 |
| “Little Balser noticed fresh bear tracks, and his breath began to come quickly” | 15 |
| “Fresh bear tracks” | 17 |
| “Imagine ... his consternation when he saw upon the bank, quietly watching him, a huge black bear” | 19 |
| “The bear had a peculiar, determined expression about him” | 21 |
| “When the bear got within a few feet of Balser ... the boy grew desperate with fear, and struck at the beast with the only weapon he had—his string of fish” | 25 |
| “The bear had caught the fish, and again had climbed upon the log” | 29 |
| “He could hear the bear growling right at his heels, and it made him just fly” | facing 44 |
| “Tige was told to go into the cave” | facing 48 |
| “Each with a saucy little bear cub” | facing 52 |
| “Down came Tom and Jerry from the roof” | facing 60 |
| Tige and Prince swimming about the canoe | facing 74 |
| “’Lordy, Balser! It’s the one-eared bear’” | facing 88 |
| “’Let’s get out of here’” | facing 94 |
| “Balser rushed into the fight” | facing 102 |
| “Mischief! they never thought of anything else” | 108 |
| “Balser turned in time to see a great, lank, gray wolf emerge from the water, carrying a gander by the neck” | 109 |
| “Bang! went Balser’s gun, and the wolf ... paid for his feast with his life” | 117 |
| “Caught them by the back of the neck” | 123 |
| “The boys tied together the legs of the old wolves and swung them over the pole ... and started home leading the pups” | 127 |
| “These hives were called ‘gums’” | 135 |
| “The cubs went every way but the right way” | facing 146 |
| “The bear rose to climb after the boy” | facing 160 |
| “Liney thrust the burning torch into the bear’s face and held it there despite its rage and growls” | facing 168 |
| “’Help! help!’ came the cry” | facing 176 |
| “’Now, hold up the torch, Polly’” | facing 204 |
| “Polly continued slowly toward the bear” | facing 212 |
| “Imagine his consternation when he recognized the forms of Liney Fox and her brother Tom” | 229 |
| “He fell a distance of ten or twelve feet, ... and lay half stunned” | 233 |
| En route for the castle | 244 |
| The castle on the Brandywine | 252 |
| “Balser hesitated to fire, fearing that he might kill Tom or one of the dogs” | 263 |
| “Espied a doe and a fawn, standing upon the opposite side of the creek” | 273 |
I.
THE BIG BEAR.
THE BEARS OF BLUE RIVER.