“I wonder if we’ll hear from them again,” remarked Spouter, after the rowboat had gotten out of the hearing of the Longley cadets.
“We’ll hear from them if Maxwell and Mason have their say,” answered Jack. “Those two chaps seem to be pretty decent fellows.”
“Maybe they’ll shame the others into some sort of a contest,” was Randy’s comment.
“If they don’t offer to do something it will show they’re afraid,” came from Andy.
“I’d like to play a game of baseball with them,” said Jack. He had been very sorry not to be able to get in the games held during the school term.
“Gee! but wouldn’t we give it to ’em though?” murmured Fred. “I’d just love to knock Tommy Flanders out of the box again!”
“They’d want us to get a full nine together, and I don’t know how we’d manage it,” said Gif. “With only six fellows, we’d have no outfielders at all.”
“Oh, maybe we could pick up three fellows at Rocky Run or at Beldane,” suggested Spouter.
“Well, we wouldn’t need any outside fellows if we went into a rowing race or a swimming contest,” said Fred. “They would be lots of fun, too.”
“And we might get up some running races,” suggested Gif. “There is a footpath all the way around the lake, so we could arrange to run to Rocky Run and back or to Beldane and back or any other place. It would be lots of sport—a race along a footpath through the woods!”
“Fine chance to trip over a tree root and break your neck,” chuckled Andy. “Just the same, I wouldn’t mind going into such a race myself,” he added quickly.
The boys continued to talk the matter over as they rowed slowly along the lake front in the direction of Beldane. Then, when it was almost five o’clock, they turned to cross the lake at a point considerably below where the Garrison bungalow was located.
“There’s a wide cove up yonder,” said Gif, pointing with his hand. “Some day we’ll have to go and explore it. The old hunters used to call it Big Bear Cove.”
“That must be, then, where the bears hold out,” cried Randy.
“I don’t know much about that, Randy. Nowadays names don’t seem to count for much. You’ll go to a place called Rosedale and not find a rose in it.”
“Yes, I once went to a place called Cherryville,” said Spouter, “and so far as I could find out there wasn’t a cherry tree anywhere around.”
“How about Rocky Run?” questioned Jack. “Did any of you see any unusual amount of rocks around that place? I didn’t.”
“Well, let’s take a look at Big Bear Cove, anyway,” suggested Fred. “We’ve got lots of time. You can bet Jeff won’t be in any great hurry about dinner to-night.”
“More than likely he’ll just be starting it when we get back,” said Gif, his face clouding. “That coon certainly takes the medal for laziness. I wish dad would get rid of him.”
Still taking their time, the boys followed the shore of the lake for a quarter of a mile more and then turned into the opening known as Big Bear Cove. Here there were a number of small islands, all as well wooded as the Cat and Kittens.
“Seems to me this ought to be a lumberman’s paradise,” remarked Andy.
“Not such a paradise as you would think, Andy,” answered Gif. “You see, the growth is so thick none of the trees have much of a chance. Consequently, only a few of them are of a size to meet a lumberman’s approval. Many of them, too, are all twisted out of shape. There is one place back of our bungalow that is so thick it’s known locally as The Barrier because the lumbermen and hunters have found it impossible to get through the thickets.”
“Dandy place to get lost in, I’ll say,” remarked Randy dryly.
“What a grand—oh, what a sublime spectacle!” murmured Spouter, who was standing up in the stern of the rowboat looking around. “What a picture for a painter! Can’t you see what wonderful water colors an artist could paint here? Just think of the inspiration he could get from yonder pretty inlet with those stately trees and those beautiful overhanging bushes. And then—Great Scott, boys, look!”
Spouter’s flowery oration came to a sudden close, and, giving a gasp, he pointed up the cove to where a series of rocks jutted out into the water. On the rocks was a huge form which suddenly came up on its hind legs the better to get a view of what was beyond.
“It’s a bear! A big black bear!” ejaculated Fred.
“A bear! A bear!” was the cry, and all of the boys fairly glued their eyes on the bear that still remained reared on its hind legs looking out toward the lake.
“Oh, what a shot!” murmured Jack. “If only we had a gun!”
“And we didn’t even bring a pistol!” groaned Fred.
“Nor a camera,” put in Spouter. “Talk about a picture! Wouldn’t it be a dandy?”
So far the bear had not seen the rowboat nor the boys. But now the gaze of the big creature suddenly shifted just as Randy and Fred dropped their oars into the water to row closer. There was a sudden snort of astonishment. The bear came down on all fours and in a second more the creature had leaped from the rocks and plunged out of sight into the brushwood behind.
“He’s gone!”
“Wasn’t he a big one?”
“No wonder they call this Big Bear Lake!” exclaimed Jack. “He was as big as any bear I ever saw in the Zoo.”
“And just to think we didn’t have a gun!” murmured Randy. “Oh, what rotten luck!”
“It’s the old story of seeing the biggest game when you haven’t got a gun,” remarked Randy. “What do you think, Gif?” he went on. “Would it be worth while to row to the bungalow and get our guns and go after that bear?”
“I don’t think so,” was the ready reply. “We scared him so that he’s probably a mile or more away by this time.”
“Just the same, I think we ought to come up and hunt for him some time,” said Jack. “We might be able to trail him through the brushwood.”
“Oh, yes! let’s hunt for him, by all means,” cried Fred.
“What if the bear does a little hunting on his own account?” questioned Andy.
“You’re not afraid, are you, Andy?”
“Oh, no, Fred. But when we go bear hunting we’ve got to be mighty careful. You know it isn’t like hunting rabbits or squirrels.”
“Oh, I know that.”
The boys could not resist the temptation to row to the point of rocks where they had seen the bear, and they even went ashore to take a look around. They soon satisfied themselves that bruin was no longer in that vicinity.
“My! but didn’t he look big when he sat up?” cried Fred. “I’ll bet he was eight feet high.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that, Fred,” answered Jack. “Just the same, he was pretty big for a black bear.”
“I’d hate to have him rise up in front of me and hug me,” said Spouter.
“I wonder if there are any other bears around here,” remarked Fred.
“More than likely. It’s very seldom that you’ll find a bear traveling entirely alone. Most likely the mate of the bear is somewhere around.”
At last the boys turned away from the rocky point and rowed out of the cove in the direction of their bungalow. They had spent more time than they had expected, and now found the sun setting over the trees to the westward.
“Gee, this rowing has made me as hungry as any bear!” announced Randy.
“Same here,” answered Spouter. “I do hope Jeff has dinner ready.”
“Some fried fish and fried potatoes won’t go half bad,” put in Jack.
“I told him to have it ready at six o’clock, and it’s now half past,” came from Gif. “I hope he hasn’t burnt any of the stuff waiting for us.”
The lads were soon in sight of the bungalow. As they came closer a smell of cooking mingled with a smell of something burning greeted their nostrils.
“He’s got supper ready, all right enough,” announced Gif.
“But what’s that burning?” cried Jack.
“Must be something on the stove,” returned Spouter. “Maybe he spilled something.”
“We’ll soon see,” cried Gif, and as soon as the boat reached the little dock he leaped ashore, followed by the others.
As they hurried to the bungalow they found black smoke pouring from the open doorway. Rushing inside, they saw that smoke was coming from the kitchen.
“Hi, Jeff! what’s the matter?” cried Gif.
To this question there was no response, and a glance around showed that the colored man was nowhere in sight. On the stove rested a large pan of fried fish and another pan containing fried potatoes. Both the fish and the potatoes were much overdone, and each pan was sending forth a volume of smoke.
“Confound him!” cried Gif. “He’s let the fish and the potatoes burn! What do you know about that?”
“Better get them outside, Gif,” answered Jack, who was close by his chum. “Here, give me that pan!” And, catching up a cloth, he caught hold of the pan of fried potatoes and carried it outside. Gif followed with the pan of fish. Other things were on the back of the stove, and these were likewise beginning to burn.
It must be confessed that Gif was thoroughly angry, and so were all the other boys. They had returned to the bungalow, each with a hearty appetite, and now the expected dinner was burnt and worthless.
“I wonder where Jeff went?” questioned Jack, glancing around.
“He ought to have his neck wrung!” growled Gif.
“Maybe something happened to him,” returned Spouter.
Hastily the six cadets started on a search around the bungalow. It came to an end almost immediately as Andy set up a low cry.
“Here he is! He’s asleep!”
“Asleep!” snorted Gif. “The idea! I’ve half a mind to use a horsewhip on him!”
Andy had found Jeff lying in one of the hammocks. The colored man, bedecked in his big kitchen apron and wearing his cook’s cap, was fast asleep and snoring lustily.
“I’ll fix him, the black rascal!” began Gif, and started to rush forward when Andy suddenly stopped him.
“Wait a minute, Gif,” said the fun-loving Rover, in a low voice. “Wait a minute! We’ll give that coon the surprise of his life.”