CHAPTER II
The Brainy Beastie
Scuffling rocks down the slope of the mountain in his haste to join his comrade, the second bear approached the ledge. Teddy and Roy knew that the new arrival could not come at them from the side, as the corners of the shelf tapered into the straight wall.
Yet this fact was paramount in the minds of the boys—that two bears were one more bear than one bear.
“Come, join the party,” Teddy said bitterly, as he watched the scrambling approach of the second beast. “The more the merrier. Roy, just tell François to lay another place, will you?”
Roy did not reply, but once more leaned over the edge of the projection. The animal they had first encountered had ceased his ineffectual attempts to reach the shelf, and was calmly awaiting the arrival of his mate.
“The uninvited guest,” Teddy continued, eyeing the oncoming bear with a malevolent stare. “Well, there’s always room for one more. We strive to please.” He raised his voice to a shout. “Hey, amigo, would you mind bringing that rifle with you as you come by? There’s something in it I want to give you. What? Oh, all right. If you want to be nasty about it. The next time I—”
“Teddy, put a buck-strap on that lower lip of yours,” Roy interrupted. “I have an idea.”
“Has it got something to do with us leaving here before winter sets in? Because if it has, let’s hear it.”
Without speaking, Roy nodded his head, then proceeded to search his pockets diligently. At length he brought to light a fishline with a hook attached, imbedded in a small cork. He held the line up with a triumphant smile.
Teddy looked at it for a moment. Then a grin came over his face.
“Fine!” he cried joyfully. “Just the thing. I haven’t been fishing for some time, and it’s well nigh on to three weeks since I fished for bear. I’m kind of out of practice. Let’s see now. What is it you use for bait? Oh, yes, I remember now. You tie the end of the line to a tree, put yourself on the hook, and jump overboard. When the bear nibbles you yell, ‘I’ve got him!’ That is, if you can. Then the bear laughs and says, ‘Oh, no, quite the contrary, I assure you,’ and by that time—”
“Save it, and write a joke book,” Roy retorted. “Now control your well known faculty for humor for a moment and pay attention. What’s that down there?” He pointed, and Teddy stared.
“That? Well, it looks like the rifle you so obligingly dropped. Of course, I can’t be sure, for we’re not sure of anything in this world. But I think it is.”
“Strangely enough, you’re right. Now my idea is this: I’ll tie a weight to this line about a foot below the hook. Make a cast. Catch the hook in the rifle. Draw up said rifle. Shoot said bear and his little friend. Then go home and eat.”
Teddy gazed silently at his brother. His mouth opened wide. A fixed look came into his eyes. Then, gasping for breath, he put out his hand gropingly, as though to steady himself.
“I’m not well,” he said thickly, “and I want to go home. It must be those cucumbers we had for lunch. Never again, as long as I live, will I eat cucumbers. Why, Roy, do you know what I thought you said? I thought—”
“Suffering tripe, can’t you be serious for a minute?” Roy burst out. “I tell you my scheme will work. It’s the only chance we have. Look—the other bear has arrived. Hear ’em talking to each other? Suppose they’re able to boost themselves up here? ’Course I don’t say they could—it’s pretty high, thank goodness. But if they did? Where would we be then? Now you watch. I’m going to try it. Here she goes.”
Teddy settled himself in a sitting position on the ledge with his back to the wall, so that he was out of sight of the bears below. He waved his hand grandly.
“You may fire when ready, Gridley!” he quoted.
Roy carefully judged the distance from the ledge to the spot where the gun lay, estimating the length of line he would have to use. By this time the two bears were in close conference. Deep rumblings of bear talk came to the boys on the ledge, and finally one heavy-throated, decisive grunt.
“Period,” said Teddy, and lapsed once more into silence.
Roy took a firm stand upon the ledge. He had already attached the stone to the line and had removed the cork from the fortunately large hook. Now he drew back his arm, took careful aim, and threw. The line whistled out, then sagged as the stone struck the ground.
“Make it?” Teddy asked, not deigning to arise.
“Missed,” was the laconic reply. “Give me time.”
“Certainly. We have weeks at our disposal. I’ve got nothing to do but sit here, anyway.”
Roy grinned good-naturedly and drew the line in. Once more he cast.
“I’ve got those bears worried, at any rate,” he declared, pulling in for a third attempt. “Notice how quiet they are?”
Teddy nodded solemnly.
“Sure. They just decided which one was going to have me for lunch. I’ll bet the first bear won. He likes me. Tried to kiss me on the way up, but I was bashful, and, anyway, we were in a hurry.”
Once more the line whistled through the air. This time, when it landed, Roy gave a yell.
“That’s the one! Watch this now, Teddy, and give me credit!”
Teddy, jarred out of his placidity, leaped to his feet. He saw that the hook had come to rest about five feet below the gun, and in a direct line with the trigger guard.
“Boy—take it easy!” he breathed. “Pull up slow—slo-o-o-w! A little more—no—don’t jerk it—gently now—”
“Well, for the love of Pete, will you pipe down for a second?” Roy exploded, a grin of amusement on his face. “How do you think I can do this with you yelling in my ear? First you sit back and let me do all the work, and then, by golly, you want to play director. Hey, iss diss a system?”
“Pardon,” Teddy replied, mockingly contrite. “You are right. I am at fault, and I await your pleasure. Henceforth I keep my peace.”
With a smile of satisfaction, Roy returned once more to the business of catching the hook in the trigger guard. Slowly he drew in. The hook neared the rifle. Then, with a foot more to go, it caught on the edge of a stone, and stuck. Carefully Roy twitched the line, hoping to dislodge it. But the hook resisted all his efforts. Both boys took a deep breath. Below them the bears started their growling again, and stones and dirt clattered down the mountain as they leaped repeatedly up toward the ledge.
“Now may the gods of the hills be with us,” Teddy murmured. “I fear me those bears have formed a conspiracy against us!”
Roy jerked the line desperately. If it parted, their last hope was gone. They would have to remain on the ledge until the bears left of their own accord or until the animals succeeded in their objective. Roy shuddered slightly as he thought of this last eventuality. That would not be so pleasant.
“Let’s try it,” Teddy suggested hoarsely, afraid almost that his voice would cut the line. He took the cord from his brother’s unresisting hand.
For a moment it seemed that he would have no greater success than Roy. The hook appeared caught firmly. Then, resolutely, Teddy gave the line a violent tug.
The hook released its tenacious hold on the stone and snapped through the air. Teddy gave a gasp of dismay. Then, suddenly, his face cleared and his eyes lit joyfully. He gave a shout of triumph.
The hook, leaping toward the rifle, had become attached to the trigger guard!
“Got it!” Teddy yelled. “Don’t know how, but I did! Now, Roy, we’ll see just how much this plan of yours is worth! Here, gun, gun, gun, gun, gun! Come to papa! Whoa, baby, not so fast! That’s the stuff! Nice rifle!”
By fits and starts, the rifle, drawn by the fishline, made its eccentric way up the mountainside. Gradually it approached a spot just under the ledge where both bears were waiting, crouched against the wall, staring frantically at this strange manifestation. Never before had they seen a stick travel uphill apparently under its own guidance.
“Golly, I hope they leave it alone,” Roy gasped, peering anxiously over the edge. “When I yell, Teddy, you give the line a quick pull up and I’ll grab the gun. Easy now, it’s almost below me. Careful—careful—get away from there, you varmint. Yay-y-y-y! Woof woof! Bang bang! Scat! Now, Teddy! Pull! Hey, you! Lookout—”
Teddy, standing above, where he could not see the rifle now that it was directly below the shelf, had given the cord a quick tug in obedience to Roy’s shouted command. At this very moment the bears recovered from their panic. Simultaneously, they made a dive for that strange thing dangling in front of them. The animal that had chased the boys succeeded in hitting the barrel with one paw, while the other paw brushed against the line. The rifle swung around, the muzzle pressed against the bear’s chest. With a snort of surprise, the beast hugged it to him.
Bang!
There was a quick report, as though some one had slapped two boards together. The bear, stung with a pain more violent than any bee sting, sprang back with a grunt of outraged dignity—sprang back, and, howling in rage, fled ignominiously down the mountain, with his astounded companion tumbling after!
There was deep silence on the ledge. Open-mouthed, the boys watched the lumbering animals disappear in the foliage at the foot of the incline, and the crackling of the brush and the waving of twigs testified that their speed was as yet undiminished—they were still going, and going fast.
Teddy blinked rapidly. Bending over, he felt with his hand of several places on the rocky floor of the shelf. Finally he found one to his liking. Then he sank blissfully down, rolled over on his back, and the next moment the hills echoed with the laughter of two boys lying on a narrow ledge high up in the mountains.
“The—the poor thing was scared!” Roy spluttered, as soon as he got his breath. “He tried—oh, golly—he tried to commit suicide! Baby! I never expect to see a sight like that again! Teddy, if you had only seen him—seen the expression on his face when the gun went off! He grabbed the barrel, pointed it at his chest, and pulled the trigger! Honestly! Then he looked so gosh-blamed surprised and disappointed, and—and—Hold me, Teddy, or I’ll bust!”
“I saw most of it,” Teddy declared, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. “The best part of it all was to see those two hopping down the mountain like a couple of silly cows—or like rocking horses out on a spree! Man, that was one sweet show! Say, I’ll bet the one who shot himself won’t sleep to-night. Or, if he does, he’ll have bad dreams. Imagine a bear shooting himself! Won’t Pop Burns like to hear about this!”
“Yes, but will he believe it?” Roy asked dubiously. “Pop likes to tell ’em, but when it comes to listening—that’s another thing.”
“Well, anyway, this beats his story about the bear eating Nick’s pants.”
“I’ll tell a maverick it does! And we know this is true, while that other—well, I have me ‘doots.’ Come on, we’d better go now. We’ve got to find your gun before we start home. Here—you slide down first then grab me. I’ll bet Star and Flash are getting restless by now. Neither one has been ridden much lately. All right—over you go. There’ll be no bear to welcome you with open arms, either, thank goodness. The party is over!”
Still chuckling, the two boys, after finding the two guns where they had been dropped, made their way down the mountain toward the ponies. Star and Flash whinnied as they came up and pranced about ecstatically the moment the boys were in the saddle. The love Teddy and Roy had for their broncos was not unreciprocated.
Talking of their adventure with the bears, the boys rode slowly home. Teddy was anxious to tell Pop Burns about it, to see what he would say. But as they neared the ranch yard of the X Bar X, they heard something that drove these topics from their minds.
From around the corner of the bunk-house came voices, loud in anger. They listened. One of the speakers was their father!