THE GREAT BEARS OF KADIAK.

This appeared to be only too true. The bears, so far as the boys could observe through their peephole, were thin and famished from the long winter they had spent in some cave back in the mountains, and intended probably to remain camped by the creek as long as the salmon were running.

Having finished his meal, the father bear lay down and rolled over in sleep, while the mother and cub set about catching some more fish, which they devoured. But instead of going to sleep as the boys hoped, the old mother kept herself on sentry duty. Once or twice they caught her looking toward the hut. It caused an uncomfortable sensation to run through them.

Luckily they had a little water in the place, although none too much. At any rate it would not satisfy more than their immediate needs. For food there were a few crackers, the remains of the salmon that they had broiled for breakfast, a few fragments of tinned beef and that was all. The situation was about as serious as it could well be. All that afternoon they took turns watching the creek, awaiting an opportunity to sally forth after water. But the bears remained as if they meant to take up permanent quarters there.

The question of how they were to make their escape began to be a serious one with the practically imprisoned boys. The door of the hut opened toward the creek and to attempt egress by that way would at once attract the attention of the monster bears, with what results the boys guessed only too well.

So the afternoon hours dragged away. Although tormented with thirst, the boys decided to refrain from drinking more than enough of the precious water to cool their mouths. From time to time one of them would relieve his comrade at the peephole. But the bears remained there as if firmly determined to stay. When the old mother bear took a snooze, either the cub or the largest of the bruins was on sentry duty.

"If only we had some rifles," sighed Tom. "This is a lesson to me as long as we are in this country, I'll never leave ship or camp again without a weapon of some sort."

"Wait till we get back to the ship or to a camp," scoffed Jack; "it's my belief that we will be prisoners here till winter."

"Nonsense," said Tom sharply. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Jack Dacre, for talking like that. It's no use giving way to despair. Maybe we'll hit on some way of getting out before long."

"Not unless those bears change their minds and go back to their happy mountain home," said Jack positively.

They sat in silence for a while.

"If it would only get dark up here like it does in more southerly latitudes, we could take a chance on sneaking down to the dory and getting away to some other part of the coast," said Tom at length.

"Couldn't we make it anyhow?" inquired Sandy.

Tom shook his head.

"I don't see how. The minute we came out of the hut one of the bears would be bound to see us and take after us. They can run mighty fast, too, in spite of their clumsy forms."

Another silence ensued. All the boys were thinking hard, from time to time approaching the peephole to watch the bears.

"We might as well eat, I guess," said Tom at length.

The embers of the fire were still alive and fresh wood was piled on till there was a cheerful blaze. The boys warmed their salmon above it and fell to on what was the gloomiest meal they had ever eaten. In the middle of his supper, Jack got up and went to the peephole. He turned from it with a face full of alarm.

"The wind has carried the smoke down toward the bears and they are sniffing at it suspiciously," he announced.

"Maybe it'll drive 'em away," suggested Sandy.

"They're not mosquitoes," scoffed Jack.

"Wow! they are coming this way, Tom! What in the world shall we do now?"

"Sit tight. I don't know what else to do."

"But suppose they claw down the door?"

"In that case, our troubles will soon be over," was the brief reply.

What Jack had said was correct. The smoke drifting down on the bears had caused them to sniff suspiciously. Hunters came to Kadiak Island frequently, and doubtless they knew that smoke betokened the presence of human beings. The big bear's fur bristled angrily. He gave a low growl, which was echoed by his mate.

After sniffing and listening for a few seconds the great creatures, the most formidable foes the boys had ever encountered, began slowly to lumber up the slope from the creek toward the hut.

That they did not advance hastily made their approach even more sinister in its effect. It was as if they were in no hurry to reach the hut, as though they realized that they could afford to take their time, their prey was so certain. The boys all realized, too, that when animals are accompanied by their young they are rendered three times as ferocious as on ordinary occasions.

"Maybe they'll sheer off after all," suggested Tom hopefully.

But his confidence was misplaced. The bears lumbered steadily forward till they were wading through the tall, half dry grass that grew almost up to the shack's sides. Then the female and the cub stopped, and the big father bruin came on to investigate. For all the world like some huge dog, he began sniffing around the walls at the base of the oven-shaped structure.

Then, all at once, in an unlucky moment, he discovered the door. There was quite a big crack under it, and the boys watched with horror-struck eyes as the huge creature's sniffing and poking sent the dust on the floor of the place flying up in little clouds. Then they heard a heavy body hurled against the door and the scratching of feet shod with claws as keen and sharp as steel chisels.

It was a thrilling moment for all of them. Jack and Sandy in particular were badly scared. Their faces blanched and their knees knocked. It hardly seemed possible that the door could survive the attack of the monstrous creature that assailed it. But although built of driftwood fastened together with old iron bolts and strips of skin, the portal held its own much better than might have been expected. It shook and trembled, but remained standing. After a while the bear appeared to tire of this method of attack and ceased.

The boys breathed more easily.

"Perhaps he'll go away now," suggested Jack.

But a glimpse through the peephole showed that the bear had no intention of doing anything of the sort. With the stubbornness of his kind, he began pacing up and down in front of the hut, from time to time emitting a low growl.

"Looks as if he meant to keep up the campaign on these lines if it takes all summer," said Tom with grim pleasantry.