CHAPTER XIV--AT FREEZEOUT CAMP
There is nothing really savage looking about a bear unless it _is_savage. Otherwise a bear has a rather silly looking countenance. Thesethree bears had been walking peacefully down the trail, and weresurprised at the sudden appearance of the cavalcade of ponies fromaround the bend, for such wind as was stirring was blowing down thetrail.
The larger bear, the mother of the two half-grown cubs, instantlyrealized the danger of their position. It may have looked like an ursinehold-up to the tourists; but old Mother Bear was quite sure she and hercubs were in man-peril.
She growled fiercely, cuffing her cubs right and left and sending themscuttling and whining off into the bushes. She roared at the startledpony riders and did not descend from her haunches.
She looked terrible enough then. Her teeth, fully displayed, promised totear and rend both ponies and riders if they came near enough.
Miss Cullam was speechless with fright. The ponies had halted, snorting;but for the first minute or so none of them backed away from thethreatening beast.
The hair rose stiffly on the bear's neck and she uttered a secondchallenging growl. Tom had pulled out his automatic; but he had alreadylearned that at any considerable distance this weapon was not to bedepended upon. Min's forty-five threw a bullet where one aimed; not sothe newfangled weapon.
Besides, the bear was a big one and it really looked as though a pistolball would be an awfully silly thing to throw at it.
Rebecca Frayne had just begun to cry and Sally Blanchard was beggingeverybody to "come away," when Min Peters slipped around from the rearto the head of the column.
"Hold on to your horses, girls," she whispered shrilly. "Mebbe some of'em's gun-shy. Steady now--and we'll have bear's tongue and liver forsupper."
"Oh, Minnie!" squealed Helen.
Min was not to be disturbed from her purpose by any hysterical girl. Shewas not depending upon her forty-five for the work in hand. She hadbrought her father's rifle from Handy Gulch; and now it came in use mostopportunely.
The bear was still on its haunches and still roaring when Min got intoposition. The beast was an easy mark, and the Western girl dropped onone knee, thus steadying her aim, for the rifle was heavy.
The bear roared again; then the rifle roared. The latter almost knockedMin over, the recoil was so great. But the shot quite knocked the bearover. The heavy slug of lead had penetrated the beast's heart and lungs.
She staggered forward, the blood spouted from her wide open jaws as wellas from her breast; and finally she came down with a crash upon the hardtrail. She was quite dead before she hit the ground.
There was screaming enough then. Everybody save Ann Hicks and Tom,perhaps, had quite lost his self-control. Such a jabbering as followed!
"Goodness me, girls," drawled Jennie Stone at last, raising her voice soas to be heard. "Goodness me! Min just wasted that perfectly good leadbullet. We could easily have talked that poor bear to death."
It had been rather a startling incident, however, and they were notlikely to stop talking about it immediately. Miss Cullam was more thanfrightened by the event; she felt that she had been misled.
"I had no idea there were actually wild creatures like those bears inthis country, Ruth Fielding. I certainly never would have come had Irealized it. You could not have hired me to come on this trip."
"But, dear Miss Cullam," Ruth said, somewhat troubled because the ladywas, "I really had no idea they were here."
"I assure you," Helen said soberly, "that the bears did not appear by_my_ invitation, much as I enjoy mild excitement."
"'Mild excitement'!" breathed Rebecca Frayne. "My word!"
"And those other two bears are loose and may attack us," pursued MissCullam.
"They were only cubs, Miss," said Min, who, with her father, was alreadyat work removing the bear's pelt. "They're running yet. And I shouldn'thave shot this critter only it might have done some damage, being madbecause of its young. We may have to explain this shootin' to the gamewardens. There's a closed season for bears like there is for game birds.There ain't many left."
"And do they really want to keep any of the horrid creatures _alive?_"demanded Trix Davenport.
"Yes. Bear shootin' attracts tenderfoots; and tenderfoots have money tospend. That's the how of it," explained Min.
The ponies did not like the smell of the bear, and they were all drawnahead on the trail. But the cavalcade waited for Pedro and the burros toovertake them; then the load on one burro was transferred to the poniesand the pelt and as much of the bear meat as they could make use of insuch warm weather was put upon the burro.
"Not that either the skin or the meat's much good this time o' year. Sheain't got fatted up yet after sucklin' them cubs. But, anyway, you kinsay ye had bear meat when you git back East," Min declared practically.
The girls went on after that with their eyes very wide open. Miss Cullamdeclared that she knew she never would forget how those three bearslooked standing on their hind legs and "glaring" at her.
"Glaring!" repeated Jennie Stone. "All I could see was that old bear'sopen mouth. It quite swallowed up her eyes."
"What an acrobatic feat!" sighed Trix Davenport. "You _do_ have animagination, Jennie Stone."
The event did not pass over as a matter for laughter altogether; thegirls had really been given a severe fright. Min was obliged to rideahead, or the tourists never would have rounded a bend in the trail inreal comfort. It was probable that the Western girl had a heartycontempt for their cowardice. "But what could you expect oftenderfoots?" she grumbled to Ann Hicks.
"D'you know," said the girl from Silver Ranch to the girl guide, "thatis what I used to think about these Eastern girlies--that they were onlybabies. But just because they are gun-shy, and are unused to many of thephases of outdoor life with which you and I are familiar, Min, doesn'tmake them altogether useless.
"Believe me, my dear! when it comes to book learning, and knowing how todress, and being used to the society game, these girls from Ardmore are_sharks!_"
"I reckon that's right," agreed Min. "I watched 'em come off the trainin Yucca, and they looked like they'd just stepped out of a mail-orderhouse catalogue. Such fixin's!" and the girl who had never worn properfeminine clothing sighed longingly at the remembrance of the Ardmoregirls' traveling dresses and hats.
The more Min saw of the Eastern girls, the more desirous she was ofbeing like them--in some ways, at least. She might sneer at their lack ofphysical courage; nevertheless, she was well aware that they were usedto many things of which she knew very little. And there never was a girlborn who did not long for pretty clothes, and who did not wish to appearattractive in the eyes of others.
Helen and Jennie had not forgotten their idea of dressing their guide insome of their furbelows.
"Just wait till our trunks get to that Freezeout place, along with yourmovie people, Ruth," said Jennie. "We'll just doll poor Min all up."
"That's an idea!" exclaimed the girl of the Red Mill, her mind quick toabsorb any suggestion relative to her art. "I can put Min in thepicture--if she will agree. Show her as she is, then have hermetamorphosised into a pretty girl--for she _is_ pretty."
"From the ugly caterpillar to the butterfly," cried Helen.
"A regular Bret Harte character--queen of the mining camp," said Jennie."You can give me a share of your royalties, Ruth, for this suggestion."
Ruth had so many ideas in her head for scenes at the mining camp thatshe was anxious to get over the trail and reach Freezeout. By this timeMr. Hammond and his outfit must have arrived at Yucca.
The trail was rough, however, and the cavalcade of college girls couldtravel only about so fast. Those unfamiliar with saddle work, like MissCullam, found the journey hard enough.
At night they had to camp in the open, after leaving Handy Gulch; andbecause of the appearance of the bears, there were two guards set atnight, and the fires were kept up. Tom and Pedro took half the watch,and then Min and her father t
ook their turn.
Nothing happened of moment, however, during the three nights that ensuedbefore the party reached the abandoned camp of Freezeout. They came downinto the "draw" or arroyo in which the old mining camp lay late oneafternoon. A more deserted-looking place could scarcely be imagined.
There were half a hundred log cabins, of assorted sizes and in differentstages of dilapidation. The air was so dry and so little rain fell inthis part of Arizona that the log walls of the structures were in fairlygood condition, and not all the roofs had fallen in.
Min and her father, with Tom Cameron, searched among the cabins to findthose most suitable for occupancy. But it was Ruth Fielding whodiscovered something that startled the whole party.
"See here! See here!" she called. "I've found something."
"What is it?" asked Tom. "More bears?"
"No. Somebody has been ahead of us here. Perhaps we are not alone inhaving an interest in this Freezeout place."
"What do you mean, Ruthie?" cried Helen, running to her chum.
"Here are the remains of a campfire. The ashes are still warm. Somebodycamped here last night, that is sure. Do you suppose they are here now?"
Ruth Fielding In the Saddle; Or, College Girls in the Land of Gold Page 15