Delphi Collected Works of Max Brand US

by Max Brand

  And how his heart went out to them! Bear cubs could be tamed, he knew. He had actually seen a burly yearling chained in the yard of a mountain rancher. And he had heard old trappers tell tales of Adams, king of bear tamers, who had reared bears that fought for him against their own kind and served him as pack animals - even as hunting dogs! And if he had those bright-eyed little fellows in the cavern yonder, what companions they would be!

  He sat down with a sigh, cross-legged, and watched them and wondered, while the wise old bear rested her great head on the bruised, bleeding paws and studied him in a reserved silence, as though she realized she had less to fear from this man cub than from terrible man himself.

  It would be easy enough. Tommy decided, to lie in wait and capture the little cubs when they ventured out, but if he had them in the cave there would be nothing to feed them. That thick layer of fat which a bear accumulates to sustain it during the hibernation months still left the old mother enough strength to suckle her cubs and sustain herself, and it might be many days before she began to starve. Eventually, however, unless she were freed to forage for herself, she must die, and the cubs must die with her for the lack of milk.

  All of this Tommy knew, and the problem weighed heavily upon him. How could his strength avail to move that rock or to widen the opening? And, even if he succeeded, would he not be opening a way so that the great brute might rush out and tear him to pieces?

  Still, tentatively, he struck the boulder with the back of the ax. It brought a stunning roar from the old grizzly, so that Tommy involuntarily shrank back; but also he noted that a flake of rock had loosened and fallen under the blow. Tommy studied the monster rock curiously. It was hard as flint in seeming and in fact, but it was so very hard that it was brittle. Its surface had easily defied the tearing claws of the bear, but it proved friable under the stroke of something harder than itself. In fact, as he studied it more closely, he saw that its base, where it had struck other rocks after the fall down the mountain, was powdered to dust.

  He tried it again, and with a harder blow, and this time a larger chip was loosened under the impact of the steel. The mother grizzly advanced furiously to the mouth of her choked cave and reached out a long forearm toward him with another roar, but she retreated almost at once and lay crowded back so far as possible in her cave. And Tommy commenced his work seriously.

  It was slow progress that he made, at the best, for there must be a huge portion of the rock worn away before the great body of the bear could issue, and all he could do with the heaviest blow was to knock off a thin layer, bit by bit.

  There was no roaring from the grizzly now. With her ears sharpened, her head raised, she watched his movements as eagerly as though their significance had finally dawned on her, and Tommy at length ventured to carry his work to the very edge of the aperture which opened between the rock of the boulder and the rock of the mountainside. Now if she could understand at all with her brute intelligence, she would appreciate what he was trying to do, for every flake of stone which he loosened was perceptibly widening the orifice.

  When his arms were wearied by the hammering, he scraped the rock fragments away and stood up to stretch the kinks from his back and legs. And as he stood away, the mother lunged forward and sniffed curiously at the place where he had been working. Still she cuffed the cubs into a corner when they attempted to investigate for themselves, but her own fears had so far relaxed that she lowered her burly head to her paws and watched and watched with the reddened little eyes.

  Tommy worked until his aching shoulders stopped him, and by that time the shadows were beginning to slope far east among the trees, so he took his last look at the bear family and bade them goodnight. A boy cannot do without names. He had christened the fatter of the cubs “Jack” and the slenderer one “Jerry,” so he called their new names to them and then picked up his ax and turned homeward.

  Dusk began to gather as he walked, but still there was enough light for him to see and kill another grouse. It was between sunset and dark when he reached the camp with his prize.

  Others had been there before him. There would be no need of burial for the body of poor Billy. A scattering of bones was all that was left of him, and Tommy, shuddering, searched the ground and found the trails of great-footed timber wolves and small-toed coyotes. These had devoured the burro, and, led doubtless by their insatiable appetites, they had come to the mouth of his cave and had even succeeded in scratching away half a dozen of the smaller stones.

  They had been able to make no entrance, however, and Tommy felt a thrill of pride in his work of fortification. Utter fatigue, however, buried all sense of satisfaction. He could barely keep awake while he half cooked his dinner, and half an hour later, with the fire smoldering just outside the cave and his blankets laid down within its mouth, he was sound asleep, to dream of weird monsters locked in caves from which he liberated them, only to have them fly at his throat. And he did not waken until the sun was over the eastern mountains.

  CHAPTER VI

  HE ROSE LIKE a conqueror, for had he not faced hard fortune, and in so short a space made a home, killed his own food, and cooked it? If there were sorrow just behind him, and unknown terrors in the future, he kept away from all thought of these things by centering his mind resolutely on what lay immediately before him. The first thing, even before breakfast, was to bury the bones of poor Billy. He shoveled a hole in the soft dirt, and in half an hour all that was mortal of the burro lay under ground, with a litter of heavy rocks above it to keep out curious wolves.

  Then he cut a slender sapling, straight as a rule and willowy in suppleness. To the end he tied the fishing line and hook. On the bank of the little stream which worked around the foot of his hill, he found bait in plenty at the first turn of his shovel, and soon he had jerked three big trout from the water.

  That made a delicious breakfast, toasted brown over wood coals as he had been taught to do by John Parks. And after he had eaten he stood up and stretched his arms, filled with a sense of joyful power. How painfully small and weak he was, matched with those enormous mountains, those huge, dark woods! And yet he had won a livelihood from them these few days; he would keep on winning it until his blazed trails led a rescuer to his camp.

  But, if he wakened hungry from the fasting of a single morning, what must be the case of the poor mother bear? He knew that after hibernation a grizzly eats little during the first week, but it might be many and many a day since the big bear had wakened from her season of sleep. She must be wild with famine and with thirst, he thought.

  Close to the cave of bruin, the day before, he had heard the voice of a brook and even had seen the waters pooled in a little lake which promised to be brimful of fish. So he took with him for the day’s expedition the fishing line and rod, his father’s four-pound hammer, which was one of the most valued articles in the pack, the revolver tied on his hip, and a square of the tarpaulin on which their blankets had been laid. And so off he went through the woods, with his whistle running thrilling before him.

  But no one can whistle long through the solemnity of virgin forest. The music died away, and Tommy went on silent and serious among the great trees. Now that he was left lonely in the wilderness, it took on a different face and spirit in his eyes. The shadowed places were full of a solemn interest.

  The huge trunks were full of signs to him. Every tree carried a character of its own. And every rustling breeze seemed to hold a message for Tommy, if he could only have understood the sighing voices. Instinctively, he walked softly, letting the toe strike first, and avoiding all twigs which might make a crackling under foot. And now and again he paused, near a tree, and reconnoitered the forest ahead and behind. It seemed to him that the moving shadows must be cast by living beasts of prey, which stalked him. No matter if reason told him that they were not apt to rove abroad except during the evening and the night, still he was troubled, and he took care not to walk along the trail which he had followed the day before.

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sp; He reached the clearing with its litter of stones and fallen boulders, and as he stepped out from behind the trees he discovered that even his silent coming had not been silent enough, for there were the two little balls of fur, Jack and Jerry, scurrying as hard as they could for the shelter of the mother’s cover. Their hair-trigger senses had warned them of his approach. When he stepped toward the cave, he was greeted with the same tremendous roar from bruin.

  In spite of all he knew about her helplessness, that bellow of rage stopped him short and lifted the hair on his head with a prickling fear. But he went on again, reassured, and leaned over to look inside. At sight of him, it was apparent that the mother recognized her visitor of the day before, for she dropped down to the ground and laid her head on the forepaws once more, watching him with unblinking eyes. And yonder were little Jack and Jerry standing up as gravely as any grown men could have done, with their forepaws folded across their chests and their sharp eyes twinkling out at him through the shadows. It was a thrilling sight to Tommy. His heart went out to them strangely, and he turned and hurried away toward the creek.

  It was even better stocked than he had dared to hope. The first worm that wriggled on his hook had hardly touched the surface of the water when it was seized, and he snatched out a silver-flashing four-pounder. The little pond fairly swarmed with hungry life. In five minutes he had brought a dozen prizes to the shore. They lay flopping and quivering all around his feet, and Tommy laughed with the joy of the sport.

  He had to make two trips with fish in his tarpaulin before he had brought all the prizes to the vicinity of the cave. And on the second trip he found that mother bruin was standing up, her head wedged against the opening of the cave. She had smelled the fish, and she was wild with hunger indeed!

  Yet when Tommy came near with a fish in his hands, she promptly drew back so far as the meager limits of the cave would permit, and when he threw in the fish she allowed it to flop within an inch of her nose without stirring to devour it. But there was a convulsive twitching of her nostrils, and Tommy knew that it had been eloquent to the scent of the great brute.

  He tossed in another. And now she shoved her head forward, smelled the first fish, smelled the second - even allowed Jack and Jerry to scramble up and do as she was doing. They sniffed the fish from head to tail and then stood up and eyed their mother, plainly asking her what was to be done with these cold things whose odor was so delicious. Tommy threw in a third of his spoils, and now, as though the number of them assured her that they were untainted, the mother began to eat. Half a dozen went down her gullet as fast as Tommy could throw them in, and he laughed with pleasure at the sight of her evident satisfaction. But the seventh fish she cut in two and ate only half, and the eighth she did not touch. Plainly, her stomach, still shrunk by the winter’s fast, would not permit her to eat more. But Tommy threw in all the rest and then went down to the creek and returned with a gallon of water in the tarpaulin. He poured it into a hollow of the rock near the mouth of the cave and watched her lap it up - but only a few swallows was all she wanted. The rest she allowed Jack and Jerry to come and wallow in, sniffing it with their keen noses and then cuffing it tentatively with their paws, until finally they were tumbling and scuffling in the midst of it.

  It was too great a temptation to Tommy. Little Jack stood nearest him with back turned, and with a quick reach and snatch Tommy caught the cub behind the neck and jerked it out.

  It was the signal for pandemonium to break loose. The frantic mother came to life with a rush that brought her crashing against the opening. And the poised boulder quivered - then sank back into place. In the meantime, her roar was threatening to burst the ears of Tommy, while at the same time his hands were unbelievably busy with Jack.

  The little bear was armed with tiny claws, sharp as the claws of a cat, well- nigh, and with needlelike teeth. And instinct or scufflings with his brother seemed to have taught him how to use both weapons with professional skill. In ten seconds, blood stood out on a dozen little scratches on Tommy before he had young Master Bruin secured with a firm grip behind the ears, as a cat may be held. Then, realizing that to battle was vain, he struggled to get back to his mother, whining piteously.

  But Tommy held his grip. The wild roar of the mother had subsided to a terrible growling, while, thrust forward so far as she could come, she watched every movement of Tommy with a grim anxiety. In the meantime, he was careful to remain where she could see his every movement. He began speaking in a low, gentle voice, as soon as he could make himself heard, and stroking the soft fur.

  The whining of Jack fell away to a subdued moan of terror. And at the same instant the uproar of the mother ceased entirely. It was as though she did not wish to make a noise which might take up some of her faculties and prevent her from noticing every touch of the boy as he handled her precious son. And finally she silenced Jerry, who was squealing still with a piercing insistence, with one of those flips of a forepaw which sent him tumbling and threatening to break every bone in his body.

  But he rose, as always, in perfect unconcern, carefully wiped the dirt from his bruised nose with his paw, and sat up to watch the progress of affairs with greater care. That cuff had silenced Jack, as well. He no longer even struggled, but cowered down under the caresses of Tommy’s hand.

  He seemed to find a pleasure in the stroking, too. And finally he turned his head and dared to look his captor straight in the face. It was only an instant that he met those strange, human eyes at such terribly close range. Then he jerked his head away. But the quiet, happy voice of Tommy, thrilled and delighted by his conquest, gave Jack new courage. He looked again.

  And there was no cuff to reprove him. The gentle stroking continued. The quiet, human voice which sent such mysterious currents of electric surprise and pleasure through the heart of Jack went on. Finally, Jack ventured closer. He stood up on the leg of Tommy. He actually sniffed at the face of this harmless stranger who had such delightful powers.

  And the heart of Tommy leaped. He had not known until now how desperately empty his spirit had been, how completely full of loneliness he had been, but the sniffing of the trustful, curious little cub at his face brought the tears of happiness to his eyes.

  He took the cub as before and ventured toward the mouth of the cave. The mother growled softly, and the ears of Jack flattened as he heard the voice. He was placed on the ground, and he crawled toward Mother Bruin as though he felt that he had been playing the errant against orders and must be punished for his transgressions. But the grizzly was only too happy to have him back. She licked and sniffed every inch of him and then retreated with a growl of satisfaction to the rear of the cave, where she lay down as before to watch for the development of events.

  It was all most mysterious to her. She had been taught by mother nature that all beasts take and hold only to destroy. But here was her helpless offspring taken away and then restored to her safe and sound. Moreover, it had been taken by man, and she had learned from the wise mother before her that man is the one thing to be dreaded in all the range of the mountains. Nothing else could harm her. The stoutest mountain lion fled from its kill at her approach. All wild brutes trembled before her. But man, she had been taught, sees from afar and kills from afar - an inescapable death. Not in vain had she had her encounters with three separate packs of dogs with which she had been hunted, and, though she had escaped each time by miracles of cunning and endurance, she carried the scars of five bullets on her big body, and the bullets themselves in her flesh.

  But if she had been taught some lessons by pain, she could learn still other lessons through the kindness of the new teacher. Bear and dog come from a common ancestor, and both have the power to understand the ways of man. Though she dreaded Tommy still because of the man scent which was so abhorrent to her, yet she was beginning to feel that,, just as he was smaller than those other men who had trailed her, so was he gentler, also. And who could tell? If the others had had strength to destroy, he might have equ
al strength to preserve.

  At least she would wait and watch, and watch she did, with her great head tilted cannily to the side, wonderfully like a dog, while Tommy took up his four-pound hammer and renewed the attack on the rock which fenced her in.

  CHAPTER VII

  HE MADE WONDERFULLY good progress with the hammer. The ax had been a clumsy tool for the work of the day before, but the shorter handle of the hammer gave Tommy a better chance. It was a heavy tool, to be sure; and, though he stood with braced legs and swung the hammer with a regular rhythm, yet his shoulders and back were aching before he had been at it long. But the rock was falling away in great and greater flakes. And now the entrance hole was perceptibly widened.

  When he retired to scrape away the fragments, the mother bear came again to the opening, and now all of her broad head could pass through. She whined up to Tommy with understanding as he approached again.

  And when he sat down at the entrance and held out his hand, she did not at once cuff Jack away as the curious little cub started slowly to investigate the meaning of that inviting hand.

  She allowed him, the first time, to come within a few inches of the hand, sniffing eagerly, before she knocked him away with a growl which warned him to stay out of danger and let well enough alone. But, when Tommy persisted in staying there, she merely pricked her ears the second time and watched without interference.

  For curiosity in a bear is almost as great as its fear of death. The strange sight of a forest fire had once held her fascinated until a far-flung arm of the conflagration cut in behind her and nearly blocked her retreat. She had retired with a scorched hide and a deeper respect for the great red enemy, but forest fires remained as interesting as ever to her. And now much as she dreaded that small human in the mouth of the cave, she was devoured with insatiable curiosity as to what he would do if his hand touched her cub again. Once before she had seen Jack handled, and yet he had come back to her, rank with the man taint, to be sure, but safe and sound in body and limb. Might it not happen again?