"It"ll give me an appet.i.te for breakfast," thought he, "and a chance to see something of the country."
As to the appet.i.te, Ebenezer was generally well provided. Indeed, latterly his appet.i.te had exceeded his means of gratifying it, and more than once he had longed to be back at his old home in the Vermont farm-house, where the table was always generously, if not elegantly, furnished. If Ebenezer had a special weakness it was for doughnuts, which he called nut-cakes.
"If I only had a few of marm"s nut-cakes," he had said the night before to his new-found friends, "I"d be a happy man."
"What are nut-cakes?" asked the Scotchman, puzzled.
"Don"t you know what nut-cakes are?" inquired Ebenezer, astonished at Ferguson"s ignorance.
"I never heard of them before," said Ferguson.
"Well, I declare! I thought everybody knew what nut-cakes are,"
e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the Yankee. "Don"t you ever make "em in Scotland?"
"Not that I ever heard."
"Then you don"t know what is good. You know what they are, Tom?"
"Oh, yes," said Tom, smiling. "We often have them at home. Perhaps Mr.
Ferguson would understand better if he heard them called doughnuts or crullers."
Thus defined Mr. Ferguson acknowledged that he had heard of them, and he thought he had once tasted one. Scotland, however, fell considerably in the estimation of Mr. Onthank, when he learned that his favorite article of food was almost unknown in that distant country.
"You Scotchmen don"t know what is good," he said. "If you ever come to Green Mountain Mills, I"ll get marm to fry a batch of nut-cakes, and you"ll say they"re goloptious."
This last word was not familiar to Ferguson, but the smack of the lips with which it was accompanied made it sufficiently intelligible. He a.s.sured Ebenezer politely that he hoped some day to accept his kind invitation.
When Ebenezer left the camp he had no definite plan of exploration.
Everything was alike new to him, and it mattered little in what direction his steps led him. It was a charming morning. The sun had risen, and hill and valley were glorified by its slanting rays. The air was bracing, and Ebenezer, though neither a poet nor a sentimentalist, felt his spirits rise, as with vigorous steps he strode on, letting his eyes wander at will over the landscape.
"Looks kinder han"some," he said to himself. "I wish Susan Jones was with me now. Gals like to walk round and look at scenery, and pick flowers, and so on. As for me, a good field of corn suits me better than all the flowers in the world. They"re only good to smell of; out here though I"d like a good "claim" best. It seems cu"rus to think how much money you can get sometimes from a hole in the ground. Beats cornfields for profit, by a great sight, if you only get hold of the right place. I just wish I could find a big nugget, as big as my head. I guess it would make me the richest man in Green Mountain Mills. I"d be a bigger man than the old deacon. They"d be glad to make me selectman, and perhaps send me to Montpelier after a while to make laws. Well, there"s no knowin" what may turn up. Why shouldn"t I light on a nugget as well as the next man?"
In this pleasant channel the thoughts of our Yankee adventurer were running as he strode over the uneven ground, with all the vigor gained by his hardy training. But his walk was destined to be interrupted in a decidedly unpleasant manner. All at once he became conscious of a huge object, scarcely thirty yards distant, whose attention he had already attracted. Mr. Onthank had been long enough in California to recognize in the huge, unwieldy figure--a grizzly bear!
Ebenezer Onthank was no coward, but it must be admitted that when he saw the eyes of the grizzly fixed upon him he turned pale, and his limbs trembled. He had heard from fellow-miners stories of the great strength and ferocity of this most formidable beast. The grizzly bear shows no fear of man. He is always ready to make an attack, even when not stimulated by hunger. Even the lion is crafty and cunning, and likes to attack his enemy unawares; but the grizzly boldly advances to the attack without seeking to surprise his adversary. If out of humor it makes no account of odds, but will as readily attack a party as a single foe.
Col. Albert S. Evans, the author of an interesting volume, containing sketches of life in California, says, "I am satisfied that an average grizzly could at any time whip the strongest African lion in a fair stand-up fight, while a full-grown bull is no more to him than a rat is to the largest house-cats."
Twenty-five years ago the grizzly was to be found in various parts of California. As the State has become settled his haunts have become contracted, but even now, as the writer just quoted a.s.sures us, he is still found in great numbers in the Coast Range Mountains from San Diego to Del Norte. In describing Samson, a famous specimen once on exhibition in San Francisco, we are told that "his strength was that of an elephant, and his claws, eight inches in length, curved like a rainbow and sharp as a knife, would enable him to tear open anything made of flesh and blood as you or I would open a banana."
Such was the new acquaintance who confronted Mr. Onthank, and barred his progress.
"Jerusalem!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the surprised and dismayed Yankee, and he instinctively felt for his rifle. But, alas! he had left it in the camp.
It was thoughtless and imprudent to venture out unarmed; but the scene was so quiet and peaceful that no thought of danger had entered the mind of our unlucky friend.
The bear sat upon his haunches, and stared at the intruder. Ebenezer, brought to a stand-still, returned his gaze. They were less than a hundred feet apart, and the situation was decidedly critical.
"I guess he wants to chaw me up for his breakfast," thought Ebenezer, despairingly, "and I don"t see what I can do to prevent it."
The bear, however, seemed in no hurry to commence the attack. He surveyed our Yankee with dignified gravity, conscious that he had him at advantage. When Ebenezer felt for his rifle he uttered a low growl, being possibly aware of his purpose. Possibly he laughed in his sleeve (some of my young critics may suggest that bears have no sleeves) at his failure.
Ebenezer looked about him despairingly. No man will surrender at discretion to a grizzly, for he can hope for no mercy. But what could be done? Once subjected to the terrible hug, and the life would be crushed out of him in less than a minute.
"If Ferguson and Tom were only here!" thought poor Ebenezer.
But the camp was at least two miles away, and his two companions, unconscious of his terrible peril, were calmly sleeping, and not likely to awaken till he was a crushed and bleeding corpse.
In great crises the mind travels rapidly. I shall not attempt to record the thoughts that chased one another through the mind of the luckless adventurer. But they were by no means pleasant.
"I shall never see Green Mountain Mills again," he thought, with an inward groan. "I shall never marry Susan Jones, or eat any of marm"s nut-cakes. If I only had my rifle here, I"d make one effort for my life.
I"d spoil the beauty of that ugly devil anyhow."
Still, as if charmed, he stood staring open-eyed at the grizzly.
Bruin, deciding that this had lasted long enough, began in a slow and dignified manner to approach the intruder upon his solitude.
This broke the charm. With a wild shout Ebenezer Onthank took to his heels and flew over the ground at a rate of speed which Weston, the champion runner, would scarcely be able to equal.
The grizzly accepted the challenge, and increased his own speed, developing an activity hardly to be expected of his huge and unwieldy form.
It was man against beast, with the odds decidedly in the favor of the latter.
CHAPTER XVI.
UP A TREE.
The race between the Yankee and the bear was an exciting one, to the former at least. He was fleet of foot, and in a hundred yards" dash would have won without great difficulty; but in wind and endurance the grizzly excelled him. So, as the race continued, Mr. Onthank, looking back from time to time, was painfully conscious that his enemy was gaining upon him. The perspiration came out upon his face in large drops, and he panted painfully. He felt that the chances were against him, and he could almost feel in advance the fatal hug which would slowly press the life out of him. As he felt his strength failing he looked around him despairingly. Just before him was a moderate-sized tree. Though he knew that bears can climb, he gathered his remaining strength, seized a low hanging branch, and swung himself up just in time to avoid his persistent foe, who was close upon his heels. He did not tarry where he was, but climbed higher up, until from a height of twenty feet he could look down upon the bear.
Bruin looked up placidly, but did not begin to climb at once. Probably he was fatigued with his race. Moreover he knew that his intended victim could not get away. The latter was emphatically and literally "treed."
The bear sat upon his haunches and complacently regarded the Yankee.
Ebenezer Onthank made himself as comfortable as he could under the circ.u.mstances. He was by no means easy in mind, however. He was "holding the fort," it is true; but the enemy was in force outside, and evidently intended to remain. Worse still, he would probably after a while climb the tree, and this would bring matters to a crisis.
"You pesky critter! Why don"t you go along about your business?"
exclaimed the unhappy adventurer, shaking his fist at the foe.
Bruin deigned no reply, but continued to survey him with steady, unwinking eyes.
"If I only had a gun, I"d pepper you," continued Ebenezer. "I should like to put a bullet into that impudent eye of yours."
Though the bear had never received an English education, his instinct probably enabled him to understand the feelings of his intended victim, but he remained as placid as ever.
So an hour pa.s.sed. At the end of that time the situation remained unchanged. The unfortunate Yankee was getting hungry, as well as tired of his somewhat constrained position. Bears probably have more patience than the human family, for Bruin had scarcely moved, except occasionally to wag his great head. He felt that in the game that was being played it was his adversary"s turn to make the next move.
"I wish Tom and the Scotchman would find me out," thought Onthank. "What on earth makes them sleep so late?" he continued, irritably. "They must be naturally lazy."