time. Whistling cheerfully one of the many sacred melodies he knew and
loved, he made his way over the snow, being soon lost to sight from the
camp, Johnston calling after him just before he disappeared,--

"Take care of yourself, my boy, and don't go too far."

To which Frank responded with a smiling, "All right, sir."

At the distance of about a quarter of a mile from the camp he noticed a
sort of rift in the mountain, where the rocks were bare and exposed, and
at the end of this rift a dark aperture was visible, which at once
attracted his attention.

The boy that could come across a cave without being filled with a burning
curiosity to take a peep in and, if possible, explore its interior, would
have to be a very dull fellow, and Frank certainly was not of that kind.
This dark aperture was no doubt the mouth of a cave of some sort, and he
determined to inspect it. When he got within about fifteen yards, he
noticed what he had not seen before, that there was a well-defined track
leading from the cave to the underbrush to the right, which had evidently
been made by some large animal; and with somewhat of a start Frank
immediately thought of a bear.

Now, of course, under the circumstances, there was but one thing for him
to do if he wished to illustrate his common sense, and that was to hurry
back to the tent as fast as possible for reinforcements. Ordinarily, he
would have done so at once, but this time he was still smarting a bit at
his poor marksmanship in the case of the "lucifee," and the sight of the
track in the snow suggested the idea of winning a reputation for himself
by killing a bear without any assistance from the others. It was a rash