At
the same moment a kingfisher went rattling by to his old perch
over the minnow pool. The alders swayed again as if struck; a
huge bear lumbered out of them to the shore, with a disgruntled
woof! at some twig that had switched his ear too sharply.
I slid lower in the canoe till only my head and shoulders were
visible. Mooween went nosing along-shore till something--a
dead fish or a mussel bed--touched his appetite, when he
stopped and began feeding, scarcely two hundred yards
away. I reached first for my heavy rifle, then for the paddle,
and cautiously "fanned" the canoe towards shore till an old
stump on the point covered my approach. Then the little bark
jumped forward as if alive. But I had scarcely started when--
klrrrr! klrrr! ik-ik--ik! Over my head swept Koskomenos
with a rush of wings and an alarm cry that spoke only of haste
and danger. I had a glimpse of the bear as he shot into the
alders, as if thrown by a catapult; the kingfisher wheeled in a
great rattling circle about the canoe before he pitched upon the
old stump, jerking his tail and clattering in great excitement.
I swung noiselessly out into the lake, where I could watch the
alders. They were all still for a space of ten minutes; but
Mooween was there, I knew, sniffing and listening.
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