the gun must have brought more dangerous enemies to us."

"I would give a good deal to know what has become of them. It begins
to look as if they did not consider us worth bothering with."

"I wish I could believe that, but I cannot. I think it more likely
that they know where we are, and are trifling with us, as a cat
does with a mouse."

"That makes me anxious to push on. We must find some place where
we can cross the stream. Let's go further up the bank."

He took the course named, leading away from the great bear with
which they had so narrowly escaped an encounter.

To their surprise, they had not far to go before the spot they were
seeking was found. The stream narrowed between some rocks, so much
that even Alice could spring across without wetting her feet.

"I am afraid Linna can't leap it," remarked Ben with a smile.

"Me show you."

And, without recoiling a step, the nimble little one made a graceful
bound, which landed her several feet beyond the other margin.

"Well done!" said Ben; "I couldn't do much better myself. Now,
Alice, you are not going to let her beat you?"

Alice was timid at first, but with a good start she cleared the