the polite inquiry, "What name do you suggest for the new post-office?"

[Illustration]

The Colonel took down his new rifle, a 45-90 repeater. "May as well,"
he said; "this is my month"; and he rode up the Graybull to see how the
cattle were doing.

As he passed under the Rimrock Mountain he heard a far-away roaring as
of Bulls fighting, but thought nothing of it till he rounded the point
and saw on the flat below a lot of his cattle pawing the dust and
bellowing as they always do when they smell the blood of one of their
number. He soon saw that the great Bull, 'the boss of the bunch,' was
covered with blood. His back and sides were torn as by a Mountain-lion,
and his head was battered as by another Bull.

"Grizzly," growled the Colonel, for he knew the mountains. He quickly
noted the general direction of the Bull's back trail, then rode toward a
high bank that offered a view. This was across the gravelly ford of the
Graybull, near the mouth of the Piney. His horse splashed through the
cold water and began jerkily to climb the other bank.

As soon as the rider's head rose above the bank his hand grabbed the
rifle, for there in full sight were five Grizzly Bears, an old one and
four cubs. "Run for the woods," growled the Mother Grizzly, for she knew
that men carried guns. Not that she feared for herself; but the idea of
such things among her darlings was too horrible to think of. She set off
to guide them to the timber-tangle on the Lower Piney. But an awful,
murderous fusillade began.