"Mind!" cried Steve. "Perhaps he is not quite dead." "There is no fear, sir," replied the man; and, seizing the broken shaft, he dragged the head out of the bear's body, and then took out his knife. "What are you going to do?" said Steve. "Skin it, sir," replied the man, looking surprised that such a question should be asked. "But suppose its mate comes?" Johannes paused, and looked dubious. "Ah!" he said, "then we should have to fight the mate." "No more fighting this time," said the captain. "And Steve is quite right; the other bear may come in search of its companion. We must not attempt to camp here." "I should say not," cried the doctor, "if we are likely to have another bear visitor." "Do you think you can walk a few miles, Steve?" asked the doctor. "Yes, if you will go slowly," replied the boy. "I'm very stiff now, but I shall get better as we go on." And risking the destruction and loss of the skin, they started at once for the boat, to reach it after what to Steve was a long and painful walk. That night he slept so soundly that ten hours had passed before he made his appearance in the cabin, a good deal scratched and otherwise marked, but little the worse for his adventure. CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR. SIGNS OF THE COLD. The skin of the bear was considered to be of too much value to be left to rot, so that next morning a fresh start was made as before, and in due time the place was reached where the roughly-built fireplace stood up blackened against the grey stones. But the bear lay out of sight beyond a mass of rock. As they came to where the animal should have been, it did not seem to be there; but directly after Steve pointed, nearly speechless with wonder. "Look!" he cried. "Come to life again." Johannes laughed. "Hardly," he said; "don't you see that it is the bear's mate." So it proved; and upon the party approaching the dead animal, their coming was savagely resented, and the second bear came on at once to the attack so fiercely that the battle began at once, with the result that the Norsemen, who had all accompanied this expedition, had two bears to skin, and the sledge was heavily laden with the valuable portion of their game. Certain threatening signs were pointed out by Johannes soon after, and they started back, but did not reach the boat till the ground was covered with snow and a peculiar chill was in the air. This snow in summer was unseasonable, but it made the sleigh run easily, and the boat was reached in less time than had been anticipated; but the mountain slopes on either side of the fiord were completely transformed by the snow, an early taste of the winter they might expect to set in before long if they stayed.