“Dunno but I oughter gone with thet boy,” muttered Bitlock, as he gazed after his hopeful son, scratching his head with sluggish movements. After standing five minutes looking vacantly at the space where he had last seen Lige, Goodman Bitlock leisurely picked up his axe, and, after spending five minutes more in flicking off an accumulation of dirt with a pine bough, he got to work again. When it was getting to be time for the boys to return, he began to cast anxious glances down the road, until he was startled by the sight of a well-known figure approaching at a swift run. It was Lige, and he was startled because it was unusual to see him running at that rate, unless he was in pursuit of a squirrel or some frightened denizen of the woods. Lige showed, too, that he was labouring under great excitement, while his dog kept close beside him, uttering quick, short yelps. “Why! whut’s happened now?” cried Bitlock, dropping his axe, and standing with extended arms and wide-opened mouth. “Whut’s scart ye so, Lige?” By this time all in the clearing had stopped work, to learn what the trouble was. “I ain’t scart, dad!” replied Lige, as soon as he could get his breath enough to speak. “I ain’t a bit scart, dad; and I’ve come right back, as ye tole me.” Goodman Bitlock drew a breath of relief, while the others resumed work. The proud father said, in a complimentary tone: “Ye’re a smart boy, Lige, an’ ye’ll ermount to sumthin’. How ye mus’ hev run to git hyur so soon.” “I did, dad.” He said nothing of Archie or the rope, and Mr. Stark, thinking his son would soon appear with the deer thong, asked no questions, until five minutes had passed without bringing the missing boy. “We want that rope,” declared Mr. Stark, impatiently. “Why didn’t you bring it along, Lige?” “I left it with Arch.” “Where is Archie?” “With th’ rope, mister. I had to run to get hyur right back.” Mr. Stark grumbled a little because of the non-appearance of Archie, but for fifteen minutes more nothing wrong was suspected. Then, upon being questioned more closely, Lige blurted out: “I don’t know but th’ b’ar eat him up! I had to run ’way from him to git right back.” Mr. Stark’s inquiries grew more pointed, and the frightened youth explained that a big bear had attacked them, and that he had barely escaped by running for his life. “And what has become of my poor boy?” cried the distracted father. Though realising that it was too late to save Archie, if he had fallen into the clutches of the bear, Mr. Stark, Norman, and the others at once started down the road as fast as they could run. CHAPTER XV. HANGING A BEAR.