"Halloa!" suddenly exclaimed Mr. Layton, lowering his lantern close to
the ground, "I don't like _that_."
By way of explanation, he pointed to the damp soil where no vegetation
grew: it was directly in front and close to the water, being that
portion which was frequently swept by the creek when above its present
level.
Parallel to the stream, for a distance of several rods or so, were a
number of imprints in the yielding earth, which the first glance showed
were made by some large animal.
"It must have been a dog," ventured the teacher, who had little
practical knowledge of the animals of the wood.
Mr. Kilgore shook his head.
"It was a bear; there can be no mistake about it. Mr. Marston was right;
it was the track of a similar animal which he saw last March."
"You are not mistaken, Mr. Kilgore?"
The farmer answered impatiently:
"I have hunted bears too often to be mistaken; I can tell their trail
among a hundred others, and the one which went along here a little while
ago was one of the largest of his kind."
CHAPTER IX.
THE LITTLE WANDERER.
Although Nellie Ribsam was only eight years old at the time she was lost
in the big woods, yet the results of the training received from her
sensible father and mother showed themselves in a marked degree on that
memorable occasion.
She had been taught, as was her brother, that under heaven she must rely
upon herself to get forward in the world.
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