By the middle of the afternoon the main
body of the herd had passed, and Antoine was
sure that his captivity had at last come to an
end. Then he swung himself from his limb to
the ground, and walked stiffly to the carcass of
the nearest cow, which he dressed and prepared
himself a meal. But first he took a piece of
liver on a long pole to the bear!
Antoine finally decided to settle in the re-
cesses of the heavy timber for the winter, as he
was on foot and alone, and not able to travel
any great distance. He jerked the meat of all
the animals he had killed, and prepared their
skins for bedding and clothing. The Bois
Brule and Ami, as he called the bear, soon be-
came necessary to one another. The former
considered the bear very good company, and
the latter had learned that man's business, after
all, is not to kill every animal he meets. He
had been fed and kindly treated, when helpless
from his wounds, and this he could not forget.
Antoine was soon busy erecting a small log
hut, while the other partner kept a sharp look-
out, and, after his hurts were healed, often
brought in some small game.
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