And he found himself confronting a huge black bear.
The bear was busy looting a bee-tree.

It was the season when he and his like are stocking up, with all the fatmaking food they can gorge, in preparation for the winter's "holing-in." Thus, he viewed with sluggish non-interest the advent of the dog.

He had scented Lad for as long a time as Lad had scented him.

But he had eaten on, unperturbed.

For he knew himself to be the match of any four dogs; especially if the dogs were unaccompanied by men.