He  was  a  light  gray  over  all  his  hindquarters,  with  shoul-
ders and  head  black.  His  ponderous,  wide-spread  antlers
towered  over  him,  adding  to  the  wildness  of  his  magnifi-
cent poise  as  he  stood  there,  looking  down  into  the  valley,
no  doubt  listening  for  the  bay  of  the  hound.  When  he
heard  Dale's  horse  he  gave  one  bound,  gracefully  and
wonderfully  carrying  his  antlers,  to  disappear  in  the
green.
Again  on  a  bare  patch  of  ground  Dale  pointed  down.
Helen  saw  big  round  tracks,  toeing  in  a  little,  that  gave
her  a  chill.  She  knew  these  were  grizzly  tracks.
Hard  riding  was  not  possible  on  this  ridge  crest,  a  fact
that  gave  Helen  time  to  catch  her  breath.  At  length,
coming  out  upon  the  very  summit  of  the  mountain,  Dale
heard  the  hound.  Helen's  eyes  feasted  afar  upon  a  wild
scene  of  rugged  grandeur,  before  she  looked  down  on  this
western  slope  at  her  feet  to  see  bare,  gradual  descent,
leading  down  to  sparsely  wooded  bench  and  on  to  deep-
green  canon.
"Ride  hard  now!"  yelled  Dale.  ''I  see  Bo,  an'  I'll  have
to  ride  to  catch  her."

167


THE  MAN  OF  THE  FOREST

Dale  spurred  down  the  slope.  Helen  rode  in  his  tracks,
and,  though  she  plunged  so  fast  that  she  felt  her  hair
stand  up  with  fright,  she  saw  him  draw  away  from  her.
Sometimes  her  horse  slid  on  his  haunches  for  a  few  yards,
and  at  these  hazardous  moments  she  got  her  feet  out  of
the  stirrups  so  as  to  fall  free  from  him  if  he  went  down.
