“I will!” burst from the lips of nearly every one present.

“Huzza—­revenge!  I’ll have revenge, huzza!” cried Joe, throwing round his hat.

“You will join us?” inquired Boone, turning to Glenn.

“Yes,” replied Glenn; “I came hither provided with the implements to hunt; and as such is to be principally my occupation during my sojourn in this region, I could not desire a more happy opportunity than the present to make a beginning.  And as it is my intention to settle near the ferry on the opposite shore, I am pleased to find that I shall not be far from one whose acquaintance I hoped to make, above all others.”

“And you may not find me reluctant to cultivate a social intercourse, notwithstanding men think me a crabbed old misanthrope,” replied Boone, pressing the extended hand of Glenn.  They then separated for the night, retiring to the tents that had been provided for them.

It was not long before a comparative silence pervaded the scene.  The fierce yelpings of the watch-dogs gradually ceased, and the howling wolf was but indistinctly heard in the distance.  The katydid and whippoorwill still sang at intervals, and these sounds, as well as the occasional whirlpool that could be heard rising on the surface of the gliding stream, had a soothing influence, and lulled to slumber the wandering mortals who now reclined under the forest trees, far from the homes of their childhood and the graves of their kindred.  Glenn gazed from his couch through the branches above at the calm, blue sky, resplendent with twinkling stars; and if a sad reflection, that he thus lay, a lonely being, a thousand miles from those who had been most dear to him, dimmed his eye for an instant with a tear, he still felt a consciousness of innocence within, and resolving to execute his vow in every particular, he too was soon steeped in undisturbed slumber.

CHAPTER II.

Boone hunts the bear—­Hounds and terriers—­Sneak Punk, the Hatchet-face—­Another stump—­The high passes—­The bear roused—­The chase—­A sight—­A shot—­A wound—­Joe—­His meditations—­His friend, the bear—­The bear retreats—­Joe takes courage—­He fires—­Immense execution—­Sneak—­The last struggle—­Desperation of the bear—­His death—­Sneak’s puppies—­Joe.

By the time the first streaks of gray twilight marked the eastern horizon, Boone, at the head of the party of hunters, set out from the encampment and proceeded down the river in the direction of the place where Joe had been so roughly handled by Bruin.  All, with the exception of Glenn and his man, being accustomed to much walking, were on foot.  Glenn rode his white steed, and Joe was mounted on his little black pony.  The large hounds belonging to Boone, and the curs, spaniels, and terriers of the emigrants were all taken along.  As they proceeded down the river, Boone proposed the plan of operations which was to guide their conduct in the chase, and each man