Nellie snapped him up in a flash: 

“There ain’t any tigers in Africa, smarty!”

“You got me that time,” laughed Nick; “where is father?”

“He went out of the door a minute ago; he is standing by the gate,” said the mother, after a quick glance through the window.

Mr. Ribsam was leaning on the gate-post, as was a favorite custom of his, and the tobacco smoke ascended in clouds and rings, as though he was a locomotive tugging hard at a train, with the wheels continually slipping.

He looked at the boys without stirring or speaking, as they passed out the gate and gently closed it, so as not to jar the old gentleman leaning upon it.

When they had gone a rod or so, Mr. Ribsam called out: 

“Nicholas!”

“Yes, sir!” answered the son, wheeling instantly.

The father took the long stem of his pipe from his mouth, emitted a blast of vapor, and then shut his eyes and flung his head backward with a quick flirt, which meant that his boy should come to him.

Nick obeyed with his usual promptness, and paused immediately in front of his parent, while Sam Harper stopped short and looked backward at the two, with the purpose of waiting until the interview ended.

The old gentleman meant his words for both, and he therefore used the English tongue as best he could, and spoke loud: 

“Nicholas, bears ish shtrong amimals as nefer vos:  they can squeeze in der ribs of a ox of dey tried, I dinks, so looks out dot de bears don’t not squeeze mit you.”

“I will take good care, you may depend.”

“His claws am sharp and he has big jaws; look outs for dem, Nicholas!”

“You may be sure I will.”

“And, Nicholas, ven you goes for to hunt bears you must helps one anoder; you hears?”

This was the all-important sentence the father had prepared himself to utter.  It will be observed that it was in violation of his oft repeated creed, for it clearly called upon the boys to render mutual support should danger arise; and they would have been zanies had they not done so.

The father expected them to show that much sense, but he was impelled to impress the necessity of it:  he meant them to understand that his declarations were subject to amendment under certain conditions.

Nick gave the pledge and stepped briskly up the road with Sam, while Bowser frolicked in the fields and road until they were fairly in the woods, when he frisked among the trees, sometimes starting up a squirrel or rabbit, which had no trouble in skurrying out of his reach.

As the bear when seen by Nellie was near Shark Creek, the boys agreed to follow the road to the bridge, descend into the bed of the stream, and then go downward toward the pond and finally off into the woods, where they intended to pass that day and probably the night and following day.

They had reached and passed the tree in which Nellie Ribsam took refuge two months before, when Nick suddenly exclaimed: