Keith and Max rode off

in search of water

A narrow path wound through a thicket of mesquite. Keith

and Max rode along it, searching for the spring. Soon the

ground began to look wet, and they found a small pool of

water, fed by a tiny trickle dripping from the rocks above

it. They decided to follow the stream to its source and found

it several feet farther on, bubbling up from the bottom of

a boulder.

Keith jumped off his horse

cupped the clear water in his

cold and delicious.

and ground-tied him, then

hands and sipped. It tasted

Max ground-tied his horse, Daisy, and joined Keith at the

spring, bending over to scoop up some water.

Just then, Keith felt a shadow fall over him. But, strangely

it was sunnv all around

clouds over the mountains,

looked up and gasped when

the shadow.

He remembered seeing a few

but they had been far away. He

he saw what had actually made

In all his nearly eleven years, Keith had never felt the urge

to scream in fright. At that moment, however, his strongest

impulse was to scream as loud as he could. Except, when he

opened his mouth, all that came out was an odd little croak.

"What'd you say?" Max asked. He had splashed water on

his face and was rubbing his eyes. "I couldn't hear you."

Keith groped wildly with one arm, trying to get Max's atten-

tion. He finally found Max's shoulder and shook it insis-

tently, trying to get Max to look up.

"What is it?" Max asked, wiping his face with his shirttail.

"B . . . b . . . bear," Keith finally managed to get out.