King of the Grizzlies Page #4

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COWBOY.' Hyah!

Aaagh!

Ah-ohh!

Slow down!

Wait for me!

There he was,

as close as you and me.

Mean little red eyes

and a big mouth full of teeth.

That long, right?

If I hadn't played dead...

I'd be inside a live bearskin

right now.

Wow, that's something.

I'm mighty lucky to be alive.

All right, Shorty. We've all

heard it four times now.

You boys better

get back to work.

Curly, take Shorty

over to my office...

and give him a couple of shots

of bravemaker...

and then you get back

on that fencing.

Some guys do anything

for a free drink.

Willie, Angus,

you unload that barbed wire.

Ho.

What was that all about?

Shorty and the boys

supposed to be setting fence.

Well, they were

setting fence...

but they ran into

a little trouble.

- What kind of trouble?

- Grizzly trouble.

What happened?

Well, your grizzly friend...

who was hightailing it

for the mountains...

doubled back and jumped Shorty.

Shorty get hurt?

No, but only 'cause he had

sense enough to play dead.

So, the K. C. Ranch

has bear traps.

You borrow them

and spread them...

all over that bench country.

I'd rather do it

with a rifle, sir.

We've got a ranch to run.

We don't have time to waste,

nor men to risk...

trying to track down

one grizzly.

Now, are you gonna be

a cattleman, Moki...

or blood brother to a bear?

I'll get the traps.

NARRATOR.' For Wahb, trouble

was still twenty miles...

and several days away.

And for

the immediate future...

Mother Nature

had a more pleasant plan.

To get things started,

she arranged for Wahb...

to go fishing and also

to make an easy catch.

So far so good...

but he hadn't caught

his limit yet.

Well, there were plenty

of fish in this stream...

and, as it turned out...

there was another bear

in the forest, too.

This young female grizzly...

had wandered up

from down south.

Back home,

they didn't have anything...

like this big

handsome hunk of bear.

It was plain to see

he was a good provider...

and the female figured

it might lead...

to an introduction

if she moseyed down there...

and sampled that fish.

One look,

and his heart was so full...

he forgot his empty stomach.

With grizzly bears,

courtship and mating...

usuall y last about two weeks.

Then the male and the female

go their separate ways.

For the first few days...

all was sweetness and light

for the happy couple...

but they would

soon discover...

that already

their road to romance...

was beset with trouble.

Although Moki found

no pleasure in his task...

still he used

all his Indian skill...

in setting the bear traps.

The deadly steel would be

hidden in many cunning ways...

in many different places.

Three days passed...

and Wahb was still

so wound up with love...

the female

was beginning to wonder...

if it'd ever run down.

Right now, she was

in the mood for food...

and when she caught

a promising scent...

she set out to follow it up.

Wahb had finall y realized

she was missing...

and he'd come back

to get her...

just in time.

NARRATOR.' Wahb was actuall y

protecting his mate...

although she didn't

really believe it.

He remembered

the scent of steel...

and now he would

expose the danger.

It was safe now

to claim his prize...

and Wahb made it plain

it woul d be ladies last.

Another day,

another free meal.

Wahb had the hang of it now...

and he didn't hesitate

to move right in.

Of course, the female's

plight was pitiful...

but Wahb wasn't about

to change the rules.

And so it went,

throughout the forest.

He would soon disarm

all of Moki's best laid plans.

The last and cleverest trap

was Moki's water set.

The stream carried away

all scent of man and steel.

It was

the missing ingredients...

that made Wahb

even more suspicious.

The female was still hoping...

and wishing Wahb

would hurry...

but he was taking his time

to puzzle this thing out.

As usual, Wahb expected

to claim the prize...

without argument,

but not this time.

She was going to have

a little talk with him...

about community property.

Well, that did it.

Maybe there was a shortage

of males back home...

but she was heading south

anyway.

Down there, they knew

how to treat a lady.

Wahb didn't know

what he'd done wrong...

but whatever it was,

he was anxious to apologize.

And so the female

would pay a debt...

and save Wahb's life.

Now she would lead him...

far from the guns and traps

of the Greybull country.

Four years passed, and

Colonel Pearson's empire...

grew in size and scope.

Now he took a harvest

of timber from the forests...

and sank mines

deep into his mountains.

But first and above all...

his was still

an empire of cattle.

Whiteface grazed

by the thousands...

in every corner

of the Pearson range.

At ranch headquarters...

The number of buildings

and corrals...

kept pace with

the growing enterprise.

Today, a remuda of horses

was being gathered...

for the summer roundup.

Before this operation began,

however...

the foreman of the ranch

was spending a few days...

in the high country...

taking a typical

Indian vacation.

It was a vacation

Moki would never forget.

NARRATOR.' It couldn't happen,

but it had.

The mystic moment

had passed...

but one fact remained...

never before had there been

such a grizzly...

except, of course...

in his grandfather's

wondrous legends.

Go in peace, O, my brother.

NARRATOR.'

There were many long miles...

between the far reaches

of the high country...

and the borders

of Colonel Pearson's empire.

And so,

it was two or three weeks...

before Wahb wandered

into this territory.

Now he had reached

the fullness of his growth.

He weighed 1,25o pounds...

a grizzly king...

accustomed to going

where he wanted to go...

whether the way

was barred or not.

Now Wahb was on

a one-way trail to trouble.

Just a mile or so from here...

the big summer roundup

was well underway.

For the past week...

from every corner

of the grazing lands...

the whiteface cattle

had been herded...

toward the holding grounds.

Here they were counted

and culled and selected...

some for marketing...

some to be held

for future breeding stock.

In the nearby foothills...

at the mouth

of a small canyon...

was a typical roundup camp...

presided over by a typical

cowboy cook named Slim.

Right now, Slim

was doing his usual job...

in his usual way...

and some distance

farther up the canyon...

Shorty Russell was doing

wrangler duty in his usual way.

Beyond Shorty

was the remuda of spare horses.

Beyond that was a corral...

full of extra-select

whiteface cattle...

and beyond that was Wahb.

For a few moments,

the bull was very brave.

Whoa, hey! Hey, now! Come on!

Hey! Hey! Whoa, there!

Whoa! Whoa!

Whoa! Ho!

Whoa! Whoa!

Oh! Oh! Oh! Ohh!

Oh, no!

SHORTY.' Grizzly!

It's a great big grizzly!

Head for those trees!

Can grizzlies climb trees?

You better hope not!

Ow! Get off my hand!

Ow!

SLIM.' Let go of my foot

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