Midnight fed on the rich, new grass until he was no longer hungry, then he made another trip around the rim and along the cliff wall. He wanted to escape from this tight little pasture. The only avenue of escape lay across the crevice and along the ledge beyond. Midnight stood at the edge of the yawning abyss and shook his head restlessly. The leap was a long one, too long for him to try.  
The little stallion turned back to the beaver lake. The pair of beavers were busily lacing willows along the top of their dam. As they wove the willows into place they plastered black mud on them. They were master engineers, and their dam was sturdy and strong. They stopped work and gazed at Midnight but they did not plunge into the water. They accepted him as one of the dwellers of their little world under the rim, a harmless animal who would not attack them.
 
Midnight trotted into the aspen grove and lay down. Above him green buds were bursting and pale-green leaves had begun to show. The bushes along the wall were leaved out and many flowers bloomed. The little mesa lay facing the sun. Its protected acreage afforded growing things a chance to get started before other mesas came to life. The spot Midnight had picked for his bed88 was near the cliff face. He could see the rim above. A group of five Englemann’s spruce grew near the wall. Their straight trunks towered well above the rim and looked out across the high mesa where the cabin stood. One of them grew so close to the cliff face that its trunk touched the rim above.
 
Midnight drowsed, his eyes fixed lazily upon the leaning spruce. Suddenly they popped wide open. He saw a big brown bear slide off the rim above and come down the trunk, sliding and scraping the bark loose in a shower of wood bits. The bear was descending tail first, moving around the tree as he came down.
 
The black colt scrambled to his feet. The memory of the savage silvertip was fresh in his mind. He tossed his head and snorted loudly. The brown bear halted his descent and peered down at him, then began to slide again. Then Midnight saw another bear, larger than the first, swinging off the mesa above. The big fellow came down amid a shower of bark and twigs. Midnight whirled and fled as far as he could get away from the spruces. He halted and stood watching the two bears, ready to dodge and run if they charged at him.
 
The two bears paid no attention to Midnight. They grunted and growled as they walked into the aspen grove, where they prowled about rooting into the dead leaves, overturning rotting logs. Then both sat up letting their big paws droop over their shaggy bellies. They sat looking up at the spruce trees. Down the leaning tree came two more bears. Midnight pawed frantically but he was as far away from the bears as he could get. The two newcomers joined the first pair in the aspen grove. There was much growling and grunting, with many deep woofs added. Midnight remained where he was, trembling and pawing the ground. Within an hour seven bears had arrived89 by way of the leaning spruce, and the grove was noisy with their gruff voices.
 
One he-bear walked to an aspen tree. Lifting himself to his full height he gashed a mark on the trunk with his teeth. Another male, who had been sitting watching him, got to his feet and walked to the tree. He gashed the tree higher than the other had been able to reach. Then a big fellow with a furry red face strolled to the tree. He grunted several times as he stood up. He marked the tree a full six inches above the highest mark, then dropped to the ground and faced the other bears. The males backed away from him as though recognizing his superior prowess. He strolled to one of the she-bears and nosed against her. She accepted the caress and the big male turned toward the spruce trees. He ambled to the leaning tree and started to climb. The she-bear followed him obediently.
 
One of the other males edged close to a female, rumbling in his chest as he moved toward her. Another male stepped forward and the two big fellows faced each other. An angry argument followed. The aspen grove rang with the roars of the two males, but they did not fight. One of them backed away and the other led the she-bear to the sloping spruce in triumph. They went up the tree and out on the mesa.
 
There were two males and one female left. The smaller fellow, a smudged, black-faced bear, had edged close to the last she-bear. He woofed and grunted in an attempt to get her to go with him, but she just sat and looked up into the aspen branches. The larger he-bear walked toward her. The little bear with the black face crowded in front of her, growling warningly.
 
The big bear shuffled up to him, reared, and cuffed him hard alongside of the head. The little fellow danced up and down and his roars shook the branches of the aspens90 and echoed along the rock walls, but he backed away from the she-bear.
 
The big fellow walked around her and grunted deeply. Then he headed toward the leaning tree against the wall. She followed him while the little bear sat with a sad expression on his face watching them. He remained where he was until they had climbed out onto the mesa above. He whined a little, ambled to the tree, and began climbing out of the basin.
 
The love moon of the bears had risen. This secluded spot was the scene of their first summer romancing. The pairs would wander away into the woods and remain together for a while. Midnight did not understand the nature of the gathering, but he did realize that they had not come to the mesa prison to attack him. He edged out toward the grove which reeked with bear scent. Snorting and jerking his head, he trotted around to the lower end of the mesa where he nibbled a few blades of grass. The wind carried the strong bear smell to him and he moved to the upper end again where he bedded down for the night.
 
Then next morning while Midnight was feeding close to the beaver lake he met another stranger. The animal was not large and it waddled along at a slow pace. It had long, yellowish hair and it seemed too dull-witted and slow to be dangerous. Midnight advanced. The dull-witted one lifted the hair on his back but............