company how Maxim had come to her rescue. With not a little difficulty, Tuhar and other boyar huntsmen climbed upon the wall. Tuhar embraced his daughter and held her for a long time. And perceiving blood upon her clothing, exclaimed, “My child, my child, my dear one, to think that you were in such awful danger!” and kept embracing her again and again as if he were afraid to let her go.
Then he climbed down to where Maxim was busying himself preparing to skin the bear. The cubs, not yet recognizing their natural enemy in man, continued their joyous romping around in the den, like puppies. They allowed themselves to be petted and seemed not at all afraid of human begins. Maxim caught them in his arms and set them down at the feet of Peace-Renown and her father.
“Well, here is your quarry,” he said. . . “Perhaps you will welcome these guests in your home.”
The gathered company of boyars cheered by the capture, admired the cubs but viewed the carcass of the dead beast fearfully, examining its wounds and marvelling at the endurance and intrepidity of the girl who dared to engage such a huge beast in the struggle.
“Oh, no!” laughed Peace-Renown, “Without the help of this gallant young man I would be the one now, lying there, like the bloody beast. I owe him the greatest debt of gratitude for saving my life!”
Tuhar Wolf seemed to be somewhat displeased with what his daughter was saying. Though she was certainly very dear to him and his joy at finding her safe and sound was profound, still he would very much have preferred if a boyar’s son had saved her life instead of this common, Tukholian peasant lad and that despite the fact that the peasant youth had pleased Tuhar very much. To this proud boyar who had risen to the privileged rank in the favor of his king, it was hard to humble himself now before the peasant in order to thank him for hav-
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