In spite of all Allan’s cutting-up the bear seemed to think that he had better be paying more attention to what was going on elsewhere.
Thad had raised the gun from the ground. It was slowly ascending through space, and turning around as it came.
The grizzly hurried underneath, while Thad hastened to pass the cord through his fingers and when the wise old bear, seeming to understand the case, reared up to strike at the dangling rifle, he just managed to give it a tap that started it to spinning around at a lively clip.
“Oh!” gasped Giraffe, under the belief that all was lost.
But Thad had made one last drag, and even as the other uttered that exclamation the scoutmaster snatched the gun out of the air; for with that very last pull, the noose seemed to have slipped.
“Hurrah! Thad wins!” burst out from Step Hen.
“Good-bye, old Charlie!” mocked Bumpus. “Better skip out while there is time, if you know what’s good for you.”
But the bear did not seem to be that wise. He remained there, winking those wicked little eyes up at Thad, as if daring him to do his worst.
“Give it to him, Thad!” begged Giraffe, so impatient that he could hardly understand why the more careful boy should wait.
But although Thad had never up to now encountered a wild grizzly, he had heard and read a great deal about them. And thus he knew that at times such an animal can be shot full of bullets, so to speak, without killing him, so tenacious of life is the grizzly bear of the Rocky Mountains.