"Come out of there," Steel said between his teeth.
The door in the bear chest was pushed open. There was coughing like somebody coming out of a stifling closet.
Then Steel's hand went limp on the pistol.
A cascade of golden hair tumbled out upon the shaggy bear skin. Steel stared into the furious green eyes of Lois Harmon.
Steel couldn't have been more astonished if his own grandmother had crawled out of the bear skin.
He couldn't believe it at first. He shook his head savagely. Then the girl got to her feet, shook her bright hair out of her eyes and stood there with her hands on her trim hips, glaring at him. Smooth as a pedigreed cat, even in a pair of dingy coveralls.
"It took us six months to build that electric bear!" Her eyes sparked green fire. "You—you—" Words seemed inadequate. She stepped over and swung at Steel a baby haymaker.
Steel ducked and caught her hand. And the exertion jarred his brain back to work like a stopped watch. "Listen, you lynx-eyed hussy!" He twisted her arm behind her back and drew her to him, twisting till her struggling stopped. "If I hadn't seen you get out of that bear skin, I wouldn't have believed it. But, if you're The Bear, you're a cold-blooded murderer! I'd just as soon shoot you down as not. In fact I'd rather. I—" Then he heard the racket behind him. He whirled around, jerking the girl around between him and the door.
Over her shoulder, he saw a score of men run up and halt at the cell door. They'd heard the shots of course. They took in the situation instantly. Rifles and pistols leveled on him like a firing squad.