It was a chance not to be missed, and as the bear arose on his hind legs, Dave took aim directly for his heart. Down came the hammer of the flintlock, but, alas! the weapon failed to go off.
"Shoot! Why don't you shoot?" yelled Rodney, trying his best to reload.
"My flint is cracked," answered Dave. "Confound the luck!" He took aim again and pulled the trigger as before, but now the bear was crouching down on the rocks, and the bullet merely cut a furrow along his shaggy side. Then came a perfect roar of rage, and the big beast leaped from rock to rock and came directly for the hunters.
"Give him another, Rodney!" sang out Dave.
"I haven't got my priming ready!" gasped the young man.
"Then run for it! Run, or he'll have you down!"
On coming closer the bear had turned from Dave to Rodney, and was now within a dozen feet of the former cripple. Rodney started to run, and seeing a high rock some feet away, leaped for it, slipped, and rolled down into the gully. The bear watched him in evident amazement, and as he disappeared in the snow, turned once more toward Dave.
The young hunter was trying to reload with all speed. But his rifle was of the old-fashioned English pattern of 1755, and to load and prime it in a hurry was next to impossible. As the bear came on he backed away, until, reaching a hollow which was covered over with drifted snow, he, too, went down and out of sight exactly as his cousin had done.
Such sudden disappearances were evidently a new experience for the bear, for he stood stock still, gazing first at the gully and then at the hollow, as if wondering which of his human enemies would be the first to reappear.
As fortune would have it, Rodney was the first to emerge from the snow, puffing and spluttering. He had his rifle still in hand, but the weapon was not ready for use, and the bear seemed to know it. With a snarl, the beast hurled himself down in front of the former cripple. But his leap was a trifle short, and Rodney, with quick presence of mind, rolled out of the way. Then the young hunter uttered a loud shout for assistance.