CHAPTER XXXVII.
END OF THE TOUR.
It was quite likely that the big brown bear which had thrust itself among the members of the Zero Club so unceremoniously had had its winter habitation somewhere along the top of the cliff, and that the snow, ice and landslide had brought it forth to see the cause of the disturbance.
Evidently, it imagined that the boys had brought about the ruin, for it was thoroughly enraged, and, as soon as it landed, stood up on its hind legs to embrace Harry, who happened to be a trifle closer than the others.
Harry lost no time in leaping out of reach, and then the great bear turned upon Jack, almost knocking him down with a savage blow from one paw.
“Run! run!” screamed Andy. “Run, Jack, or he will kill you!”
With an effort, Jack regained his balance, and then he took Andy’s advice, as did indeed all of the others. They ran in every direction, and in less than half a minute the bear had the field entirely to himself.
At first bruin appeared on the point of following them into the woods, but he stopped short and sniffed the air. The smell of the cooked meat in the cave reached him, and, turning, he disappeared inside of the shelter.
“He has gone into the cave!” exclaimed Boxy to Harry, breathlessly. “Good-by to all our meat!”
“If he only takes the meat and gets out I won’t care,” put in Andy. “My, but he nearly scared me out of my wits!”
“I doan’ want nuffin’ to do wid dat chap,” remarked Pickles, with a grave shake of his woolly head. “He is wuss nor all de wolves an’ wildcats put togedder, ’deed he is!”