"Jump! Run!" yelled Peter, scrambling to get out of his sleeping-bag.
At the shout and scramble the animal wheeled like a flash and plunged at the side of the pit, trying to reach the top with a single leap. It fell short, and came down in a cloud of snow.
Fred had got clear from the encumbering bag by this time, and floundered out of the pit without knowing exactly how he did it. He found Maurice close behind him. Peter missed his footing and tumbled back with a horrified yell, and Maurice seized him by the leg as he went down and dragged him back bodily.
Before they recovered from their panic they bolted several yards away, plunging knee-deep in the drifts, and then Peter stopped.
"Hold on!" he exclaimed. "It isn't after us!"
"But what was it?" stammered Maurice, out of breath.
Looking back, they could see nothing but the faint glow from the scattered brands. But they could not overlook the whole interior of the camp, where the intruder must be now lying quiet.
Trying to collect himself, Fred told how he had been awakened.
"It came straight out of the fire!" he declared.
"Out of the log, I guess," said Peter. "Here, I know what it must be. It's simply a bear!"