Every man grasped his gun and turned on the defensive, as a huge grizzly bear suddenly appeared from behind the rocks and bushes on the right. Marion shrunk back with a white face, and stood watching his movements breathlessly.
He was a most majestic fellow, large and ferocious in appearance, and evidently had no intention of leaving immediately. Walking up toward them he stopped a few yards distant, and raising his huge body on his hind legs, deliberately surveyed the party before him.
“Oh, de Lord,” ejaculated Scip, “we’s all dead men.”
“Shet yer trap,” growled Wild Nat. “Down on yer knees, all of ye an’ git yer knives out.”
The men all dropped as directed, and as the bear slowly advanced, Wild Nat hastily removed the cap from his gun, replacing it with a fresh one. The bear advanced to within a few feet of them, licking his huge jaws, as if in anticipation of a coming feast. Kent raised his rifle to fire.
“Hold thar,” exclaimed Nat; “don’t fire, for yer life! Now, Vic!”
The bear was now close, and, raising himself, rushed forward with a ferocious growl. At that moment, Vic drew his attention by throwing his cap aside, and in the momentary pause Wild Nat raised his rifle and fired both barrels into the monster’s eye. With a fearful roar the grizzly pitched forward and lay stretched lifeless on the ground.
“Thet war a neat little transacktion,” said the trapper, coolly surveying the beast, “an’ we ’scaped bein’ strung tew mince-meat by it. It war a good shot.”
“Why did you tell me not to fire?” asked Kent.
“Why? Beavers an’ catamounts! Ef ye’d fired, ye’d ’a’ bin dead in tew minnits. You’d have aimed at his head, an’ ye mought as well try tew shoot through one of them ’ere rocks as tew try tew kill a grizzly by shootin’ his head. Ye can’t dew it nohow. It jist maddens ’em an’ then thar’s lively times. I had a grizzly chase me once.”