“Why don’t you?” demanded Julie, who stood back of the Indians when the other girls scampered anxiously for aspens, or other “safety-first” places.
“Me fight!”
“Oh!” was all Julie said, but she stood her ground behind the two Indians, while her friends all begged her to seek a tree for safety.
“I want to watch what is going on down here—you can’t see a thing up in the foliage,” called Julie. “Besides, I am safe because the bear will have to down the guides first, before he can get a mouthful out of me.”
But the grizzly must have caught a scent of the human beings who stood too near the tempting bit of rabbit right on the trail! So he sat upright on his haunches and waved his fearful paws threateningly, while he growled as if saying, “Come on! I’m waiting for you folks. Why don’t you fight?”
But the two guides and Julie were so screened by the bush that the bear could not see them,—he merely scented them. Then the wind shifted again, and the grizzly thought he was mistaken, for he smelled no further annoyance. But he decided to be cautious, as it always behooved him to be when man was at hand. So he gave voice to a terrifying roar, just to show these pigmies what would happen if they dared to interfere with his meal!
Julie stood her ground behind the two Indians
As he sat munching the mouthful of rabbit, blinking at nothing in particular, Tally suddenly jerked his head sideways and took a searching look at the beast. Then he leaned over and whispered to Omney so softly that Julie could not hear a sound.
Omney now stared at the bear in unbelief, but after gazing keenly, soon nodded his head anxiously. Then, in another moment, two rifles were silently levelled, and two shots rang out. The grizzly rolled over while the rabbit still remained half-chewed in his great maw.