"No, sir; not me," replied Jim, hastily. "I ain't lost no bear."
"You're not scared of a brown bear, surely, Jim?" observed the Texan, with a grin.
"Well," said Jim, "if there were three bears I'd maybe look around and have a plug at them, but I don't waste no shell on just one ornery bear."
"No, I guess not," said "Texas," dryly.
"D'you ever see a live bear?" pursued Jim, offensively.
"Well, I guess I've shot more bear than you've ever seen, Jim," retorted the American.
"Maybe you'll hunt this one for us, then," suggested Jim, sarcastically. "We're all dead scared to sleep here."
"If I run across him at all, I guess there'll be a dead bear around mighty quick," replied "Texas."
Jim was silent for a moment, then he looked up quickly, struck by a sudden idea. "Say, Texas," he cried, "s'pose the bear comes around here, will you take a shot at him?"