"Grab your guns!" yelled Havens.
Several timbers fell with a loud clatter, and the lantern, dashed to the floor, promptly went out. Then a dark form crashed through the roof, flopping heavily on its back, while a series of savage growls and whines made the boys cower back in the darkest part of the cave.
"A bear!" shouted Jim Havens, "and a whopper."
Dick Travers, who had left his gun in front, was panic-stricken at the idea of being bottled up. Out in the open, he would at least have a chance in flight.
The pale moonlight, streaming through the window, revealed the animal pinioned beneath heavy timbers. Now was his chance. With a yell, Dick darted forward, and just as he did so, bruin rolled over on his feet.
Dick Travers' terror lent him strength. Bounding forward, he grazed the animal's back, brought up against the blanket, tore it from its fastenings, then stumbled at full length outside the door.
Bruin, no doubt astonished and alarmed at his own mishap and the commotion which followed, uttered another roar and turned tail.
Just as Dick Travers scrambled to his feet, a huge black body dashing by knocked him flat, and the boy let out a yell which could have been heard a mile.
The moon had risen above a belt of timber, throwing a silvery light over the landscape, and it showed the bear getting away at surprising speed.
The three boys who remained in the cave quickly recovered their wits.