The answer was another crash of broken sticks and a deep, guttural growl. At the same instant, by a sudden flicker of flame from the fire, a ray of light shot between the trees and in a flash that was gone almost as quickly as it came, the two boys saw a gigantic shadowy form rear up, it seemed to them ten feet into the air.
“It’s a grizzly!” Bob yelled.
“Shut up!” Joe commanded. He reached over to the bare ground beside him and grabbed a fistful of dry needles and flung them on the fire. The blaze jumped up again brighter, and for just a second they caught a flash of reflection like two sparks, from the bear’s eyes, and then the great shadowy bulk dropped down and they heard a crashing through the woods, receding rapidly.
Joe threw off his blankets and piled wood on the fire till it blazed brightly. Then he looked at Bob, and laughed. The boy was still sitting up on the poncho, his blankets half off, his mouth half open, and his eyes big with fright.
“Brace up,” Joe said. “He was only after our grub. They’re tame around here.”
“Tame your grandmother!” Bob retorted. “I don’t care if they are. Do you think I’m goin’ to sleep with a grizzly bear ’most under my bed?”
He began to get up.
“Where you going?” said Joe.
“Back to the hotel.”
“What good’ll that do? Nobody’ll be up to let you in.” He looked at his watch. “It’s two o’clock,” he added.