“Let me go!” he cried. “Help! help!”
“Let me go,” yelled Sparwick, in shrill tones. “There’s some sort of wild critter in this here place.”
Jerry did not understand what he said. There was a comical side to the struggle, for each was trying to break away, and each imagined that the other was striving to hold him.
Meanwhile, Hamp held the candle and looked on like a piece of statuary. In fact, he did not know what else to do.
“Put the candle down,” yelled Jerry. “Get the rifle and hit this fellow on the head.”
But before Hamp could make a single move toward the execution of this order, he saw something that made his eyes fairly bulge out of their sockets. Where the fiery eyes had been seen a moment before, now appeared a monstrous bear.
The creature was fat, and his short, black fur bristled with rage. He was evidently ravenously hungry, and came swinging down the passage, uttering growl after growl.
Just when bruin was within six feet of them, Jerry and Sparwick caught sight of him. Their yells of fright blended into one. Who broke loose first, it is impossible to say. They tumbled apart, and scrambled in hot haste to their feet. Sparwick slipped back against the wall, and the delay proved fatal.
The bear was right upon him, having risen to his hind legs. A single blow from one of the great paws toppled the unfortunate man over on hands and knees.
Jerry saw the disaster, made a frantic dash, and ran into Hamp’s arms. The latter dropped the candle, and it was extinguished as soon as it struck the floor, plunging the scene in utter darkness.