hite.

Tail foremost, the heavy animal shuffled down the tree-trunk with
astonishing agility, and, reaching the ground on all fours, turned to
face Raoul.

CHAPTER III

SETTING A BAD EXAMPLE

Up to this moment Raoul, carried away by the excitement of the hunt,
had not stopped to consider what he should do if the bear happened to
show fight instead of running away, but now he found himself face to
face with the creature, which was evidently in no very good humour at
having been so rudely disturbed while feasting on the grapes.

Growling fiercely the bear charged at Raoul, who darted off, shouting:

"Quick, Outan, quick! Come, help me!"

By dodging in and out among the trees he could keep out of the bear's
clutches; but this complete change of programme was not at all what he
had counted upon, and it was with great relief that presently he saw
not only Outan, but several other Indians coming to his aid. Shouting
and swinging their clubs they attracted the animal's attention from
Raoul, who was fast losing his breath, and from being the pursuer the
bear now became the pursued.

He was wise enough to see that the odds were against him, and made off
at a shambling gallop which the hunters found it difficult to keep up
with. Their object being to drive the bear towards the village they
must needs keep him going in that direction, and this they found no
easy task. It would almost seem as if he suspected their purpose, so
hard did he try to go off at a tangent instead of straight ahead; and
more than once Raoul well-nigh despaired of their succeeding in their
object, and regretted that he had not brought his musket with him. But
the Indians were not to be fooled. The bear was too fine a specimen to
lose, and they spared neither their lungs nor their muscles as they
kept up the pursuit with unflagging zeal. It certainly was a curious
way of hunting bears, and if Bruin had only known how powerless his
persecutors really were, he would, no doubt, have freed himself from
them in short order. He was too badly frightened, however, to perceive
the truth, and did his best to keep out of range of the menacing
cudgels, while all the time the village drew nearer, where his fate
awaited him.

Raoul would have liked very much to reach the village ahead of the
bear, but although he ran his very best, he was left well in the rear,
and when he came up the big black creature had already been dispatched.

"You poor fel