d to fire. But Crusoe resolved to have the honour of leading the
assault. He seized fast hold of Bruin's flank, and caused his teeth to
meet therein. Caleb backed out at once and turned round, but before he
could recover from his surprise a dozen bullets pierced his heart and
brain.

"Now, lads," cried Cameron, setting to work with a large wooden shovel,
"work like niggers. If there's any life left in the horse it'll soon be
smothered out unless we set him free."

The men needed no urging, however. They worked as if their lives
depended on their exertions. Dick Varley, in particular, laboured like
a young Hercules, and Henri hurled masses of snow about in a most
surprising manner. Crusoe, too, entered heartily into the spirit of the
work, and, scraping with his forepaws, sent such a continuous shower of
snow behind him that he was speedily lost to view in a hole of his own
excavating. In the course of half an hour a cavern was dug in the mound
almost close up to the cliff, and the men were beginning to look about
for the crushed body of Dick's steed, when an exclamation from Henri
attracted their attention.

"Ha! mes ami, here am be one hole."

The truth of this could not be doubted, for the eccentric trapper had
thrust his shovel through the wall of snow into what appeared to be a
cavern beyond, and immediately followed up his remark by thrusting in
his head and shoulders. He drew them out in a few seconds, with a look
of intense amazement.

"Voila! Joe Blunt. Look in dere, and you shall see fat you will
behold."

"Why, it's the horse, I do b'lieve!" cried Joe. "Go ahead, lads."

So saying, he resumed his shovelling vigorously, and in a few minutes
the hole was opened up sufficiently to enable a man to enter. Dick
sprang in, and there stood Charlie close beside the cliff, looking as
sedate and unconcerned as if all that had been going on had no reference
to him whatever.

The cause of his safety was simple enough. The precipice beside which
he stood when the avalanche occurred overhung its base at that point
considerably, so that when the snow descended, a clear space of several
feet wide was left all along its base. Here Charlie had remained in
perfect comfort until his friends dug him out.

Congratulating themselves not a little on having saved the charger and
bagged a grizzly bear, the trappers remounted, and returned to the camp.

For some time after this nothing worthy of particular note