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f the water, and rushed toward the captain. The latter had no chance at all with his injured knee, and with nothing to defend himself. It was a critical moment, but he braced himself up, fumbled in his pocket for his clasp-knife, and then faced Bruin, who was now standing, on his hind legs ready for the attack. When Captain Josh and the bear disappeared over the bank the boys stared in amazement, which soon changed to fear when they saw what the animal really was. They crowded together, and it needed but a word to cause most of them to rush panic-stricken from the place. It was Rod who saved the situation. No sooner had the captain and the bear reached the water, than he sprang forward, seized the rifle, and leaped down the bank. He had much difficulty in keeping his feet, and several times he thought that he would lose his balance and tumble head-long into the pool below. He managed, however, to keep from falling by digging his feet into the gravel, and thus step by step moved quickly downward. Rod knew something about the captain's rifle, as on several occasions he had been shown how it worked, and once, which was a red-letter day to him, he had been allowed to fire it off. It was quite fortunate that the boy had this slight knowledge, which now served him in good stead. Rod saw the bear rise on its hind legs, and he knew from stories he had read that this was the ordinary method of attack. He could not afford to lose a moment, he was well aware, if the captain was to be saved. Creeping close to where the bear was standing, he drew back the hammer, took steady aim at the brute's body, and pulled the trigger. At once there was a loud report, and Rod was sent reeling backward as if hit on the shoulder by a huge rock. For an instant he imagined that the bear had struck him with its paw, but a shout from the captain caused him to scramble to his feet. Then his eyes rested upon the black form of the bear lying upon the ground but a short distance away. "Is it dead?" he asked, hurrying over to where the captain was standing. "Dead! Doesn't he look like it?" was the reply, as the old man laid a heavy hand affectionately upon the boy's shoulder. "That was a great shot, lad, and jist in the nick of time. My! I was sure he was goin' to have me fer dinner. That would have been a slower and more painful death fer the brute, ha, ha!" CHAPTER XXIII FIRST AID By this time the rest of the sc
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