sapling.

He drew his knife, therefore, and prepared to defend himself in a _hand
to paw_ struggle.

He might still have retreated, though not with a certainty of safety--
for in the hurry of the moment the bear had got on the bank above him:
and had he turned his back, the fierce quadruped might have overtaken,
and knocked him down at his will. Pouchskin thought it better to face
the bear, and receive his onslaught at arm's length.

There was but one way in which he could have retreated, and that was
backward down the slope. He might make ground in that direction; and it
occurred to him to do so, in order to get footing on a more level
surface.

The bear having paused a moment to bite the place where the rifle bullet
had stung him, gave Pouchskin time to gain some ground backwards; but
only a few paces--since the whole affair did not occupy a tenth of the
time taken in describing it.

Just as Pouchskin had reached the bottom of the slope, his angry
assailant, with a terrific growl, rushed forth from the smoke, and
galloped directly towards him. When about three feet distant from the
hunter, Bruin reared upon his hind legs, in the attitude of a
prize-fighter!

Pouchskin was seen to lunge forward with his right arm--the one which
carried his knife; and, the moment after, both man and beast appeared
closed together, "in grips."

In this fashion they went waltzing over the snow, the spray of which
rose in a cloud around them; and for a while they were seen only as one
dark upright form, in confused and violent motion!

Ivan was uttering cries of fear--fear for the safety of his dearly-loved
Pouchskin; while Alexis, more cool, was rapidly reloading his rifle,--
knowing that the surest means of saving the life of their faithful
attendant, was to encompass the death of the bear.

It was a moment of real peril for Pouchskin. The bear was one of the
largest and fiercest he had ever encountered; and, perhaps, had he
examined the brute more minutely before the conflict commenced, he would
have thought twice before facing him. But the smoke from the guns was
still over and around the spot, hanging upon the damp air. Up to the
time when Pouchskin resolved to make stand, he had not yet had a clear
view of his shaggy antagonist. When at length he perceived the
formidable proportions of the animal, it was too late to retreat; and
the struggle began as described.

In brief time Alexis--who at loading was quick as a