airly beating him backward under their storm of lead.

Victory came right speedily, but its finale was thrilling, if not fatal,
the huge beast toppling forward to drop heavily upon the young savage,
just as he was recovering sufficiently from shock and surprise to begin
a struggle for his footing.

Firing another couple of shots while rifle-muzzle almost touched an ear,
the brothers quickly turned attention towards the fallen Indian,
more than half believing him a corpse, crushed out of shape upon the
underlying rocks by that enormous carcass.

Fortunately for all concerned, the young Aztec was lying in a natural
depression between two firm rocks, and while his extrication proved
to be a matter of both time and difficulty, saying nothing of main
strength, success finally rewarded the efforts of our young Samaritans.

The grizzly was stone-dead. The Indian seemed but a trifle better,
though that came through compression rather than any actual wounds from
tooth or talon. And the brothers themselves were fairly dismayed.

Not until that rescue was finally accomplished did either lad
give thought to what might follow; but now they drew back a bit,
interchanging looks of puzzled doubt and worry.

"Right in it, up to our necks, old man! And we can't very well kill the
critter, can we?"

"Of course not; but it may cause us sore trouble if--"

Just then the young Aztec rallied sufficiently to move, drawing a step
nearer the brothers, right hand coming out in greeting, while left palm
was pressed close above his heart. And--still greater marvel!

"Much obliged--me, you, brother!"

If yonder bleeding grizzly had risen erect and made just such a
salutation as this, it could scarcely have caused greater surprise to
either Bruno or Waldo, looking upon this being, as they quite naturally
did, in the light of a genuine "heathen," hence incapable of speaking
any known tongue, much less the glorious Americanese.

True, there was a certain odd accent, a curious dwelling upon each
syllable, but the words themselves were distinctly pronounced and beyond
misapprehension.

"Why, I took you for a howling Injun!" fairly exploded Waldo, then
stepping forward to clasp the proffered member, giving it a regular
"pump-handle shake" by way of emphasis. "And here you are, slinging the
pure United States around just as though it didn't cost a cent, and you
held a mortgage on the whole dictionary! Why, I can't--well, well, now!"

For onc