o fire, but they had not
succeeded yet in reaching the seat of life. One ball had broken the
bear's shoulder, and the blood flowed from its wounds, while churned
blood and foam dropped from its jaws.

Before another volley could be fired it made a furious rush at the three
men who had kept away to the left, namely, Big Waller, Bounce, and
March. There was no help for it; not having completed their loading,
they had to drop their guns and run. We have already said that these
three had diverged towards the river. It now proved to be unfortunate
that they had done so, for the bank at that place jutted out into the
stream in such a way that it was impossible for them to avoid leaping
into the river. The bank overhung the stream and was fully twenty feet
high. Big Waller, who reached it first, hesitated to take the leap.
Bounce, who came next, rushed violently against him, and the two went
over together, fell into the water with a tremendous splash, and sank.
March come up the instant after, and sprang far out at once with a bold,
unhesitating spring. The bear was so close upon the youth that for one
moment they were both in the air at the same time, but the former had
not gone off with a spring, he merely tumbled over, half involuntarily,
so that when they struck the water there was at least a yard between
them. But this was not a long space. The superior swimming powers of
the bear over the man would have diminished the distance to nothing in a
minute or so. Even as it was, the bear was within six inches of March's
heels when Hawkswing and Redhand gained the edge of the bank.

Redhand was armed with a rifle--an old and trusty weapon that had been
the means of saving his own life and the lives of comrades in many a
doubtful encounter with beast and with man. Kneeling down, he took a
rapid aim and fired. The bullet sped true. It entered the back of the
bear's head, and the lifeless carcass floated down the stream. The
three men, instantly observing the effect of the shot, turned round,
and, swimming towards their late enemy, laid hold of him, and dragged
and pushed him with some difficulty towards the shore.

Meanwhile Black Gibault, who had issued from his hiding-place and had
witnessed Redhand's successful shot, began to caper and dance and shout
in the exuberance of his glee. Most men are apt to suffer when they
give way to extravagant action of any kind. Gibault forgot that he was
on the edge of an over