or the spear entered too near the shoulder, and stuck upon the
bone.

The fall of Kabelaw had the peculiar effect of producing a gush of
desperation in the tender heart of Nunaga, which amounted, almost, to
courage. With a lively shriek she shut her eyes, rushed in on the bear,
and gave it a dab in the side, which actually sent her weapon into the
flesh about an inch deep, and there it stuck fast.

Feeling this new sting, the bear turned on her with a gasp of rage. She
looked up. The great paws were extended over her head. The dreadful
jaws were open. Letting go her weapon, Nunaga cast up her arms, shut
her eyes again, and sank shuddering on the ice. Down came the bear, but
at that critical moment an irresistible force effected what the united
party had failed to accomplish. The butt of Nunaga's spear chanced to
enter a crack in the ice, where it stuck fast, and the weight of the
descending animal sent the point through flesh, ribs, and heart, and out
at his backbone. The spear broke of course, but in breaking it turned
the monster on one side, and saved the poor girl from being smothered.
At the same moment Ujarak had made another desperate thrust, which,
unlike the former, entered deep, but being misdirected, did not touch a
vital part. In the violence of his effort the man fell, and the dying
bear rolled upon him, rendering him also insensible.

When poor little Nunaga, recovering from her state of
semi-consciousness, opened her eyes, and sat up, her first impression
was that the bear, the wizard, and Kabelaw lay around her dead.

Bad as the state of matters was, however, it was not quite so bad as
that. The poor girl's first act was to burst into a hysterical fit of
laughter--so wonderfully constituted are some female minds--and she
followed that up with an equally hysterical fit of weeping. But to do
her justice, the fits did not last above half a minute. Then she
suddenly stopped, dried her eyes, jumped up, and, pursing her lips and
knitting her brows, ran to her friend, whom she found just returning to
a state of consciousness.

"What has happened?" asked Kabelaw, in a dazed manner, as she looked at
the blood which flowed from her wound.

Nunaga did not answer, but ran to the bear, which was quite dead, and
began to drag it off Ujarak. With great difficulty, and by first
hauling at its neck and then at its tail, she managed to move it just
enough to set the man's head and chest free. The wizar