d legs, giving a roaring grunt, and balancing
itself, as bears are wont to do, before making its fatal spring. Should
Armitage miss, it seemed impossible that he could escape with his life.
I struggled desperately to make my way through the brushwood to go to
his assistance.

Again the bear roared, and stretched out its paws, evidently showing
that it was about to spring, when my friend fired.

Great was my relief when I saw the bear roll over, floundering about for
a few seconds in a vain endeavour to rise and renew the combat; but the
bullet had been surely aimed, and before I reached the scene of the
encounter the animal's struggles were over.

We walked round and round the monster, surveying its vast proportions,
and then set to work to remove its hide and cut off the most delicate
portions of the meat. This occupied us some time. I suggested that the
skin might be left behind, but, as the bear was of unusual size,
Armitage declared his intention of preserving it if he could. At length
we succeeded in strapping it on the back of the horse, and set off to
return to the camp.

We walked leisurely along, leading the horse, well satisfied with the
result of our short expedition; for bear's flesh, though not equal to
venison, is superior to that of the lean deer we often shot. We found
our friends anxious about us; for two of the Indians who had gone out
scouting reported that they had fallen in with a suspicious trail, and
they warned us that we should very likely be again attacked before we
could reach the settlement.

"Let them come on then!" cried Dick, "we'll treat them as we did the
others."

I have said but little about the Indians accompanying Armitage. They
were fine fellows, armed with spears and bows and arrows, as well as
with carbines, while they carried in their belts the usual
scalping-knives and tomahawks, so that they were likely to prove
formidable opponents to our foes.

Having set a double watch, one man to look after the horses, and another
the camp, we lay down to obtain the rest we so much needed.

CHAPTER THREE.

Daybreak found us moving forward and already a couple of miles from our
last resting-place. We hoped thus to keep ahead of our enemies, who,
our Indian allies calculated, had camped some distance to the northward.
We thought it probable also, should they have discovered our
whereabouts, that they might have intended to attack us before we
started in the morning. Th