hair upon the
bear's leg, gave it a shake, and narrowly escaped the claws which were
dashed savagely at it.

But Skene was nimble, and now he darted forward to where his friends
were, barking loudly, as much as to say, "Here he is; look out!" and
then dashed back again.

But the bear had followed the dog with its eyes, and now, forsaking the
scent it had been running down, it swung its head from side to side so
as to get each eye to bear well in turn upon its enemies, quite ignoring
the dog when he dashed back barking furiously.

"Call the dog, and keep him with you, Steve," said the captain loudly,
but without turning; and in obedience to the summons Skene returned to
his master, and stayed there, held by the long hair of his neck,
trembling with excitement.

There was a low, deep growl now, and the bear stopped, facing them, as
if undecided whom first to attack; and then it came on again growling,
with its mind still not made up.

These were the most exciting moments, for all felt that the beast might
charge in a way which gave no good opportunity for a deadly shot.

It was very close now, and its eyes flashed in the sunshine as it swung
its head about with its muzzle close down to the ground, though it was
not scenting its way now, but carefully watching its enemies.

Skene uttered an excited yelp just then, and recognising in it the
little foe which had so pertinaciously hung on to it for some time past,
the bear now uttered a growl, and turned toward where Steve stood with
the dog.

"Rin, Meester Stevey, rin!" cried Watty, setting the example; "she's
coming here."

But the bear soon changed its tactics, for Johannes took a few steps
forward and made a thrust at the animal with his lance.

The great brute uttered a furious roar, swung round, struck at the lance
shaft, and rose up upon its hind legs to seize the aggressor.

It was a dangerous position for the Norseman, for could the bear get one
blow at him with its great hook-armed paw, his chances of being
extricated alive were doubtful. But he stood firm, for he had perfect
confidence in the captain, and knew that he would seize this opportunity
to fire. He was quite right. The captain drew trigger, there was the
sharp, loud crack of the rifle, and almost simultaneously the thud of
the bullet.

The bear uttered a furious roar, and swung round to meet the enemy who
had struck it that terrible blow on its shoulder. This brought it into
an inconv