uttered, and sneezed, or at least gave
vent to something resembling these sounds, and drew back from the fish
with a snarl; then it snuffed again. There was no mistaking the smell.
It was delicious! Bruin, disbelieving his sense of taste, and
displaying unwise faith in his sense of smell, made another attempt. He
had tried the head first; with some show of reason he now tried the
tail. Faugh! it was worse than the other; "as salt as fire," as we have
heard it sometimes expressed. The spluttering at this point became
excessive, and it was clear that the bear was getting angry. Once
again, with an amount of perseverance that deserved better fortune, the
bear snuffed heartily at the fish, tore it to shreds with his claws, and
then tried another mouthful, which it spat out instantly. Displaying
all its teeth and gums, it shut its eyes, and, raising its head in the
air, fairly howled with disappointment.

Jack now deemed it prudent to bring the scene to a close, so, calming
himself as well as he could, he took a steady aim, and, watching his
opportunity, fired.

The bear did not fall. It faced round in a moment, and, uttering a
fierce growl, very unlike to its previous tones, rushed upon its enemy,
who fired his second barrel at the creature's breast. Whether it was
that Jack's fit of laughter had shaken his nerves so as to render him
incapable of taking a good aim, is a matter of uncertainty, but although
both shots took effect, the bear was not checked in his career. On it
came. Jack had no time to load. He turned to run, when his quick eye
observed a branch of a tree over his head within reach. Dropping his
gun he bounded upwards and caught it, and, being unusually powerful in
the arms, drew himself up and got astride of it just as the bear reached
the spot. But bruin was not to be baulked so easily. He was a black
bear and a good climber. Finding that he could not at his utmost
stretch obtain a nibble at Jack's toes, he rushed at the trunk of the
tree and began to ascend rapidly. Jack at once moved towards the end of
the branch, intending to drop to the ground, recover his gun and run for
it; but the movement broke the branch off suddenly, and he came down
with such a crash, that the bear stopped, looked round, and, seeing his
enemy on the ground, began to descend.

Although somewhat stunned by the fall, our hero was able to spring up
and run in the direction of the hut. The bear was so close on his