ise was heard. A low, angry growl followed
instantly. Beyond the radius of candlelight the terrified boys saw a
pair of fiery, snapping eyes. They stopped and turned half around.

"The rifle, quick!" cried Jerry.

He snatched it out of his companion's hands and gave him the candle
instead. But before Jerry could lift the hammer of the weapon a
startling interruption came from an unexpected quarter.

CHAPTER XXII.

AN UNEXPECTED ALLY.

A little in front of the lads, and to their left, a slab of rock jutted
out from the side of the passage.

From behind this suddenly emerged a tall, gaunt figure. It was no less a
personage than Kyle Sparwick.

No doubt Sparwick had also seen the snapping eyes, and it was this which
had scared him from his hiding-place.

A low, savage growl rang through the cavern. Sparwick uttered a yell,
and dashed forward. In his terror, he probably thought only of flight.

But the glare of the candle led him astray, and he collided blindly with
Jerry. Both came to the rocky floor with a crash, and each imagined that
the other had attacked him.

The two rolled over and over, locked in a tight embrace, and uttering
hoarse cries. Jerry had dropped the rifle; nor could he reach for it,
since his hands were needed for other purposes.

With one fist Sparwick pounded his antagonist on the face and breast.
Jerry warded off the blows as well as he could, and tried to return
them.

"Let me go!" he cried. "Help! help!"

"Let me go," yelled Sparwick, in shrill tones. "There's some sort of
wild critter in this here place."

Jerry did not understand what he said. There was a comical side to the
struggle, for each was trying to break away, and each imagined that the
other was striving to hold him.

Meanwhile, Hamp held the candle and looked on like a piece of statuary.
In fact, he did not know what else to do.

"Put the candle down," yelled Jerry. "Get the rifle and hit this fellow
on the head."

But before Hamp could make a single move toward the execution of this
order, he saw something that made his eyes fairly bulge out of their
sockets. Where the fiery eyes had been seen a moment before, now
appeared a monstrous bear.

The creature was fat, and his short, black fur bristled with rage. He
was evidently ravenously hungry, and came swinging down the passage,
uttering growl after growl.

Just when bruin was within six feet of the