g, burst into sight just at the moment that
Hindenburg nipped the bear's hind leg. Henry whirled, made a pass at the
pup, and missed him. The bear then charged Hindenburg with mouth wide
open, and the battle was on.

[Illustration: The Bear Advanced, Sparring Like a Prize Fighter.]

"Call off yer dog," shouted Joe.

"Call off your bear," answered Hippy Wingate.

The guide tried to do so and failed. Hippy's efforts to draw Hindenburg
from the fray met with no better success.

It was at this juncture that the bear scored first blood. With a well
placed blow of his paw he knocked the pup into the middle of the road,
and the lead mule, at whose heels Hindenburg had fallen, kicked him the
rest of the way into the bushes.

"Sick 'im, Henry!" yelled Joe.

"No you don't," shouted Hippy as the bear ambled across the road in
pursuit of the injured pup.

"I'll learn that fresh pup to bite my bear," flung back the forest
woman.

"And I'll kill that brute of a bear if he gets the pup," retorted Hippy,
galloping his pony to the point at which the two animals had
disappeared, and leaping from Ginger's back, regardless of the risk of
losing his mount.

Hippy plunged into the bushes to the rescue of the bull pup. The dog's
yelps indicated that he was in further trouble, which Hippy discovered
to be the fact when he came in sight of the combatants. Henry was boxing
the unfortunate dog with both fore paws. Hindenburg, from whose mouth
and nose the blood was running, was staggering about weakly, but trying
his utmost to get a hold and hang on.

"Let go, Henry, you brute!" commanded Hippy.

Henry, however, instead of letting go, ambled at the dog with wide open
mouth, thoroughly angered and determined to finish with his teeth the
battle he had begun with his paws.

Lieutenant Wingate sprang into the fray and delivered a kick on the side
of the bear's head with all the strength he could throw into the blow.

Henry rose in his might, rearing on hind legs, and advanced on Hippy,
snarling and showing his teeth, and sparring like a prize fighter.

"That's your game, is it?" jeered the Overland Rider.

_Whack!_

Hippy planted a blow with his fist full on Henry's nose, the most tender
part of a bear's body. Henry reeled, backed away, followed by Lieutenant
Wingate who sparred skillfully, frequently planting other blows on the
tender nose of his adversary.

Boxing with a bear was a new experience for him, but his success thus