Dick, "and something can displace
him."

"What do you mean?" asked Albert with incredulity.

"No beast is king. It's man, and man is here. I'm going to have
a shot at that monster who is trying to rob us. We can reach him
from here with a bullet. You take aim, too, Al."

They opened the window a little wider, being careful to make no
noise, and aimed their rifles at the bear, who was still tearing
at the tree in his rage.

"Try to hit him in the heart, Al," whispered Dick, "and I'll try
to do the same. I'll count three in a whisper, and at the
'three' we'll fire together."

The hands of both boys as they leveled their weapons were
trembling, not with fear, but from sheer nervousness. The bear,
meanwhile, had taken no notice and was still striving to reach
the hidden treasures. Like the others, he had made the circuit
of the Annex more than once, but now he was reared up again at
the door, pulling at it with mighty tooth and claw. It seemed to
both as they looked down the barrels of their rifles and chose
the vulnerable spot that, monstrous and misshapen, he was
constantly growing in size, so powerful was the effect of the
moonlight and their imagination. But it was terrible fact to
them.

They could see him with great distinctness, and so silent was the
valley otherwise that they could hear the sound of his claws
ripping across the bark. He was like some gigantic survival of
another age. Dick waited until both his brother and himself grew
steadier.

"Now don't miss, Albert," he said.

He counted "One, two, three," slowly, and at the "three!" the
report of the two rifles came as one. They saw the great bear
drop down from the tree, they heard an indescribable roar of pain
and rage, and then they saw his huge bulk rushing down upon
them. Dick fired three times and Albert twice, but the bear
still came, and then Dick slammed the window shut and fastened it
just as the full weight of the bear was hurled against the cabin.

Neither boy ever concealed from himself the fact that he was in a
panic for a few moments. Their bullets seemed to have had no
effect upon the huge grizzly, who was growling ferociously and
tearing at the logs of the cabin. Glad they were that those logs
were so stout and thick, and they stood there a little while in
the darkness, their blood chilling at the sounds outside.
Presently the roaring and tearing ceased and there was the sound
of a fall. It was so dark in the cab