Part 13 (1/2)

Albert, surcharged with interest and excitement, stared as d.i.c.k was staring. The mighty cat seemed suddenly to crumple up. His frame shrank, his head was drawn in, he sank lower to the earth, as if he would burrow into it, but he uttered no sound whatever.

He was to both the boys a symbol of fear.

”What a change! What does it mean?” whispered Albert.

”It must mean,” replied d.i.c.k, ”that he, too, has a master and that master is coming.”

The cougar suddenly bunched himself up and there was a flash of tawny fur as he shot through the air. A second leap and the trees closed over his frightened figure. Albert believed that he would not stop running for an hour.

Into the opening, mighty and fearless, shambled a monstrous beast. He had a square head, a long, immense body, and the claws of his great feet were hooked, many inches in length, and as sharp and hard as if made of steel. The figure of the beast stood for power and unbounded strength, and his movements indicated overwhelming confidence. There was nothing for him to fear. He had never seen any living creature that could do him harm. It was a gigantic grizzly bear.

Albert, despite himself, as he looked at the terrible brute, felt fear. It was there, unconfined, and a single blow of its paw could sweep the strongest man out of existence.

”I'm glad I'm in this cabin and that this cabin is strong,” he whispered tremulously.

”So am I,” said d.i.c.k, and his own whisper was a little shaky.

”It's one thing to see a grizzly in a cage, and another to see him out here in the dark in these wild mountains. And that fellow must weigh at least a thousand pounds.”

King Bruin shambled boldly across the opening to the Annex. Why should he be careful? There might be other animals among the bushes and trees watching him, but they were weak, timid things, and they would run from his shadow. In the wan moonlight, which distorted and exaggerated, his huge bulk seemed to the two boys to grow to twice its size. When he reached the tree he reared up against it, growled in a manner that made the blood of the boys run cold, and began to tear with teeth and claws of hooked steel. The bark and splinters flew, and, for a moment, d.i.c.k was fearful lest he should force the door to their treasure. But it was only for a moment; not even a grizzly could break or tear his way through such a thickness of oak.

”Nothing can displace him,” whispered Albert. ”He's the real king.”

”He's not the king,” replied d.i.c.k, ”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 d.i.c.k, ”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. d.i.c.k 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 rus.h.i.+ng down upon them. d.i.c.k fired three times and Albert twice, but the bear still came, and then d.i.c.k 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 cabin that the brothers could not see the faces of each other, but d.i.c.k whispered:

”Albert, I believe we've killed him, after all.”

Albert said nothing and they waited a full ten minutes. No sound whatever came to their ears. Then d.i.c.k opened the window an inch or two and peeped out. The great bear lay upon his side quite still, and d.i.c.k uttered a cry of joy.

”We've killed him, Al! we've killed him!” he cried.