"
With that he disappeared round the corner of stone wall where the canyon
divided. I wheeled and went to the right. This wing of the canyon twisted
and turned and was full of stones. A shallow sheet of water gleamed over
its colored bed of gravel. The walls were straight up, and, in places,
bulged outward. I flinched at every turn in the canyon; but, with rifle
cocked and thrust forward, I went on. The cracks in the walls, the boulders
and pieces of cliff that obstructed my path, and the occasional thickets--
all made me halt with careful step and finger on the trigger. I followed
the splashes on the stones, which told me that the bear had passed that
way. As I went cautiously on I felt a tightening at my throat. The light
above grew dimmer. When I stopped to listen it was so silent that I heard
only the pounding of my heart and my own quick breathing. I pressed on and
on, going faster all the time not that I felt braver, but I longed to end
the suspense. Suddenly the silence was broken by a threatening roar. It
swept down on me, swelling as it continued, and it seemed to fill the
canyon. It shook my pulses, it urged me to flight, but I could not move.
Then as suddenly it ceased.
For a long moment I stood still, with no idea of advancing farther. The
clinking of a chain seemed to release my cramped muscles.
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