Down that steep incline man and beast rapidly
ploughed their way, taking with them a small avalanche of stones and
gravel. At the bottom of the bank was a pool of water about two feet
deep, and into this they plunged, the captain in a sitting position,
and the bear upon its back. Then followed a wild scramble as each
endeavoured to get out first. The bear succeeded better than the man,
for the captain had injured his knee, which made it difficult for him
to move quickly.
Had this been a young bear he would have taken to his heels at once,
and disappeared among the trees. But being an old-timer, and not a bit
cowardly, he had no intention of running away. He was very angry at
being disturbed when he had his house all ready for his long winter
sleep. Then that tumble down the bank into the water was more than his
bearish nature could stand, and he was ready for fight. He scrambled
out of the water, and rushed toward the captain. The latter had no
chance at all with his injured knee, and with nothing to defend
himself. It was a critical moment, but he braced himself up, fumbled
in his pocket for his clasp-knife, and then faced Bruin, who was now
standing, on his hind legs ready for the attack.
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