THE BATTLE IN THE CAVE
INSTINCTIVELY all of them guessed what the character of the intruder
must be. The terrible roar, and the glimpse they obtained of the great
hairy body ere the fire was scattered right and left betrayed it.
"A bear!" cried Roger, voicing the discovery of his companions as well
as his own.
All was confusion. Mayhew had been rather unfortunate, for he chanced
to be partly in the way of the onrushing beast as it made straight for
the fire, the presence of which in its den must have aroused its anger.
He was just in the act of scrambling to his feet when he was struck by
the beast's huge body, and was bowled over just as you may have seen a
pin hit by a speeding ball in the alley.
Dick had somehow managed to snatch up his gun when he gained his knees.
The place was now almost in darkness, since the burning brands had
been scattered far and wide. The body of the infuriated animal was so
bulky, however, that he could not fail to discern its outlines against
the wall, where a still flickering brand chanced to lie.
The boy knew that it was no time for hesitation. No matter what had
caused the animal to attack them, and even though the fire had been the
first object of its rage, those who were responsible for the intrusion
must come next on the list.
He thrust the long-barreled gun straight out, and, without waiting to
rest the butt against his shoulder, pulled the trigger as soon as he
felt the muzzle strike something yielding.
There was a muffled roar as the rifle was discharged. Dick, with the
hunter instinct, instantly threw himself aside, anticipating that the
wounded bear would turn upon him for revenge.
His shot had apparently not been a fatal one, though it brought another
of those dreadful roars from the occupant of the cave; and now, since
it was impossible for him to reload his gun unless given time, he would
have to cast it aside and resort to his hunting knife.
Roger had not quite lost his senses, although the abruptness of the
attack must have bewildered the boy. When he threw himself back out of
the way he somehow missed connection with his gun. That it was ever in
his mind was proved by the frantic way in which he instantly started to
grope about on the bare rock near his feet, as though in expectation of
finding it.
After all, it was the brilliant flash accompanying the discharge of
Dick's gun that showed Roger his own weapon. He quickly seized it, and
then turned to deliver his fire.
All this was taking place in much less time than it takes to read
it. The bear was certainly in deadly earnest, and evidently meant to
complete the job that had been undertaken with such fury.
Roger saw his chance to shoot, and was not neglectful of it. One
experience with a monster of this type had shown him the necessity
for sending his bullet to some vital spot, for he knew that a wounded
grizzly would never turn tail and run.
A kind fortune must have guided the shot, for, beyond a doubt, had it
failed in its mission, the fate of the boys would have been settled.
Shut up there in a cave in contact with a savage bear, armed with claws
an inch in length, and rendered wild with pain, they would have had
but small chance of escape.
With the muffled discharge of Roger's rifle the beast staggered, and
then fell with a crash. Dick was trying to get a charge of powder into
the barrel of his gun, though his hands trembled so that it was a next
to impossible undertaking.
It happened that just then his foot struck against some object, and,
filled with a wild hope, he bent down to ascertain what it could be.
When he found that he had come upon Mayhew's gun, Dick was ready to
shout with joy, for he knew that, if Roger's shot had failed, there was
still another chance.
There was no need of further exertions, it proved. The two shots,
delivered at such close range, had completed the work, for the monster
lay still upon the floor of the cave. A smell of burning hair caused
Dick to pluck one of the still blazing fagots away, which, with
presence of mind, he immediately utilized for starting a fresh fire.
(Note 4.)
Mayhew was discovered, sitting up and looking somewhat dazed. He had a
lump on his head where it had come in contact with the rock at the time
the rush of the bear had thrown him aside; but, on the whole, they
felt that they could congratulate themselves that things were no worse.
Of course the first thing the boys did was to reload their weapons.
If there was one bear in the cave there might be a mate, and it was
certainly the part of wisdom for them to be in readiness to defend
themselves to the utmost.
After the fire had been revived, the guns placed in a condition for
service, and Mayhew's injuries looked after in a way that, crude as it
might be, satisfied him, they began to figure out how it all came about.
"Then this is a bear's den, after all!" Roger commenced; "yet not one
of us ever thought of such a thing, did we?"
"I saw nothing that would tell it," admitted Mayhew, "and, if the beast
was in the habit of coming in by way of the opening that we used we
would have known it. A bear's den always has a smell that you will
notice as soon as you enter; that has been my experience in all my
hunting, and I've run across a few."
"Then there must be another entrance more convenient to the hunting
grounds of the bear," Dick observed. "The beast may not have been in
its den when we arrived. Coming along, just a little while ago, our
fire attracted attention, and then the discovery of human beings here
rendered it furious."
"It beats anything I ever met with," commented Mayhew. "No black bear
would ever dash upon a fire unless first terribly wounded. But this
beast was as wild as if we had been filling her hide with lead."
"All we have been hearing from the Indians and the French trappers
about these silver-tip bears of the mountains seems to be true,"
remarked Dick.
"They are fearful enemies," said Roger. "We have been lucky to kill the
two we have met; but, if a shot should fail, the hunter would never
escape being torn into ribbons."
He took up one of the immense paws of the dead beast as he spoke,
and exhibited the claws that decorated it. They were terrible enough
to send a shudder through the bravest heart, especially when one
considered the titanic strength possessed by the steel muscles of the
animal.
"Well," ventured Dick, "it turns out that there is danger hovering
over those who invade this strange country, even when they believe
themselves securely quartered in a cave!"
"But I hope this little adventure is not going to make us think of
leaving here, to spend the night under the stars, and in the cold
wind?" Roger hinted, a little fearful lest his comrade should consider
this the wisest policy.
Dick could plainly see what was worrying the other, and he hastened to
set Roger's fears at rest.
"If we have to choose between two evils," he said, "we might as well
take the lesser. We know what we can expect out there. That wind is as
keen as the edge of my buckhorn hunting knife, and would go through us
long before morning. And, after all, there may be only one bear. How
about that, Mayhew?"
"If you asked my opinion, I would say here by all means," replied the
wood ranger, immediately. "We can take watch and watch, and be on our
guard through the night."
Roger drew a breath of relief.
"That would be much better than freezing half to death outside!" he
exclaimed; "and you can count on me to take my regular turn. But, Dick,
one thing is sure--we must not let our fire go out while we stay here."
"That would be only the part of wisdom," Dick decided, "and, while we
have the chance, perhaps we'd better fetch in plenty of wood now. The
night is long, and a fire eats up a lot of fuel."
This they set about doing without delay. Mayhew, feeling a little dizzy
after his rough experience with the onrushing bear, was told to stand
guard while the boys looked after the wood supply. It might have been
noticed, however, that both of them slung their guns over their backs
by means of the straps used for this purpose. Evidently they did not
mean to be caught napping, and if by chance they encountered the mate
of the slain bear while laying in a supply of fuel they wanted to be in
condition to give him a warm reception.
But nothing happened. If there was a second bear he must have been far
away from his den on that night, for he failed to disturb the peace of
the explorers' camp.
The plan of keeping watch by turns worked splendidly, and there was not
a single minute that one pair of eyes did not remain on the alert for
danger, while two of the party slept.
Hours crept on, and Dick, who had taken his turn for the second time,
believed it must be drawing close to dawn outside. Roger and the
borderman were sleeping by the fire. Hard though their beds may have
been, they were accustomed to roughing it, and not a murmur had been
heard. A piece of wood served for a pillow, and in that warm shelter
they needed no covering.
Creeping to the exit Dick took an observation. He found it was indeed
daylight, and that the wind had died down with the coming of the sun,
though the air still felt pretty cold to him, especially after having
been in so snug a retreat for many hours.
It was really time they were up and doing. The future did not look very
promising. They would have to run the risk of firing their guns, so as
to secure fresh meat, for they must eat to live. And somewhere within a
radius of ten or twelve miles Jasper Williams might be found, either in
a camp of his own, or as a prisoner of the hostile Indians.
If ever Dick Armstrong had cause to call upon his resolute and
hopeful heart it was when he faced such a dismal outlook. Never once
did he falter. His lips were firmly pressed together, and on his
sunburned face there rested a look of determination that no amount of
difficulties could dissipate.
He immediately awoke the others.
"The dawn has come, and we must be on the move!" he announced.
No one uttered a complaint. Roger had, before going to sleep, managed
to remove the terrible claws of the dead grizzly. That would be the
only token they could show as evidence of the truth of their story
concerning the night attack, and the fight in the cave.
So they issued forth, shivering at first when the cold air struck them.
"Good-by, old cave," said Roger, waving his hand back toward the small
black hole amidst the rocks, the discovery of which had added so
much to their comfort; "we will never forget you as long as we live.
A bear's den may be a queer place to spend a night in; but when it
happens to be a bitter cold night it might be a whole lot worse."
They took up the work in earnest, and as all of them were exceedingly
hungry, their first duty was to secure food. Of course, they might have
food for several days, if they cared to use the carcass of the dead
grizzly, but the meat was so tough and coarse that, after one trial at
making a breakfast of grizzly steak, they all agreed that they would
rather rely on the chance of obtaining more palatable food. If they
could only run across a deer it would supply them with all the meat
they wanted for several days, and, although they realized the danger
of discharging their guns while the hostile Blackfeet were in the
vicinity, they were willing to run that risk.