while I slept.

Whether or not he had done so I could not tell, but suddenly I was
awakened by feeling the branches at my side roughly shaken; and looking
up, what was my dismay to see, by the moonlight streaming through the
wood, a big brown bear poking his nose through the bushes, and not live
feet from us! Giving Mike a nudge with my elbow, I grasped my spear,
and rising on my knee, without a moment's consideration as to what might
be the result, I thrust the spear with all my might into the bear's
chest. With a fierce growl and open jaws it rushed at me,--as it did
so, driving the spear still further into its body; whilst I, expecting
the movement, sprang to the inner end of our arbour.

Mike in a moment was on his knees,--he had not time to rise to his
feet,--and seizing his weapon, drove it into the bear's neck. Still the
creature, though thus desperately wounded, broke through the branches we
had put up; but the thick leaves prevented it from seeing us as clearly
as it would otherwise have done. The life-blood was flowing from its
wounds. Mike managed, as I had done, to get out of Bruin's way; and
before the creature could turn to pursue either of us, over it fell, on
the very ground on which we had been sleeping. It struggled for a few
seconds, gnashing its teeth, and I had to retreat through the branches
to avoid it. Mike, who had managed to escape at the other end, now
joined me, and getting hold of the handle of his spear, endeavoured to
pull it out of the bear's body. After a few tugs he succeeded in
regaining possession of his weapon; and the first thing he did with it
was to plunge it again into the animal's breast.

"I did it just to make sure," he remarked. "These bastes have as many
lives as a cat; and maybe he would have come to again, and taken to
ateing us instead of our ateing him, as I hope we will be afther doing
before long."

Whether or not the last thrust was necessary I do not know, but the bear
ceased struggling; and Mike, springing on the body, exclaimed--

"He's dead enough now, anyhow! And we'll take the liberty of cutting
him up, and getting our teeth into his flesh; for, sure, he has spoilt
our rest for the night."

The centre of the hut was by this time a pool of blood; we therefore
dragged out the bear, and while Mike began scientifically to flay the
carcass, I collected sticks for a fire. We soon had a good one blazing
up, and some of the slices of the bear toasting