e, and when I was lookin' at the view--for I'm fond of a fine
view, it takes a man's mind off trappin' an' victuals somehow--I heerd a
most awful screech, an' then another. A moment later an' the
ornithologist busted out o' the bushes with his long legs goin' like the
legs of a big water-wagtail. He was too fur off to see the look of his
face, but his hair was tremendous to behold. When he saw the precipice
before him he gave a most horrible yell, for he knew that he couldn't
escape that way from whatever was chasin' him. I couldn't well help
him, for there was a wide gully between him an' me, an' it was too fur
off for a fair shot. Howsever, I stood ready. Suddenly I seed the
critter face right about an' down on one knee like a pair o' broken
compasses; up went the shot-gun, an' at the same moment out busted a
great old grizzly b'ar from the bushes. Crack! went my rifle at once,
but I could see that the ball didn't hurt him much, although it hit him
fair on the head. Loadin' in hot haste, I obsarved that the
ornithologist sat like a post till that b'ar was within six foot of him,
when he let drive both barrels of his popgun straight into its face.
Then he jumped a one side with a spurt like a grasshopper, an' the b'ar
tumbled heels over head and got up with an angry growl to rub its face,
then it made a savage rush for'ard and fell over a low bank, jumped up
again, an' went slap agin a face of rock. I seed at once that it was
blind. The small shot used by the critter for his leetle birds had put
out both its eyes, an' it went blunderin' about while the ornithologist
kep' well out of its way. I knew he was safe, so waited to see what
he'd do, an' what d'ye think he did?"

"Shoved his knife into him," suggested Tolly Trevor, in eager anxiety.

"What! shove his knife into a healthy old b'ar with nothin' gone but his
sight? No, lad, he did do nothing so mad as that, but he ran coolly up
to it an' screeched in its face. Of course the b'ar went straight at
the sound, helter-skelter, and the ornithologist turned an' ran to the
edge o' the precipice, screechin' as he went. When he got there he
pulled up an' darted a one side, but the b'ar went slap over, an' I
believe I'm well within the mark when I say that that b'ar turned five
complete somersaults before it got to the bottom, where it came to the
ground with a whack that would have busted an elephant. I don't think
we found a whole bone in its carcass when th