into his head that he would occupy our home. Of course he had
lived in this district much longer than we, and, had this been his home
when we first came, we should never have thought of disputing
possession with him. But it had been our home now, so far as we had any
regular home at this time of year, ever since our arrival after the
fire, while he had lived half a mile away. Now, however, there he was,
standing obstinately in the pathway, swinging his head from side to
side, and evidently intending to fight rather than go away. We all
stopped, my father in front, my mother next, and I behind. I have said
that the stranger was bigger than my father, and in an ordinary meeting
in the forest I do not think my father would have attempted to stand up
to him; but this was different. It was our home, and we all felt that he
had no right there, but that, on the contrary, he was behaving as he was
out of pure bad temper and a desire to bully us and make himself
unpleasant. Moreover, the events of the last few days had rendered my
father and mother irritable, and they were in no mood to be polite to
anybody.

Usually it takes a long time to make two bears fight. We begin slowly,
growling and walking sideways towards each other, and only getting
nearer inch by inch. But on this occasion there was not much room in the
path, and father was thoroughly exasperated. He hardly waited at all,
but just stood sniffing with his nose up for a minute to see if the
other showed any sign of going away, and then, without further warning,
threw himself at him. I had never seen my father in a real fight, and
now he was simply splendid. Before the stranger had time to realize what
was happening, he was flung back on his haunches, and in a moment they
were rolling over and over in one mass in the bushes. At first it was
impossible to see what was going on, but, in spite of the ferocity of my
father's rush, it soon became evident that in the end the bigger bear
must win. My father's face was buried in the other's left shoulder, and
he had evidently got a good grip there; but he was almost on his back,
for the stranger had worked himself uppermost, and we could see that he
was trying to get his teeth round my father's fore-leg. Had he once got
hold, nothing could have saved the leg, bone and all, from being crushed
to pieces, and father, if not killed, would certainly have been beaten,
and probably crippled for life. And sooner or later it seemed cert