began. Had he been alone, his position would have been one of
great danger: for no doubt, in process of time, the bear would have torn
down the tree. But the efforts of Bruin were brought to a sudden
termination; for Ivan and Alexis, having now reloaded, took careful aim,
and sent both their bullets into the body of the beast. One of the
shots must have hit him in a mortal part: since, on receiving it, the
bear let go his hold, dropped down from his erect attitude, and doubling
himself up at the bottom of the tree, looked as if he had suddenly gone
to sleep! But the red stream, pouring out from his still distended
jaws, told that it was the sleep of death that had overtaken him.

Our hunters, assured that both bears were dead, now descended from their
respective perches; but the sight of Pouchskin, with one leg in
stocking, and the other buried up to the thigh in a great horse-skin
boot, would have been too much for the gravity of a judge, and his young
masters were once more merry at his expense.

Having skinned the bears, they returned to the fort with their spoils--
to the no slight astonishment of some of the old trappers stationed
there. They could scarce believe that these young strangers were
capable of accomplishing such a feat as the conquest of a couple of
full-grown grizzlies. The thing had been done, however--as the trophies
testified--and it is needless to say that our hunters, by this gallant
action, gained golden opinions from the "mountain men."

They had no desire, however, to try another contest of the kind. They
had become perfectly satisfied of the great peril to be expected in an
encounter with "Old Ephraim;" and were only too well pleased of having
it in their power, on all future occasions, to imitate the example of
other travellers, and give the grizzly a "wide berth."

Indeed, they would have had no opportunity, had they desired it, to hunt
the bear any longer in that neighbourhood: for the "boat" brigade, with
which they were travelling, started the next day for Fort Pelly; and it
was necessary for them to accompany it, as the journey could not
otherwise be accomplished.

They arrived at this last-named place in safety; and, with some native
traders, that chanced to be at the fort, they were enabled to proceed
onward to the Russian settlement of Sitka--where the magic cipher which
Alexis carried in his pocket procured them the most hospitable treatment
that such a wild, out-of-the-w