er
rifles which Professor Featherwit had drawn forth from the locker at
first sight of the dangerous game. Thus armed, they felt ready for
whatever might come, and stood watching yonder rivals with growing
interest.

"Will you look at that, now?" excitedly breathed Waldo, eyes aglow, as
he saw the bull cock its tail on high and tear up the soft soil with one
fierce sweep of its cloven hoof, shaking head and giving vent to a low
but determined bellow.

"It means a fight unto the death, I think," whispered the professor.

"It's dollars to doughnuts on the bear," predicted Waldo. "Scat, you
bull-headed idiot! Don't you know that you're not deuce high to his ace?
Can't you see that he can chew you up like--"

"Are you mighty sure of all that, boy?" laughingly cut in Bruno; for at
that moment the buffalo made a sudden charge at his upright adversary,
knocking the grizzly backward in spite of its viciously flying paws.

"Great Peter on a bender! If I ever--no, I never!"

Even the professor was growing excited, holding the dynamite gun under
one arm while gently tapping palms together as an encore.

Naturally enough, their sympathies were with the buffalo, since the odds
seemed so immensely against him; but their delight was short-lived, for,
instead of following up the advantage so bravely won, the bull fell back
to paw and bellow and shake his shaggy front.

With marvellous activity for a brute of his enormous bulk and weight,
the grizzly recovered its feet, then lumbered forward with clashing
teeth and resounding growls.

Nothing loath, the buffalo met that charge, and for a short space of
time the struggle was veiled by showers of leaf-mould and damp dirt cast
upon the air as the rivals fought for supremacy--and for life.

For that this was destined to be a duel to the very death not one of
those spectators could really doubt. That encounter may have been purely
accidental, but the creatures fought like enemies of long standing.

As their relative positions changed, the buffalo contrived to get in
another vigorous butt, sending bruin end for end down that gentle slope
to souse into the pool of water, that cool element cutting short a
savage roar of mad fury.

Then the trio of spectators could take notes, and with something of
sorrow they saw that the buffalo had already suffered severely, bleeding
from numerous great gashes torn by the grizzly's long talons, while one
bloody eye dangled below its socket, held