he bear till at length they brought me to a little forest
glade, where some great whirling wind had torn up many trees which had
but a poor root-hold on a patch of almost soilless rock.

These trees lay in confusion, their tops, which had not yet rotted,
being filled with frozen snow. On the edge of them I paused, having
lost the track. Then I went forward again, casting wide as a hound does,
while behind came Ragnar and Steinar, walking straight past the edge of
the glade, and purposing to meet me at its head. This, indeed, Ragnar
did, but Steinar halted because of a crunching sound that caught
his ear, and then stepped to the right between two fallen birches to
discover its cause. Next moment, as he told me afterwards, he stood
frozen, for there behind the boughs of one of the trees was the huge
white bear, eating some animal that it had killed. The beast saw him,
and, mad with rage at being disturbed, for it was famished after its
long journey on the floe, reared itself up on its hind legs, roaring
till the air shook. High it towered, its hook-like claws outstretched.

Steinar tried to spring back, but caught his foot, and fell. Well for
him was it that he did so, for otherwise the blow which the bear struck
would have crushed him to a pulp. The brute did not seem to understand
where he had gone--at any rate, it remained upreared and beating at
the air. Then a doubt took it, its huge paws sank until it sat like
a begging dog, sniffing the wind. At this moment Ragnar came back
shouting, and hurled his spear. It stuck in the beast's chest and hung
there. The bear began to feel for it with its paws, and, catching the
shaft, lifted it to its mouth and champed it, thus dragging the steel
from its hide.

Then it bethought it of Steinar, and, sinking down, discovered him, and
tore at the birch tree under which he had crept till the splinters flew
from its trunk. Just then I reached it, having seen all. By now the bear
had its teeth fixed in Steinar's shoulder, or, rather, in his leathern
garment, and was dragging him from under the tree. When it saw me it
reared itself up again, lifting Steinar and holding him to its breast
with one paw. I went mad at the sight, and charged it, driving my spear
deep into its throat. With its other paw it struck the weapon from my
hand, shivering the shaft. There it stood, towering over us like a white
pillar, and roared with pain and fury, Steinar still pressed against it,
Ragnar and I he