leg, then on the other,
till he got tired, so he sat himself down again and raked and stirred
the fire as before. There was no want of warmth in the hut. At last
his hand stopped, and all was silent; if he was not asleep he was very
nearly so. Suddenly he was aware that there was something moving in or
near the hut. He looked up, and just at the entrance he saw a huge
brown monster, his eyes looking curiously in, while with its paws it had
abstracted one of the fish which had been hung up to the doorpost to
keep cool. The stick which Philip had used as a poker was in a flame,
so, springing up, he dashed it into the face of the intruder--a big
bear--grasping his axe ready for action should the bear retaliate.
Bruin gave a loud and angry growl at the unexpected attack, dropping his
booty and preparing for action. The noise awoke Harry and Charley, who
sprang to their feet. "Dash burning sticks in the fellow's face, while
I tackle him with my axe," cried Philip. It was fortunate that he was
not alone. He gave one cut at Bruin's paws, but the next instant the
monster would have seized the axe and hugged Philip, had not Harry
dashed a stick into his eyes, the pain of which made him spring on one
side and tumble over on his back. Charley followed up the attack with
another fire-brand, and Philip with his axe dealt him a blow on the side
of his head which almost stunned him. Another such blow would have
finished the career of Bruin, but as Philip was lifting his weapon Harry
cried out, "O dear, dear, the hut is on fire!" Philip, on this, for a
moment turned his head, and the bear rolling round got up on his feet,
and scrambled away over the snow as fast as he could move. Philip,
instead of pursuing him, had to attend to the burning hut; and, what was
of still greater importance, to rescue the fish, which would have been
not only cooked, but over-cooked before they were wanted. Charley had,
however, thoughtfully seized them, so that Philip and Harry could attend
to the hut. In vain did they pull out the part which was already
blazing, the wood of the larger portion was so dry that it also caught
fire, and it was soon evident that they had no chance of saving their
mansion. "What a misfortune," cried Harry. "I will not say that,"
observed Philip. "If the bear had not awoke me we might have been burnt
ourselves; besides, it has just struck me, that this blaze, which is
larger than we should have ventured to kindl