heels, however, that he had no chance of his reaching it. He felt this,
and, as a last resource, doubled on his track like a hare and made for
the banks of the river, which were twenty feet high at the place,
intending to leap into the rapid and take his chance.

In this, too, he was foiled. His fall from the tree had partially
disabled him, and he could not run with his wonted agility. About ten
yards from the edge of the bank the bear overtook him, and it seemed as
if poor Jack Robinson's troubles were at last about to be brought to an
abrupt close. But Jack was self-possessed and brave as steel. On
feeling the bear's claws in his back, he drew his knife, wheeled round,
fell into its embrace, and plunged the knife three or four times in its
side. The thing was done in a moment, and the two, falling together,
rolled over the edge of the steep bank, and went crashing down through
the bushes amid a cloud of dust and stones into the raging flood below.
At the foot of the rapid, Marteau and one of the men happened to be
rowing ashore with a load of fish.

"Hallo! what's that?" cried Marteau.

"Eh!" exclaimed his comrade.

"A bear!" shouted Marteau, backing his oar.

"And a man! What! I say!"

"Pull! pull!"

Next moment the boat was dancing on the foam, and Marteau had hold of
the bear's neck with one hand, and Jack's hair with the other.

They were soon hauled to land, the bear in its dying agonies and Jack in
a state of insensibility; but it took the united strength of the two men
to tear him from the tremendous grasp that he had fastened on the brute,
and his knife was found buried to the handle close alongside of bruin's
heart!

CHAPTER SEVEN.

SOLITUDE.

On the day of his encounter with the bear, Jack Robinson sent Rollo up
to the fort to fetch down all the men except O'Donel, in order that the
fishery might be carried on with vigour.

Of course it is unnecessary to inform the reader that Jack speedily
recovered from the effects of his adventure. It would be absurd to
suppose that anything of an ordinary nature could kill or even do much
damage to our hero. Beyond five deep punctures on his back and five on
his breast, besides a bite in the shoulder, Jack had received no damage,
and was able to return on foot to Fort Desolation a few days after the
event.

On arriving, he found his man, Teddy O'Donel, sitting over the kitchen
fire in the last stage of an attack of deep depression and home