"Where's your bear?" Kit demanded.

"You say," laughed Weymouth, "you were one of the two that shot at
him."

"He showed too much speed for us," said Donovan.

"But where's your _new species_?" Wade inquired.

"Oh! he's all right,--up here in a hole."

"That so? Here's what he was eating when the bear drove him away,"
pointing down among the rocks, where a lot of large bones lay partly
in the water.

"What kind of an animal was that?" Kit asked.

"A finback, I think," replied Weymouth. "Died or got killed among the
ice, and the waves washed the carcass up here. Been dead a good
while."

"I should say so, by the smell. Putrid, isn't it? Why, that beast must
have had a strong stomach!"

Weymouth and Donovan went off to the schooner after the powder in our
places, and came back in about twenty minutes. Palmleaf was with them.

"You haven't come on another bear-hunt, I hope!" cried Wade.

"No, sar. Don't tink much of dem bars, sar. Got a voice jest like ole
massa down Souf. 'Spression very much like his when he used ter take
at us cullered folks with his bowie-knife."

"Pity he hadn't overtaken you with it!" Wade exclaimed, to hector him.
"He would have saved the hangman a job--not far distant."

"Dere's a difference ob 'pinions as to where de noose ought ter come,"
muttered the affronted darky. "Some tinks it's in one place, some in
anoder."

Securing the boat by the painter to a rock, we went up over the ledges
to where Raed was doing sentinel duty before the fissure.

"Has he made any demonstrations?" Kit asked.

"Growls a little occasionally," said Raed. "I've been looking at the
cracks under this top rock. This on the right is the one to mine, I
think. I've cleared it out: it's all ready for the powder. What have
you got for a slow match?"

Donovan had brought a bit of rope, which he picked to pieces, while
Kit and Raed sifted in the powder. The _tow_ was then laid in a long
trail, running back some two feet from the crack.

"Now be ready to shoot when the blast goes off," advised Raed. "He may
jump out and run. Palmleaf, you keep Guard back."

The rest of us took our stand off thirty or forty yards, and, cocking
our guns, stood ready to shoot. Raed then lighted a match, touched the
tow, and retired with alacrity. It flamed up, and ran along the train;
then suddenly went nearly out, but blazed again, and crept slowly up
to the powder; when _whank!_ and the rock hopped out from between the
other