at every rock and snow-drift that we passed was a bear.

"We had now even greater fears than before that we should be attacked
and eaten up by the wild beast. It did not once occur to us that the
bear would be much more likely to prefer the contents of our storehouses
to ourselves, if he came that way, but we thought only of our own
safety; and this was perhaps not unnatural, for boys and men alike are
everywhere liable to magnify their own importance, even in the eyes of a
bear.

"We had not been in the hut more than a couple of hours, I should say,
before we heard the tramp of our enemy. We knew it must be the footsteps
of the bear, because it could be nothing else. Our fears were now even
greater than ever.

"The bear appeared from the sound of his footsteps, crunching in the
snow, to be making directly for us, sniffing the air as he came along,
apparently enjoying in advance a supper that he felt quite sure of. He
seemed to halt at every step or so, as if greatly relishing the
prospect.

"At last he came very near, and we expected at every instant to see his
head appear at the window. Resolved to sell our lives as dearly as
possible, we grasped our weapons firmly, the Dean his 'Delight' and I
'Old Crumply,' to the end of which I had firmly lashed the jack-knife,
after grinding it very sharp on a stone, and giving it a good point. As
the knife-blade was quite long, I had strong hopes of giving the bear
such a wound, when he appeared at the window, as might be the death of
him, or, at any rate, frighten him so badly that he would be glad to run
away, and not come back any more.

"Nearer and nearer came the bear, and greater grew our alarm. Our hearts
beat violently in our breasts; our faces were pale as death; we held our
breath, as if fearful of making the least noise to give the bear
encouragement. At length our enemy gave a sudden start. It seemed to us
as if he had now made a dash at the window, so we both rose to our feet,
with our weapons ready to meet him; but, to our great joy and relief,
the sound of his footsteps showed that the beast was retreating, rather
than advancing, and was moving more rapidly. A moment afterward we heard
the rattle of stones, and now, from fear for ourselves, we passed
instantly to fear for our stores; for we knew that it was our stores,
and not us, that he was after, and that he must be tearing down one of
our principal storehouses. And now, what if he should tear them all
dow