"What's the matter with all taking a shot at him at the same time?"
questioned Phil.

"All right, I'm willing," responded Dave, quickly. "We might as well all
have the glory of killing him--if we have that luck."

Every rifle and every shotgun was quickly raised and aimed at the bear.
Just as Dave was on the point of giving the order to fire, the beast
came out of the hole and looked around. Then in alarm he raised up on
his hind legs, a truly terrifying animal to behold.

Bang! Crack! Bang! went the rifles and shotguns in an irregular volley.
And then, as the report died away, the huge beast gave a leap into the
air, and coming down, sprang directly toward the boys.

CHAPTER XXX

GOOD NEWS--CONCLUSION

"Here he comes!"

"Give him another shot, boys!"

Crack! Bang! Crack! Again the shotguns and rifles rang out.

Whether the shots were absolutely necessary or not it would be hard to
say, for just as the boys discharged their various weapons the huge bear
was seen to stumble and fall. He gave several convulsive shudders, and
then lay still.

"Is he--is he de--dead?" gasped Shadow, who was still a few feet in the
rear of the others.

"I think he is," responded Dave. "Load up again as quickly as you can
and we'll watch him," and then he proceeded to take care of his own
firearm.

But watching was unnecessary, for the huge beast had breathed his last.
It was a proud crowd of boys that surrounded the game.

"Say, that's some shooting!" declared Phil, his eyes glistening. "Won't
the others be surprised when they hear of it?"

"He certainly is a big one!" said Ben. "I don't believe they grow them
much bigger than that anywhere around here." And this assertion proved
true, as the boys learned when, later on, Tad Rason saw the game at the
bungalows.

"Well, we've got our kitchen utensils and most of the tableware back,
anyway," declared Roger, after an inspection of the hollow where they
had first discovered the bear at work. "Hello, here's the stuff Mr.
Bruin was after!" he added, holding up a chunk of meat which still lay
in a pan in the hollow. This meat had been taken from the Wadsworth
ice-box; but why it had been placed in the hollow was a mystery.

"But it's a good thing the burglars put it there," declared Luke. "That
is what attracted the bear and made him dig."

A careful search of the hollow revealed nearly everything that had been
taken from the two bungalows except Laura's rings and Mrs