sing to speak, he actively conveyed the contents of the sledge to his
shelf of refuge. Then he cut away the knobs by which he climbed to it,
until there was barely sufficient for his own tiny toes to rest on.
That done, he went to the mouth of the cavern to look about him.

What he saw there may be guessed from the fact that he returned next
moment, running at full speed, stumbling over ice lumps, bumping his
shins and knees, dropping his axe, and lacerating his knuckles. He had
met the bear! Need we add that he gained his perch with the agility of
a tree-squirrel!

The bear, surprised, no doubt, but obviously sulky from the loss of the
seal, entered the cave sedately with an inquiring look. It saw Benjy at
once, and made prodigious efforts to get at him. As the monster rose on
its hind legs and reached its paws towards his shelf, the poor boy's
spirit seemed to melt, indeed his whole interior felt as if reduced to a
warm fluid, while a prickly heat broke out at his extremities,
perspiration beaded his brow, and his heart appeared to have settled
permanently in his throat.

These distressing symptoms did not, however, last long, for he quickly
perceived that the bear's utmost stretch did not reach nearer than three
or four feet of him. Some of the alarm returned, however, when the
creature attempted to climb up by his own ladder. Seven or eight times
it made the attempt, while the boy watched in breathless anxiety, but
each time it slipped when half-way up, and fell with a soft heavy thud
on the ice below, which caused it to gasp and cough. Then it sat down
on its haunches and gazed at its little foe malignantly.

"Bah! you brute!" exclaimed Benjy, whose courage was returning, "I'm not
a bit afraid of you!" He leant against the wall of his refuge,
notwithstanding this boast, and licked the ice to moisten his parched
lips.

After a rest the bear made another trial, and twice it succeeded in
planting the claws of one huge paw on the edge of the shelf, but Benjy
placed his heel against the claws, thrust them off, and sent the bear
down each time howling with disappointment.

Sailing softly among the constellations in the aurora-lighted sky, the
moon sent a bright ray into the cavern, which gleamed on the monster's
wicked eyes and glistening teeth; but Benjy had begun to feel
comparatively safe by that time, and was becoming "himself again."

"Don't you wish you may get me?" he asked in a desperately facetio