his ground.

"Run, Chris, run," shouted Charley from the edge of the clearing, but
the little darky ignored the warning.

His keen eyes could see that the bear was badly wounded and liable to
drop at any minute. Already it was swaying drunkenly from side to side.

Now it was forty feet away, now thirty and almost ready to drop. Ten
feet more and he would fire, Chris resolved. But that ten feet proved
the ambitious little darky's undoing. A concentrated drop of buzzing
liquid fire struck him above the eye, while hand and legs seemed
splashed with molten fire. Down went the rifle with a thud and with a
shrieked "Oh golly, oh golly, oh golly!" a black streak cleared the
open ground with kangaroo-like leaps and shot into the forest.

"Run for the marsh and roll in the mud, Chris,"' shouted Charley after
the streak.

The bear stumbled forward a few feet further, then sank slowly to the
ground. Charley looked after the flying Chris, shaking with laughter,
while the others stood beside him in silent amazement.

"Hold on a minute," said Charley, as the captain stepped forward toward
the bear which was kicking, out in the last convulsive throes of death.

"Aye, aye," agreed the captain cheerfully, stopping short, "you're the
pilot in these waters, lad."

"I promise you I will not keep you at anchor long, Captain," laughed
Charlie, as with his hunting-knife he began hacking at a clump of
scrub-palmetto.

A few minutes was all the time needed to accumulate a heap of the big,
fan-like leaves. These Charley made into three torch-like bundles,
taking care to place a dead dry leaf between each two green ones.
Binding each bundle together with a wisp of green leaf, he struck a
match and lit up the three, passing one to the captain and Walter, and
keeping one himself.

The dry leaves blazed up like tinder but the green ones only smoldered,
sending forth a volume of black, thick pungent smoke.

"Keep waving them about you," he cautioned, "that's the way. Now all
ready. Forward, march."

As they drew nearer to the carcase of the hear, they became aware of a
curious humming sound in the air. The cause was soon apparent and the
mystery that had puzzled them was solved when they reached the beast.
The carcase was covered with bees while close above it hummed a swarm
of others watching for an exposed place to plant their stings.

A few minutes beating about with the smoking torches cleared the scene
of the vicious l