d off at a leisurely rate to join his
companions, apparently none the worse for the slight wound he had
received.

As soon as the boy found himself beyond the reach of the animal's fury
he halted the man and made a minute examination of the machinery.

The head and horns of the buffalo had dented the iron skin of the
steam man, but the blow being distributed over a large area, inflicted
no other damage, if indeed this could be called damage of itself.

The boy was greatly pleased, not only at his escape but at the
admirable manner in which his invention had borne the shock of
collision. It gave him a confidence in it which hitherto he had not
felt.

Turning his face more toward the mountains, he again let on a good
head of steam and rattled over the prairie at a stirring rate. An hour
was sufficient to bring him to the base, where he halted.

He had not forgotten the warning of the trapper, but, like almost any
inexperienced person, he could not see any cause for alarm. He scanned
every part of the prairie and mountain that was in his field of
vision, but could detect nothing alarming.

He supposed the parting admonition of Baldy was merely a general
warning, such as a cautious person gives to one whom he has reason to
fear is somewhat careless in his conduct.

It therefore required little self-argument upon his part after putting
his man in proper 'condition,' to start off on a ramble up the
mountain side. It was not his intention to remain more than an hour or
so, unless he came across some game. He had a goodly quantity of
ammunition, and was careful that his rifle was loaded, so as not to be
taken unawares by any emergency.

Although Johnny Brainerd was afflicted with misshapen form, yet he was
very quick and active upon his feet, and bounded along over the rocks,
and across the chasms like a deer, with such a buoyancy of spirits
that he forgot danger.

However, he had gone but a short distance, when he was startled by a
low fierce growl, and turning his head, saw to his horror, that he had
nearly run against a colossal animal, which he at once recognized as
the dreaded grizzly bear.

Such a meeting would have startled an experienced hunter, and it was
therefore with no steady nerve that he hastily brought his piece to
his shoulder and fired.

The shot struck the bear in the body, doing just what his shot at the
buffalo had done some time before. It thoroughly angered him, without
inflicting anything