Mr Onthank"s reflections when the grizzly was slowly but steadily climbing the tree were by no means pleasant.
"If he once grips me, I am gone," he said, despairingly.
"Shall I shoot?" asked Tom, looking on in excitement.
"You might hit me," said Ebenezer, who knew nothing of Tom"s skill as a marksman.
"No, I won"t."
"I think I"ll swing off," said the Yankee, "and join you."
Whether this was or was not a wise thing to do Tom did not feel qualified to decide. It was evident that Onthank must do something speedily, or he would be in the power of the bear. He waited nervously till Bruin was uncomfortably near, and then, seizing the branch with his hands, swung to the ground. The height was considerable, and the fall jarred him; but, quickly recovering himself, he ran towards Tom.
"Now we must run for our lives, Tom," he said, suiting the action to the word.
Tom fully understood the necessity, and followed suit, first hazarding a glance at the discomfited bear.
When the grizzly witnessed the escape of his victim he showed no excitement, nor did he accelerate his motions. He began deliberately to back down the tree. This required some little time, which Tom and his friend made the most of.
"Give me your rifle," said Onthank.
"I"d rather keep it," said Tom.
"I can make better use of it," said the Yankee.
"I don"t know about that," said Tom. "At any rate I will keep it."
He felt that it was hardly reasonable to expect him, in the presence of such a danger, to give up his only instrument of defence.
"You are only a boy," said his companion, discontented.
"I can shoot," answered Tom, briefly.
Onthank was not in general an unreasonable man, but danger makes men selfish.
"Give it to me," he said, in a tone of authority, and he tried to wrest it from Tom"s hands.
"You shall not have it," exclaimed Tom, indignantly. "Take away your hand, or I"ll shoot you!"
Of course Tom was excited, and would not have carried out his threat, but he was fully resolved to stand up for his rights.
Whether Ebenezer would have yielded the point, being stronger than Tom, is uncertain; but our hero shouted "Look out for the bear!" and the Yankee, in alarm, released his hold, and the two entered upon a race, in which the Yankee"s superior length of limb enabled him to keep the first place.
Bruin was now on terra firma, and was on his way, wagging his great head, developing an alarming rate of speed. Tom was somewhat hampered by the weapon which he carried, and he was getting out of breath.
Onthank was three or four rods ahead of him. The situation had changed, and it was now Tom that was in the greater peril.
"Don"t give out, Tom!" called out Ebenezer, encouragingly.
"I won"t," gasped Tom, "if I can help it."
"Is he gaining on us?"
"Yes," returned our hero.
"Then I"ll try another tree," said Onthank, and he caught a branch, and clambered up into a tree quite similar to the other in which he had been besieged.
Tom would gladly have followed his example, but the branch was too high for him to reach readily, and the grizzly was too near to give him adequate time. Poor boy! He began to despair, and was at an utter loss what to do. To face round and fire at the foe seemed about all that was left him, but he wanted to reserve his fire to the last. He caught sight of another tree, of a larger trunk than the one which Onthank had ascended, and ran towards it, pursued by the grizzly. Then commenced a dodging game, which seemed to afford but a brief respite from destruction.
"This can"t last long," thought poor Tom. "I suppose I must die."
In that brief time of peril many thoughts pa.s.sed through his mind. To die at his age would be sad enough; but the thought that his expedition would be a failure, only involving his father deeper in difficulty and debt chiefly troubled him. The mortgage would be foreclosed, and his father and whole family deprived of their humble home. Onthank watched the boy"s peril, unable to give him a.s.sistance. To do him justice he almost forgot his own danger in the more apparent and immediate peril of his young companion.
"Be careful!" he shouted, quite needlessly. "Don"t let him grip you.
Give it to him right in the eye."
Tom was so absorbed, and his mind so painfully occupied by his efforts to keep out of his enemy"s clutches, that he was not conscious of the warning.
Active and alert as he was, the result was hardly a matter of doubt. He would tire sooner than the bear, and if he ran again he was sure to be overtaken. This, however, was what he did. Of course the grizzly instantly pursued him. Poor Tom breathed a prayer for help, though there seemed no chance of his prayer being answered; but sometimes G.o.d sends a.s.sistance when there seems no chance of escape.
The galloping of a horse was heard. There was a whirling sound, and Bruin, already within two yards of Tom, was jerked back, and brought to a stand-still by a la.s.so which wound about his neck. A shout caused Tom suddenly to turn his head, and to his joy he saw a mounted Mexican _vaquero_, who had brought him timely relief.
Bruin growled angrily on finding himself balked of his prey. He was not disposed to yield to his new antagonist. Rising and sitting on his haunches he began coolly to draw in the la.s.so, against the combined strength of man and horse. The muscular force of a big grizzly is simply enormous. Usually he is attacked from two sides, two la.s.sos being thrown around him. For a single antagonist he is sometimes more than a match, as seemed likely in the present case. The _rieta_ being attached to the pommel of the saddle, of course the bear, in pulling as he did, hand over hand, steadily brought the _vaquero_ and his steed nearer. The horse, terrified, trembled in every limb, and tried to rear; but his strength was as nothing when opposed to the steady power of his ma.s.sive antagonist.
Relieved from the immediate attentions of the grizzly, Tom did not continue to run, but stood still, and, forgetting his own peril, remained an excited spectator of the struggle between the bear and the _vaquero_.
The Mexican in an excited manner shouted to him to shoot. This brought Tom to a sense of his duty. A third person had been brought into danger by an effort to give him a.s.sistance, and he was too manly to leave him to his fate. He raised his rifle, and, taking quick aim, fired. Our young hero was of course inexperienced, and it was only by a piece of good fortune that his bullet inflicted a serious wound, striking the bear in the throat. The blood began to flow and the grizzly, growling fiercely, slackened his hold on the la.s.so. The _vaquero_ followed up Tom"s shot by another, equally effective, and the powerful animal dropped to the ground, dangerous still if approached, but unfitted for pursuit.
The _vaquero_ reined his horse back, and his dark face became illumined with a smile of satisfaction.
"He will do no more harm," he said in good English, but with a foreign accent. "The danger is over."
"Is the critter used up?" shouted Onthank, cautiously, from his elevated perch. "Is he defunct?"
"He soon will be," answered Tom. "I guess it will be safe to come down."
Ebenezer Onthank needed no second invitation. He "shinned" down the tree in a manner not unlike the grizzly, and approached the spot where the huge foe was lying, the life-blood flowing from his throat.
"I"d like to kick you, you big brute!" said Mr. Onthank.
The bear slowly turned upon him his glazing eyes, and they expressed so much ferocity that almost involuntarily the Yankee drew back. The bear partly raised himself, and tried to drag himself towards his adversaries; but the effort was vain.
"He is one of the largest I have seen," said the _vaquero_. "See how strong he is!"
"It was lucky for me that you came up," said Tom. "He was almost upon me."
"I had about given you up, Tom," said Onthank, "and I thought my turn was coming next."
"We are much indebted to you, sir," said Tom, gratefully, to the Mexican. "You have saved my life."