Then Dave got a stone of extra size and aimed again for
the animal's head. The missile went true, and with his skull crushed,
bruin stretched out and lay still.
"Is he--is he dead?" gasped Hank Snogger, hoarsely.
"I think so," answered Dave. He was trembling from the excitement and
his breath came thick and fast.
"I--I thought I--I was done for!" added the cowboy, and sank flat on his
back and closed his eyes.
Not without difficulty Dave got down to where the man lay. He found the
bear stone dead and that the cowboy had fainted. He procured some water
from a nearby brook and washed Snogger's face and soon revived the man.
Then came a shout from a distance and Sid Todd showed himself, having
been attracted to the spot by the rifle shots.
The situation was explained, and Dave came in for a good deal of praise
over the killing of the bear.
"You saved my life!" said Hank Snogger. "I shan't forget it, never!" and
he gave the youth a grateful look. "I fired on the bear, but only hurt
him enough to make him ugly. I fell right over him while I was after a
deer I had wounded some time before."
"Oh, then you were the hunter we heard shoot," said Todd. "The deer got
away, eh?"
"Yes, I lost track of the deer when I hit the bear," answered the cowboy
from the Merwell ranch.
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