ENCOUNTER WITH A BEAR. 23 



of the mountain, sending rocks and mud flying in 

 his haste to get away. Russ made equally good 

 time up his side of the mountain, all the while beg- 

 ging Dyche not to shoot but to let the bear get away 

 if it wanted to. 



Hurriedly cutting the strings which bound his gun 

 to his pack, Dyche got the weapon and shot two big 

 holes through the air up toward the place where the 

 bear was making such frantic efforts to get away. 

 The shots served only to accelerate the movements of 

 both the bear and Russ, and in a minute the bear was 

 out of sight, while Russ stood shivering away up on 

 the side of the mountain. The episode had one good 

 effect. Russ, for an hour, had been begging Dyche 

 to stop and camp, but now he was most anxious to 

 push on, and he hurried up the remaining two miles 

 as if he did not know what fatigue was. He con- 

 tinued to urge more speed until they reached the 

 park in which Johnson's ranch was situated, and 

 only then did he feel perfectly safe. 



Darkness compelled them to feel their way along, 

 and with outstretched hands they groped about until 

 they found a house. A knock at the door brought a 

 man whom they asked for shelter. What was their 

 surprise when they received a short answer that they 

 could get no accommodations there. Not only was 

 admission to the house refused, but even the stable 

 was barred against them. Begging and pleading 

 was of no avail, though the rain was pouring down 

 on them. This aroused Dyche's indignation, and he 

 gave the proprietor a piece of his mind about his in- 

 hospitality which had the effect of causing the man 

 3 



