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every corner, sought for a crack in 

 the rocky floor, and found at last the 

 place where was a six-inch timber 

 beam the only piece of wood in its 

 frame. It was sheathed in iron, but 

 exposed for an inch its whole length. 

 One claw could reach the wood, and 

 here he lay on his side and raked 

 raked all day till a great pile of shav- 

 ings was lying by it and the beam 

 sawn in two; but the cross-bolts re- 

 mained, and when Monarch put his 

 vast shoulder to the place it yielded 

 not a whit. That was his last hope; 

 now it was gone; and the huge Bear 

 sank down in the cage with his nose 

 in his paws and sobbed long, heavy 

 sobs, animal sounds indeed, but tell- 

 ing just as truly as in man of the 

 broken spirit the hope and the life 

 gone out. The keepers came with food 

 at the appointed time, but the Bear 



