80 The Hunting Grounds 



and making faces at us as we passed, and perhaps 

 thinking the Millennium was at hand, from the terrific 

 noise made by the beaters. 



Suddenly, cries were heard along the line of 

 "Keech, Keech!" "Yellago bunte!" (a bear, a 

 bear!). And almost immediately a large female 

 bear and her two cubs came rolling along the line of 

 beaters towards us. 



The Doctor gave a fiendish yell, and, unable to 

 restrain his impetuosity, let drive and hit one of the 

 cubs which passed within six paces of him the recoil 

 of the piece, for which he was not prepared, knocking 

 him down on the broad of his back. The enraged 

 mother charged right at him, overturning a beater 

 in her course, and in a moment more she would 

 have given him a severe mauling, if I had not tum- 

 bled her over, dead, with a ball behind the shoulder, 

 as she was in full career towards her fallen enemy. 

 Bones picked himself up, and, though considerably 

 shaken by his fall, rushed frantically to secure his 

 prize, which was struggling in the agonies of death. 

 The other cub was caught alive by one of the beaters. 



I reloaded my rifle, and then took the Doctor to 

 task for firing on the lesser game ; but it was of no 

 use talking to him, he evidently considered he had 

 performed a great feat, and, although tears ran down 

 his goodnatured old face as he wrung my hand and 

 thanked me over and over again for my lucky shot, 



