94 A SPORTING PARADISE 



shout, I redoubled my speed. I soon found my- 

 self out-distanced, in fact, the bear covered 

 two yards to my one, and in a few seconds 

 would have clutched me in her terrible embrace. 

 A boyish story strangely entered my mind of 

 a wonderful adventure with an infuriated bear, 

 and in an instant I had dragged off my 

 heavy coat and thrown it as far as possible 

 on one side. This experiment succeeded ; the 

 bear, who was half blind with fury and pain, 

 paused to rend it into a thousand pieces. 

 During this interval I gained nearly four 

 hundred yards, and reached a thick belt of 

 hemlocks before I heard her once more upon 

 my path. It seemed only a minute before she 

 reappeared, and as I crouched behind a massive 

 trunk, I faintly hoped she would pass me 

 unobserved. The bear, however, knew exactly 

 my whereabouts, and came directly toward the 

 tree without any hesitation. I was forced, there- 

 fore, to quit my shelter speedily, and take refuge 

 behind another tree. By this time it became 

 evident that the movements of the bear were 

 not so brisk, and I noted with hope that she 

 staggered more than once as she hastened in 

 her pursuit. I redoubled my shouts and nerved 



