38 THE BED MOUNTAIN OF ALASKA. 
him, was a good-sized spruce, with two or three boughs, 
or stubs of them, close to the ground. 
He had to drop his rifle, and indeed had no time to 
spare, for by a common impulse both the late enemies 
rushed against their common foe. 
Robert drew a long breath as he seated himself, not 
very comfortably, on a stout branch, some twenty feet 
from the ground. To his relief, the bear concluded that 
his honor had been vindicated, and ambled off on his 
road " at a swift pace, which took him out of sight in 
two minutes. 
Not so the big moose. Pawing the ground, and snort- 
ing fiercely, he continued to charge up and down, under 
the tree, until at last, perceiving that his hated assailant 
was for the time out of his reach, he sullenly commenced 
a slow walk to and fro, like a sentinel on guard duty ; 
now and then casting vindictive glances into the ever- 
green boughs overhead. 
Faintly three rifle shots came echoing through the 
woods, but Robert could not reply. He had given his 
party no idea of where he was going. Plainly his position 
was a disagreeable one, not to say positively dangerous. 
What was to be done ? 
