WE GAZE THROUGH THE GATHERING GLOOM. 
437 
as you saw liim fall. Wasn’t it done beautifully? Didn’t 
he howl awfully?” 
And now let me remember what we saw from the 
appi'oaching boat. We saw the top of the medical head 
through the gloom of approaching night, as its owner 
took his cautious peep over the boulder, and expected to 
see the flash of his musket as the immediate consequence; 
but, to our joy, ho as suddenly dipped out of sight again, 
while Bruin still continued his lazy way. We knew now 
that they had determined to let him get under their very 
noses before firing, and as the boat flew toward the scene 
we watched with straining eyes for the expected flashes. 
The shades of evening were now being darkened by the 
near approach of night, but there was still a fair prospect 
of sufiicient light to see us through the affair. It was 
just dark enough to let one see both the flash and smoke 
of a discharged piece, and to enable the huntsman to take 
a deadly aim without the drawback of a distracting ray. 
We gazed with straining eyes through this gathering 
gloom, as the crew swung with unfailing muscle to the 
bending oars. 
Suddenly those straining eyes encountered two beautiful 
sights, while, in the same instant almost, our ears were 
saluted by the sharp report of a discharged rifle. 
In the first place, we saw its sudden and lurid flash, 
and in the second, the frightened action of the stricken 
bear. Even before the report reached us, — in fact, simul- 
taneously with the explosion of the lurid flame within 
ten feet of his lowered head, — he sprang frantically into 
the smoky air, came heavily down upon his powerful 
hind-legs, and in that upright position beat the air wildly 
