The Argosy, November 1908 — page 36: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

602 Finding I could not turn, I fell. With a growl he began dragging me toward the cave. But my act of fall- ing had so suddenly disconcerted him that his grasp relaxed, and before he had reclosed on me I had driven the knife into his side three times. I knew I had wounded him severely, but whether I had reached his heart sufficiently to disable him I could not tell. He had his great front legs around me, and the pain of the wounds caused his grasp to tighten spasmodically, till I verily believed I was a gone case. It had so-happened, without any plan- ning on my part, that I had fallen near my rifle. I succeeded in regaining pos- session of that, and jabbed the barrel against his side. Then I fired twice. I nearly killed myself. Possibly he had been dying from the knife wounds, but when the bullet went. into him, and then another, he stiffened out in his death throes, and his embrace became even more severe. And when he was dead, I found I could not release my- self. Here was now a situation turned, in a second, from the tragic to the ridicu- lous. I had been in danger from the embrace of a great bear. Now there was no danger, but the bear had so tightened his hold upon me that I was helpless. Shooting would do no more good, and I laid the rifle aside. Then, exerting my entire strength on one of his thick legs, I pried at it till the perspiration - poured from me, and yet I was no more free than before. But I continued to work, wriggling, twisting, and finally did squirm from the big paws. I certainly had plenty of food now, and was not afraid to cook it. There would probably be a search for me, both by my own Moguis, if Billy Barefoot got back his common sense, and by the Yaquis. ‘And certainly by Bonilla and Hernandez if they heard of what had happened. But search or no search, I was perched on a ledge that was very difficult to reach, and on which but one man could walk with safety at a time. And near me was a cave, probably not inhabited THE ARGOSY. by any more bears, with an opening so small that I could hold out against a dozen. Moreover, I was well armed, and also had food to last some time. But I needed wood for a fire. There was plenty of it at the bottom, and I believed my agility, if I had to climb up on the ledge to avoid an enemy, would be sufficient to enable me to es- cape him. I decided to cook my bear meat down there. I would want water to drink, anyway. I slid the smallest bear off the ledge and watched it go crashing down. Then I made my way to the bottom. , I was well supplied with everything needful, having roamed the hills and valleys of California enough to know what to carry. I had a water-proof match-box well filled, a pipe and to- bacco, and a telescope drinking-cup. I gathered a quantity of dry wood, and soon had a fire. It was no unusual thing for me. I had eaten many a meal in the same way. If I had had Consuelo there, or had known she was safe, I would have been as happy as in my own hunting-grounds atross the border. CHAPTER XIV. A PEACEFUL INTERLUDE. PERHAPS it is because I have always been hungry whenever I have killed a bear while hunting, or because I have lived so long with- only the mediocre cooking of Namona, but certainly there has never been anything so appetizing to me as the odor of a big piece of juicy bear meat cooking over a wooed fire. It requires some skill to cook this with- out a smoky flavor, but I had learned the art fairly well. And I enjoyed waiting for my dinner, because I knew it was going to taste good. The odor rose and floated out of the gorge, and I felt so secure that I even laughed as I thought what an appetite it would give the dinnerless Yaqui, who was probably still taking care of the six horses that had pursued me. Of course, I had no salt or pepper, and no dishes. Nothing but my two | connichbooks.com |