The great she bear, possessed of enormous vitality, was not easily disposed of. The magazines of all the rifles were emptied the second time before Rob would allow them to go a foot closer, and even so, the great gray body retained life enough to roll half down the bank as they approached. This time Rob finished the old bear with a shot through the head, at a distance of not more than thirty yards.
The game was down and dead--three great bears, one of them huge beyond the wildest dreams of any of them, and unbelievably large even for the most widely experienced sportsman. Indeed, any sportsman might have been proud of this record. Rob turned to look at his friends.
Suddenly he himself sat down, and to his surprise found that he was trembling violently all over. Jesse and John were both doing the same. He saw that their faces were deathly pale.
"I'm--I'm--I'm sort of--sort of sick at my stomach!" said Jesse.
"Well," said Rob, finally, looking around at his friends and grinning, "I don't know which of us is the worst scared; but, anyhow, we've got our game, and a lot of it. Do you suppose we can skin these big fellows?"
"We'll have to," said John. "There's meat enough to last us a year. That old bear is bigger than any horse in Valdez."
"And tough as any horse, too," said Rob. "The cubs may be better to eat. I have heard my father say that bear liver isn't bad; and certainly we can get all the fat we want to fry our fish. Lucky we've all got our hunting-knives along; so here goes!"
They now arose and began the difficult task of skinning out the great bear--slow work for even an experienced hunter. They kept at it, however, and had made a good beginning when all at once a slight sound at the edge of the creek bank attracted Rob's attention.
As he turned the others noticed him, and all three of them stood staring an instant later at the same object: a round, dark face gazing at them motionless through the grass--a face with cunning little eyes set slantwise, like those of a Japanese, and long, stringy locks of dark hair hanging down about the cheeks. Instinctively each boy reached for his rifle, which he had left leaning against the carcass of the great bear. Apparently not alarmed, the face kept its place, staring steadily at them. Rob now guessed the truth, which was that this Aleut savage had heard the shots and had entered the mouth of the creek in his boat. Not knowing whether he was friend or foe, Rob motioned the others to follow him, and approached him with his rifle at a ready.