"Not much!" declared Roly, promptly and decisively. He had also been considering the situation, was likewise trembling with nervous excitement, but had resolved that, come what would, he would stand by his brother. David looked at the lad's sturdy figure and saw in his face, usually so round and smiling, a look of resoluteness which he could not but admire. "You're the right stuff," said he, quietly. "Here goes." He raised the rifle to his shoulder just as the bear sat up again, and aimed at her breast. Unfortunately in his excitement he jerked the rifle when he pulled the trigger. The ball just grazed the bear's side. With an angry growl of pain the great beast came down upon all fours and charged the little group. "Kneel, Dave!" cried Roly. "It'll steady you." David dropped on one knee as the bear came on, while Coffee Jack clutched his knife convulsively. "Bang!" went the rifle the next instant. Through the smoke they saw the bear plunge to the earth within a dozen yards of them with a bullet through her head. The battle was won. "Well, well, what's all this?" they heard shouted in Mr. Bradford's voice from the foot of the hill. Presently he and Uncle Will appeared breathless upon the scene. "You can see for yourself, sir," said David, pointing to the fallen game. "A bear and two cubs, as I'm alive!" exclaimed Uncle Will. "You've done a good piece of work, boys." "At close quarters, too!" observed Mr. Bradford. "They must have stood their ground like Spartans." And nothing would do, after the game was skinned and the supper of tender bear-cub meat eaten that evening, but the boys must tell, to the least detail, how the bears were killed. "All I have to say," said Uncle Will, as he re-lighted his pipe when they had finished, "is that you deserve great credit for pluck, but very little for prudence. Next time, my lads, just let us know when you start out after bears." CHAPTER XXV MORAN'S CAMP It required a week of hard work to transport the contents of the cache at the lake by frequent trips to the claims ten miles away. The tents were pitched on the grassy top of the bank from which Uncle Will had panned the gold in April. In the Kah Sha gorge there yet remained a few old drifts of snow which dwindled day by day, but under the influence of the almost incessant sunlight, vegetation was everywhere springing fresh and green.