He started on a gallop toward the crest of the hill; the others followed only a little behind him; and in a moment all of them were sweeping down the gentle slope toward a great brown animal, which for a moment stood on its hind legs looking at them. Almost at once it dropped on all fours and raced off at great speed across the flat and toward another ridge on which grew a few gnarled and stunted cedars. The horses were now going at their best gait, down the slope, across the dry wash near which the bear had been standing, and over the level flat on the other side. Vicente's horse had put on a burst of speed that astonished the other boys. It was rapidly overhauling the bear, and by the time it had gone about three-quarters of the way up on the opposite slope Vicente was swinging his rope. In a moment he threw forward his hand and, checking his horse, the bear turned a somersault and struck the ground with a sound heard by all of them. For a moment the animal lay still, apparently stunned by the shock, and then, springing to its feet, it charged furiously down the hill toward Vicente, whose horse still stood there motionless. Jack saw Vicente coolly shortening the rope, and then the little horse made a sidewise rush and again the bear flew head over heels. At that moment Tulare Joe caught the hind feet; and the bear, notwithstanding its great strength, was fairly stretched out between the two little horses, which were almost sitting down on the ground in their resistance to the pull of the two ropes. There was little time for observation. Quick action was needed now; action which would render the bear powerless and would enable Vicente to free the rope which was about the bear's neck and would soon choke it to death. "Try to catch the right fore leg, and I'll catch the left!" Jack called to Donald; and riding close to the bear he caught the left foot, and backing his horse away put a heavy pull on it. Donald had failed to catch the bear's right fore foot, and was slowly recovering his rope. He looked as if he did not know what to do. Meanwhile, the bear was throwing its right fore leg up over its head and hooking it in Vicente's rope in the effort to free its head, and Jack feared lest the long claws might cut the rope or fray it so that it would break. If the bear's head and one fore leg were free, it would be a difficult matter to hold it, for it would readily cut the rope that held the left fore leg. Vicente recognized this danger before any one, and every time the bear hooked its right leg over the rope, Vicente slacked up a little, so that the bear's leg and foot slipped off the rope, and as soon as this happened Vicente quickly backed his horse away, until the rope was taut again.