With one side swipe of its right paw the growling beast tossed the weapon away and drove Koku to his knees. It reached with its left paw to seize the giant, and the curved claws all but caught him. “Look out!” shrieked Ned. “He’ll have you, sure!” Koku leaped up, but scarcely escaped the return swing of the bear’s paw. Even the wind of it was enough to send the man to the ice again. With a blood-curdling roar the polar bear flung himself forward on all four paws, and his shaggy breast covered Koku. It looked as though the faithful servant was done for! His spear stuck a hand’s breadth out of the bear behind its shoulder. The blood poured from that and from the gunshot wound like muddy red bilge being pumped from a ship’s hold. At this dreadful instant Olaf Karofsen flung away his rifle, drew a great knife from his belt, and leaped for the savagely wagging head of the bear. It seemed as though he gave himself over utterly to the jaws of the beast. The creature’s teeth snapped with a clash of ivory that sounded well nigh as loud as had the rifle shot. But the gigantic Icelander escaped the jaws. He made a mighty downward thrust with the skinning knife. The point of it entered the bear’s spine right behind the skull and must have severed the first vertebra. The beast groaned with pain, weaving to and fro on its feet. For the moment all the fight was taken out of the animal. It shuddered and began to sink to the ice. Uttering a great shout, Tom darted forward and seized Koku’s shoulders. With Captain Karofsen’s help he dragged Koku from under the dying bear. The huge body of the brute sunk slowly upon the very spot where Koku had lain. The giant could not have lived under the dead weight of the mountain of flesh. Ned had picked up Tom’s torch and now illumined the scene. The two giants were grinning at each other broadly. Tom spoke rather brokenly. “I declare, boys, that was some fight! I’m proud of you, Koku. And how can I ever thank you, Captain Karofsen?” The schooner captain was all seriousness again in a moment. He said to Tom: “We nefer mind dot. The bear, he iss dead. But das snow and ice block us in here. We nefer dig out. We haf no tools.” Ned had turned the ray of the light upon the mass of broken ice that completely filled the mouth of the cavity into which they had ventured. From the sound of the avalanche when it fell, there could be little doubt but that the mass was rods thick. And the distance and force with which it had fallen had packed the shattered ice so tightly that there could be no hope of finding a passage through it. “But, say!” exclaimed Kingston, when this fact had been discussed, “don’t you fellows remember that there was a current of air blowing out of this cave when we stood before it? You mentioned that fact, Newton.” “I noticed it myself,” Tom agreed quickly. “So did I,” added Ned. “We haf no feel of de wind now,” observed Captain Karofsen.