“Look out!” screamed Dave, and Henry sprang to one side. The movement was so quick that he could not calculate on where he was going and he slipped into a hollow, his right foot going down between two heavy stones in such a fashion that his ankle was badly wrenched. The buffalo now turned upon Dave and he too leaped away. With unloaded gun he could do nothing, and as quickly as possible he started to put in a fresh charge and fix the priming. In the meantime the buffalo swung around once more, gave Henry and the bear another look, and then sprang for the brushwood and was out of sight in a twinkling. CHAPTER III DAVE AND THE INDIAN “He has gone!” “Shoot him, Dave, shoot him!” With frantic haste Dave fixed the priming of his flint-lock musket. But long before the weapon was ready for use the buffalo was out of sight and hearing. On the ground in the hollow lay the she-bear, giving a last convulsive shudder. At the mouth of her den were the two cubs, whining plaintively, as if they understood that something had gone wrong. Henry sat on one of the rocks, with his foot still caught fast and a look of pain on his face. “What’s the matter? Did the buffalo hit you?” called out his cousin, after he had looked to make certain that the bear could do no further harm. “No, but I—I hurt my ankle,” panted Henry. He gave his leg a pull. “Oh! But that hurts!” “The bear is out of it,” said Dave. He came closer. “Hullo, your foot is caught. Let me help you. I reckon we have seen the last of that buffalo.” “I don’t know about that, Dave. We both hit him, and the bear gave him something to remember her by.” “Poor beast! She certainly did what she could for her cubs. Just look at them now!” It was an affecting sight. The mother bear had passed away and both of the cubs had crawled forth from the den and were licking her face and pushing her form with their little noses. Then both began to whine once more. Neither seemed to think of running away. Dave set down his gun and helped Henry to release his caught foot. Then they took off the legging and the shoe. The ankle had begun to swell and there was a deep scratch on one side. “Can you step on it?” asked Dave, and his cousin tried to do so. He caught his breath and gave a gasp. “Like pins and needles going through my leg!” he announced. “Oh, what luck! And we didn’t get the buffalo after all!” he added, ruefully. The bear cubs now came up and one made a snap at Dave’s foot while the other took up Henry’s shoe and began to chew it. Seeing this, Dave drew his hunting knife and dispatched them both. Then he turned again to his cousin. “I suppose it is out of the question for you to think of walking,” he said. “Not just yet,” answered Henry. “Maybe I’ll be able to do it in an hour or two.” “Then we may as well rest right here. One comfort, we have the bear and her cubs even if we didn’t get the buffalo.”