[Illustration: RAYMOND TOOK A CAUTIOUS STEP TOWARD THE ENTRANCE] “He’s dead!” exclaimed Raymond. “He must have been just squeezing through when I fired into his mouth and killed him, and he was wedged in too tight to fall.” “For Heaven’s sake, Ray, think what would have happened if you had done as I said and not fired!” “Well, I did fire, and nothing happened. But wasn’t that a lucky shot?” “You always do just what you want to with a gun, Ray, whether it’s light or dark.” “Oh, this was a chance shot, of course, for I couldn’t see a thing but his eyes. It’s mighty strange that his eyes shone so when it’s so dark.” “The rock at the back of the cave is white,” said Sidney, “and it must reflect a little light. He could probably see us, though we couldn’t see him.” “I move we get to bed,” said Raymond; “such scares make me awfully tired.” “And leave that fellow standing in the door?” “Why not? He can’t hurt us now.” “No, I guess he’s past that. Well, I’m tired, too, and I’ll beat you to bed.” In less than a minute the boys had pulled off their shoes and crawled into their blankets, and in another minute they were asleep. Their excited, turbulent life of the previous few weeks, and the great fatigue they underwent at times, had put them in good training to sleep promptly. An opportunity was all they needed, and they immediately became oblivious to all their worries. When the boys woke in the morning and saw the light peering around the huge form that was still jammed in the entrance, the sight was rather startling. A moment’s reflection, however, recalled the events of the previous evening, and alarm became curiosity. They found that the bear would undoubtedly have succeeded in passing the entrance had he not been killed in the nick of time. While his body was a tight fit in the opening, it was really held upright, after the fatal shot, mainly by projections of the unequal rocky sides. He was, however, quite as big as he had appeared in the dim light. When Raymond fired, the bullet, as he had surmised the night before, had entered the bear’s mouth, which probably had been open, and had, undoubtedly, penetrated the brain, causing instant death. The boys pushed and lifted on the carcass until they succeeded in crowding it out sufficiently to let it fall to the ground, where it lay just outside the entrance. “Gee, but he’s a whopper!” exclaimed Raymond, as they stood looking down at the prostrate animal. “He would have made things lively for us,” said Sidney, “if he had once got inside.” “Yes, but he didn’t get inside, thanks to this little pet of mine.” And Raymond patted his revolver approvingly. “I’ll tell you what, Ray; I’m going to sharpen my knife on a rock and see if I can’t cut out some steaks.” “That will be swell!” agreed Raymond.