a second time a loud snort was heard, as though some large animal were blowing the water from his nostrils, and at the same instant nick and nellie caught sight of the huge snout of the bear coming through the water toward them.
he was making directly for the raft beyond all question.
"by jingo, this raft wasn't built to carry bears!" exclaimed the startled lad, who used the pole with all the strength of which he was master; but, unfortunately, the bottom of the pond was composed of slippery rocks in many places, and the blunt end of the crooked limb slid along the upper surface of one of these so quickly that nick dropped on his side and came within a hair's breadth of rolling overboard.
but he was up again like a flash, and toiling with might and main.
rafts as generally constructed, are not capable of much speed, and though nick ribsam got out all there was in the one which he had managed, it was not to be expected that he could compare with the velocity of a strong, healthy bear.
"he's coming, nick! oh, he will catch us sure!" exclaimed the sorely frightened nellie, edging so far away that she, too, was in danger of going over.
"i know he is," replied the sturdy lad, working hard with the guiding pole, "and i think he can beat us. do you stay where you are, and don't try to get any further off or you will be drowned. i'll bang him over the head if he tries to climb on here and ride with us."
such was the purpose of the beast, beyond question; and, approaching fast, only a brief time elapsed ere his huge snout was shoved against the logs, his big paws, dripping with wet, flapped out from below the surface and both rested on the raft, which sank so low that nellie screamed and nick turned pale.
determined to keep off such an undesirable passenger, the lad raised the stick in his hand and brought it down with all his strength on the head of the bear, which acted as though unaware that he was struck.
nick repeated the blows, that would have settled the business for a less formidable animal but it was plain that brain did not consider the matter a serious one. having secured a rest for his paws, his whole body was supported in the water, and the beast, which was no doubt very tired, simply ceased all effort, and floated with the wind.
"why don't you knock him off?" asked nellie, impatiently.
"because i ain't strong enough, i suppose; he's the toughest customer i ever got hold of, or seemed to have a good chance to get hold of me."
"i've a great notion to dig out his eyes myself."
"if you try it, it will be the last bear you ever scratch; look at those paws! did you ever see such nails? didn't you hear them rattle against the logs when he struck them?"
"suppose he tries to climb upon the raft," ventured nellie, trying to edge still further away, "what will become of us?"
"the raft won't hold him; he'll sink it, and we'll have to get along as best we can; but, nellie, he acts to me as though he is satisfied with being where he is, and he won't disturb us so long as we let him alone."
"but you struck him several hard blows."
"he's forgotten all about it, if he ever knew it. i guess he has had a pretty lively run to reach the pond in time to save his hide, and now that he is in the water, he will stay there a good while."
there was a likelihood that nick was right, and that the bear wanted nothing more than a rest; and yet the possibility that he would soon try to draw his entire body upon the raft prevented the brother and sister from having any peace of mind.
when this singular tableau had lasted several minutes, it was discovered that the wind was carrying the raft, with its incubus, toward the western shore again, and nick, afraid that if they all landed together, the bear might seize the occasion to make a supper off of them, reached the pole over the side, and began working the logs to the middle of the pond.
during this performance the brute never stirred. his head, shoulders and paws were out of the water, the principal bulk of his body being beneath, and he seemed contented to be navigated about the small lake in any fashion the proprietor of the raft deemed best.
when considerable time had passed without his offering to destroy them, the boy and girl were able to view the beast with feelings of less alarm. they looked at the large head, pig-like snout, round, dark eyes, and could well understand the terror which an unarmed person feels on meeting one of them in the woods.
but so long as bruin remained there, so long was he a threat; and nick was trying hard to think of some plan by which to get rid of him.
he had tested beating him, but with no success, while he ran the risk of exciting him to a dangerous degree of savagery if he should persist in it. the boy had no weapon about him, unless his jack-knife should be counted as such, and nothing could be accomplished with that. he asked himself whether it were possible to dive under the raft and give him two or three vigorous thrusts with the implement; but, fortunately, the lad had too much sense to undertake anything of that sort, which, more than likely, would have resulted in the destruction of himself and sister.
there really seemed no way open for the young hero to do anything at all, except to follow the advice of his father: "do all you can for yourself and then leave the rest to providence."
"if i could think of anything," said he to nellie, "i would do it, but we shall have to wait."
"maybe when he is rested he will swim off and go ashore."
"i wish he would; but it seems to me that he has got a look in his eye, which says that pretty soon he will try to enjoy a little more of the raft than he now does: and when he undertakes it, you can make up your mind, nellie, that there will be a row."
"why not let the raft drift close to land, so as to give him a chance to get off?" she asked.
"suppose he doesn't take the chance, which he has now; no, we'll wait awhile and see what he thinks about it."
so soon as they could feel anything like relief from watching the passenger, the brother and sister looked at the scene around them, which was enough to strike any one with awe.
the murky vapor was pouring across the water; burning leaves, sticks, and large branches of wood seemed to be carried almost horizontally on the wind, while the blazing forest roared like the ocean when swept by the monsoon.
whether the memorable dark day of 1881 still overspread the earth beyond, the two had no means of knowing; but they did know and feel that they were enveloped in an awful night, illumined only by the burning forests about them.
should the bear fail to harm them, they might well ask themselves the question, when would they be able to leave the water, in which they had taken refuge. it was not likely they would be forced to keep to the raft itself very long, but, after stepping foot on shore, they would be surrounded, if not by the burning forest itself, by its embers, which would render traveling perilous for days to come.
altogether, it will be seen that the situation of the two was as unpleasant—if, not absolutely dangerous—as it could well be.
nick was on the point, more than once, of following the advice of his sister,—to allow the raft to be carried by the wind against the shore, with the hope that the bear, when his hind legs should touch bottom, would take himself off; but he was afraid to do so, for it seemed to him that when the brute should be relieved of the necessity of looking after himself, he would turn and look after the boy and girl too closely for their safety.
the very danger, however, that was dreaded more than all others, came when least expected.
nick had worked the unwieldy craft out in the pond again and had sat down beside nellie, when, with one of his startling sniffs, the bear made a plunge, which heaved half of his body out of the water and lifted it upon the raft.
as nick ribsam had previously remarked, the structure was not built for the accommodation of such passengers, and it began sinking, as the unwonted weight bore it down.
"don't be scared," said he to his sister; "maybe it's the best thing that could happen; put your hands on my shoulders and keep cool, and we'll swim out yet."
