While Leonard was
taking aim, the bear rolled rapidly down the steep incline by means of a
series of clever somersaults and rushed upon Leonard with a sort of
swift shamble. And a cursed bad manoeuvre it is, I can tell you. The
acrobatic beast, whether a man hits it or not inevitably bears down the
hunter by his sheer weight, and as a man's bones are more brittle than a
beast's, and he has no tough pelt to cover him withal, he will be
infallibly crushed to pulp,--while the bear takes the whole thing as a
mere joke and ambles on further. But the whole affair did not last half
as long as I take to tell it. Leonard had just time enough to fling
himself on the ground before the first rush came. Then he felt a heavy
body fall prone upon him and then they began to roll over and over in
company among all sorts of stones and bushes, till a benevolent rock
interrupted their rapid descent. Fortunately the bear was underneath and
lay stunned at full length upon the ground. Our friend Leonard naturally
did not wait for his travelling companions to pick him up. He had lost
his musket and it was a good job that his hunting-knife had snapped off
close at the hilt instead of running into his body; then, too, his knees
and elbows were badly crushed, yet he had sufficient strength and
presence of mind to drag himself back to our hunting box, and his story
was a very pleasant surprise for us, I can tell you.
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