The bear snarled at the twang.
but crawled on. Again the crossbow twanged, and the bear snarled, and
came nearer. Again the cross bow twanged; and the next moment the bear
was close upon Gerard, where he sat, with hair standing stiff on end and
eyes starting from their sockets, palsied. The bear opened her jaws like
a grave, and hot blood spouted from them upon Gerard as from a pump. The
bough rocked. The wounded monster was reeling; it clung, it stuck its
sickles of claws deep into the wood; it toppled, its claws held firm,
but its body rolled off, and the sudden shock to the branch shook Gerard
forward on his stomach with his face upon one of the bear's straining
paws. At this, by a convulsive effort, she raised her head up, up, till
he felt her hot fetid breath. Then huge teeth snapped together loudly
close below him in the air, with a last effort of baffled hate. The
ponderous carcass rent the claws out of the bough, then pounded the
earth with a tremendous thump. There was a shout of triumph below,
and the very next instant a cry of dismay, for Gerard had swooned, and
without an attempt to save himself, rolled headlong from the perilous
height.
CHAPTER XXV
Denys caught at Gerard, and somewhat checked his fall; but it may be
doubted whether this alone would have saved him from breaking his
neck, or a limb. His best friend now was the dying bear, on whose hairy
carcass his head and shoulders descended.
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