He glanced up at the overhanging cliffs. There were one or
two rents and projections close above him. In the twinkling of an eye
he sprang up and grasped a ledge of about an inch broad, ten or twelve
feet up, to which he clung while he glanced upward. Another projection
was within reach; he gained it, and in a few seconds he stood upon a
ledge about twenty feet up the cliff, where he had just room to plant
his feet firmly.
Without waiting to look behind, he seized his powder-horn and loaded
one barrel of his rifle; and well was it for him that his early
training had fitted him to do this with rapidity, for the bear dashed
up the precipice after him at once. The first time it missed its hold,
and fell back with a savage growl; but on the second attempt it sunk
its long claws into the fissures between the rocks, and ascended
steadily till within a foot of the place where Dick stood.
At this moment Crusoe's obedience gave way before a sense of Dick's
danger. Uttering one of his lion-like roars, he rushed up the
precipice with such violence that, although naturally unable to climb,
he reached and seized the bear's flank, despite his master's stern
order to "keep back," and in a moment the two rolled down the face of
the rock together, just as Dick completed loading.
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