CHAPTER XLV

Bears! Bears!—Narrow Escape—The Combat—Discovery of Porcelain Earth

We quitted the borders of the swamp; but, instead of directing our steps through the desert, we followed a little stream of water that led us to the rock where we had reposed on our first excursion into the savanna. It was a delicious route in comparison with our painful journey of the morning. We found trees, grass—in short, it was a little oasis in the desert, and we named it “Green Valley.”

We were yet distant about half an hour’s journey from the jackal’s grotto; Jack and Fritz had stopped a moment to adjust their burdens, and I also stopped with them, while Ernest marched forward, followed by Folb.

“The philosopher is in a hurry to get home,” said Jack, laughing; “he runs that he may be rested first.”

But scarcely had the fellow finished his sentence, when we heard a cry of distress; it was the voice of Ernest, followed by two terrible howls, mingled with the barking of the dog. A moment after, Ernest reappeared; he was running at full speed, his face deadly pale, and he cried out in a voice stifled with fear—

“Bears! bears! they are following me”; and the poor boy fell into my arms more dead than alive. I had not time to reassure him, and I felt myself seized with a sudden shiver, as an enormous bear appeared, immediately followed by a second.

“Courage, children,” was all I could say. I seized my gun, and prepared to receive the enemy. Fritz did the same; and, with a courage and coolness far above his years, he took his place by my side. Jack also took his gun, but remained in the rear; while Ernest, who had no arms—for in his fright he had let his gun fall—took to his heels and ran away.

But our dogs were already at the attack, and they had commenced to measure themselves with their terrible adversaries. We fired together; and, although our shots did not bring down the enemy, they nevertheless told well: one of the bears had a jaw broken, the other a shoulder fractured. But the combat was not yet finished: they were only partially disabled. Our faithful servants did prodigies of valour; they fought most desperately, rolling in the dust with their enemies, while their blood poured in streams on the sand. We would have fired again, but we were afraid that we should kill the dogs, it being impossible, during the changing contest, to take any aim. We resolved to advance nearer, and, at about four paces from the bears, we discharged our pistols direct at their heads. The huge animals gave a groan that caused us to shudder, and then fell back motionless on the sand.

It was too late to meddle with the animals, and we took the precaution, before leaving, to draw the two carcasses into the jackal’s cave, and cover them with thorn-bushes, to keep off all carnivorous beasts and birds of prey; we also buried our ostrich-eggs in the sand, as their weight retarded our march greatly, and we could leave them here until the morrow.

The sun was set when we rejoined my dear companion and our little Francis. A good fire and a well-cooked supper refreshed our weary bodies, and my little heroes commenced a long narration of the exploits of the day, Master Jack making up for the small share he had had in our victory by boasting and swaggering enough for all.

My wife and Francis had not been idle during our absence; they had discovered on the banks of a stream a sort of greasy, white earth, which appeared to me to be fine pipeclay. They had also collected water enough for the use of our domestic animals, and, by the force of industry and perseverance, had amassed, at the entrance of the defile, a quantity of materials necessary for my projected fortification.

I thanked my good wife for the pains she had taken. We then lighted a large fire to guard us through the night, and our dogs, whose wounds my wife had washed and dressed with fresh butter, lay down beside it. I wished, before retiring for the night, to make a trial of the earth my wife had found, for I suspected that it was porcelain. I made two roughly-shaped bowls from it, and threw them into a furnace of hot cinders, and we then all retired to the tent, where sweet sleep soon sealed our eyelids. The next morning it required a strong effort to tear us from our beds, so wearied out had we been the preceding day. I found my two bowls hardened by the heat; they were, as I supposed, porcelain, rather coarse-grained, but well enough for our purposes. We breakfasted in haste; the beasts were harnessed to the cart, and, after a pleasant little ride, we arrived safe and sound at the cavern of the bears.