"Blowing?"

"Yes, that's right; they were blowin'; for geddies don't bark like
other dogs when they're frightened. Well, as I was sayin', they were
blowin' so hard that my hair nearly stood on end. Like a shot I throws
off me blanket an' jumps to me feet, for I knowed what was comin'. The
Captain an' the Archdeacon heard them, too, an' we all grabbed at once
for the only gun, a single-barrelled muzzle-loader.

"As ill luck would have it, the Archdeacon was nearest to that gun an'
grabbed it, an' by the time we was straightened up we sees a great big
white bear rushin' at us. Quick as thought the Archdeacon points the
gun at the bear an' pulls the trigger, but the hammer only snaps upon
the bare nipple; for the cap had tumbled off in the scramble. There
was no time for re-cappin'; so, bein' the nearest to the chargin' bear,
the Archdeacon just drops the old gun an' runs for dear life around
that fire with me an' the Captin followin' close behind him.

"When I seen the way the Archdeacon an' the Captin went a sailin' round
that fire, it fairly took me breath away; for somehow I never had any
idea that them two old cripples had so much speed left in 'em. An' you
can bet it kep' me unusually busy bringin' up the rear; an', anyway,
the feelin' that the bear was for ever snappin' at me coat-tails kep'
me from takin' things too easy.

"Well, we tore round an' round an' round that fire so dang many times
that we was not only rapidly losin' our wind but we was beginnin' to
get dizzy into the bargain. All the time we could hear the great beast
thunderin' after us, yet we daren't slacken our pace; no, sir, not even