Grizzly King

Chapter 14

Grizzly and Brownfaced Cub left Escovar and Pipenascus.The first night they did not sleep, they walked aimlessly under the shining stars.Thor did not hunt for meat. After climbing the steep hillside, he walked down the shale slope and entered a small basin.The basin is hidden at the foot of the mountain, where there is a piece of green grass, on which grows Viola viola, which has long stalks and two leaves like lilies, and each bunch of Viola has five petals of flowers; The root of Viola is spherical, sweet and juicy, and can be found everywhere.All night Thor spends here digging and eating bermudagrass.

As for Mascar, he filled his stomach with spring grass during the day, so he is not hungry now.During the day, except for fighting, it rests and recuperates; at night, when the stars are twinkling, it feels very comfortable.At ten o'clock the moon rose, the biggest, reddest, and most beautiful that Mascar had ever seen.The moon was rolling over the hills, casting a wonderful light like a forest fire over the Rocky Mountains.The moonlight was very bright, illuminating the basin and the large green grass in the basin.There is a small lake at the foot of the mountain, the surface of the lake is sparkling, and the stream flowing into the lake comes from the melting snow on the top of the thousand-foot-high mountain, and the snow water pours down to form a sparkling waterfall.Under the moonlight, the waterfall is like flowing diamonds, polished smooth and bright.

A few small bushes, balsam and spruce trees are scattered around the lawn, as if placed there for ornamental purposes; a mile away.At the top of the slope, out of sight of Mascar and Thor, a herd of goats slept.

Mascar wandered around.It hunted in the groves, by the lake, in the shade of the balsam and spruce, but never far from Thor.Here, he found a puddle of mud, and felt very comfortable with the mud on his aching limbs.Throughout the night, he wades into the puddles as many as twenty times.

Day was breaking, and Thor seemed in no hurry to get out of here.The sun has risen, and it is still hanging out on the grassland and by the lake, occasionally digging the violet root of the dog's tooth, or eating young grass.

This displeased Mascar—there was a corsage for breakfast.One thing that puzzled Muska, why didn't Thor throw some salmon into the lake?Muska didn't know, there wasn't a single fish in all the water here.Finally, it went to catch the fish by itself, and successfully caught a black hard-shelled water armor. The pincers of the water armor were like needles, pinching Mascar's nose, making it scream.

Around ten o'clock, the sun-filled basin is a heated oven for the thick-coated bears.So Thor searched around among the rocks beside the waterfall.It found a small cave, cool here, like an old-fashioned cellar, filled with flagstones or gravel.As the snow on the top of the mountain rushes down the mountain, countless trickles are formed, making the cave cold and damp.

In July, this was Thor's favorite place, but Mascar felt that the cave was dark and gloomy, not as comfortable as a place in the sun, not even one-thousandth of it.So, after an hour or two, Mascar was off, exploring the treacherous ledges, leaving Thor alone in his icy cavern.

At first, everything went well.Muska climbed up the slope, which was full of verdant green and trickled with trickling water.For hundreds of years, the water has flowed slowly, and the gently sloping stone slopes have been washed by the running water so that they are as bright as polished pearls, and as slippery as a greased wooden pole. As soon as the cub stretched out his limbs, he hardly knew what to do in an instant. It happened, and immediately slid down a hundred feet into the lake.It kept rolling back and forth, plopping into shallow pools, bouncing up and down the small waterfall like a rubber ball.The running water and impact made it blind and dizzy, and the speed of the slide increased with every yard forward.Mascar was terrified, he was screaming, and he screamed five or six times before waking Thor up.

The water from the top of the mountain must pass a steep ten-foot rise, and then plunge vertically into the lake.Just above that, Mascar was thrown violently by an impact. With a loud splash, Muska fell into the water and then disappeared.It sank slowly, and it was dark all around, and it felt cold and suffocated.At this time, the naturally obese body formed Mascar's life-saving equipment, and it floated to the surface.Its limbs kept swinging, and this was its first time swimming.Finally, it dragged its body and walked slowly ashore, limping and exhausted.

Thor came over from the rocks, and Muska lay still, panting, still in shock.Mascar's mother slapped him hard when the porcupine's quill jabbed the sole of his foot.Whenever something happened to Mascarp, the mother would slap it.

Its mother believes that a slap in the face is good medicine.Therefore, slapping has become the main education for cubs.Now, if the mother was around, she would have slapped Masca hard.But Thor, he only sniffed the mascarpone, and saw that it was safe and sound, and then began to dig the dog's tooth violet root.

Thor was digging the bermudagrass when suddenly it stopped, like a statue, and stood there for half a minute.Mascar jumped up, and after shaking his body, he was also listening.They all heard the voice.The grizzly bear straightened its hind legs, and the movement was graceful and slow.It faced north, its ears pricked forward, and its nostril muscles twitched sensitively.It can't smell anything, but it hears a sound.From the slope they had climbed came a faint sound, a strange sound, a sound that had never been heard before.It's the barking of a hound.

Thor squatted for 2 minutes, the muscles on his huge body were motionless, only the muscles in his nostrils were twitching.

In the depths of the basin below the mountain, it is difficult for sound to come through.So Thor swung his limbs quickly, and ran towards the green slope to the south, and Muskar hurriedly followed.The flock of sheep had slept on the top of the green slope the night before.

Thor stopped after crawling a hundred yards up the slope.It turned around and reared up on its hind legs.At this moment, Maskar was also facing north.Suddenly, the wind came, and the clear barking of hounds followed the wind.

Less than half a mile away, Langdon's pack of well-trained Aire Valley dogs were busy tracking the tracks of their prey.The hounds barked, full of fury and excitement, to tell Otto and Langdon, a quarter of a mile behind them, that they were getting closer to their prey.

The barking of the Hound made Thor and Mascar nervous.However, what frightened Thor even more was the momentum of the Hound.Intuition told Thor again that a new opponent had entered its territory.Although Thor was not afraid, he retreated instinctively. He walked to a higher place, and he didn't stop until he came to the rugged break of the mountain.

This time, Thor was waiting.No matter what kind of threat it is, it is coming from far and near with the wind.Thor could clearly hear the menace climbing the slope that separated the basin from the valley.

Thor's eyes looked straight ahead, and he could just see the top of the slope, and saw the leading hound walking to the top of the slope, and the silhouette of the hound standing there for a moment was silhouetted against the sky.The other hounds quickly followed and stood upright on the top of the slope for about 30 seconds.They looked down at the basin below them and sniffed the strong smell in the basin.

During those 30 seconds, Thor stared motionlessly at his opponent, a low, terrifying growl slowly building up deep in his chest.Thor backed away again. He didn't wait for the hounds to rush into the depths of the basin below the mountain before walking away, nor did he leave until the hounds barked wantonly.It's just that this is not running away, Thor is not afraid, it has to keep moving forward, because walking forward is its business.It doesn't want to cause trouble, and it doesn't even want to protect the meadows and small lakes that belong to its territory below the mountain.Elsewhere there are meadows and small lakes.Moreover, it is not a lover of fighting by nature, but it is always ready to fight.

Thor kept making ominous "rumbling" roars, and his anger slowly built up in his heart.It is hidden among rock piles.It crawled on the ledge, and Muska followed quietly.Thor scrambled over great drop-offs and turned among boulders as big as houses.

However, Thor always avoided going to places where Maskar might not be able to pass easily.Once, Thor slowly climbed up a raised sandstone ledge, but when he found that Mascar could not climb up, he came down and turned to another road.

At this moment, the barking of hounds sounded from the depths of the basin.Then, like a gust of wind, the sound of the hound rose rapidly.The Hound was nearly on the Green Slope, Thor knew.Thor stopped again.At this time, the smell carried by the wind was strong and pungent.

The smell made every muscle in Thor's body tense, and kindled an unknown fire in his heart.Hound smells human!

Thor crawled upward, picking up a little speed.It came to a small open area surrounded by chaotic and uneven rocks. The ferocious and excited barking of the hounds seemed to be only about a hundred yards away from them.On the mountainside, there is a towering straight barrier on one side, and a steep cliff more than a hundred feet high on the other side, about [-] feet away. There was barely enough room for Thor's body.

Grizzly led Mascar closer to the falling boulder and the crack through which the boulder could pass.Suddenly it turned so that Muska could follow.If it was a female bear, facing the imminent danger, she would drive Muska to safety in a crevice in the rock.But Thor didn't do that.Facing the coming danger, it stood upright on its hind legs and straightened up.

After twenty feet along the path, Thor suddenly and quickly rounded the ledge of the barrier, eyes red and fierce, staring at the set trap.

The hounds came, yelling.Fifty yards from the overhang of the barrier, the hounds ran side by side, and in a few moments the fastest of the hounds charged into the ring Thor had chosen for the fight.The hounds following closely saw the hounds in front of them being knocked down under Thor's body. They panicked and hurriedly stopped their running limbs.

With a growl, Thor charged among the hounds, swinging his massive right arm left and right.Muskar seemed to see that Thor contained half of the hounds under his huge body. With a "creak", Thor bit off the back of the leading hound, and then it tore the neck of the hound, and the hound's trachea was pulled out like a red thread.

Thor rolled forward, and while the rest of the hounds were terrified, he slapped one and sent it flying over the cliff and into the rocks a hundred feet below.It all happened in half a minute, and in the next 30 seconds the rest of the hounds had spread out.

However, Langdon's Airedale is a fighter.Every Airedale dog is a fighting dog, specially trained by Otto and Mitusen until the hound doesn't whimper when you pull the hound's ears.Of course, the tragic fate of the two hounds frightened them as much as their pursuit frightened Thor.

Like lightning, the hounds quickly surrounded the grizzly. They each stretched out their forelimbs, ready to jump to the side or bounce back at any time, in order to avoid the sudden attack; Hunters, indicating that the grizzly has been cornered.This is the task of the hunting dog, which is to harass and sneak attack the prey, and keep blocking or delaying the escape of the prey until the owner of the hunting dog arrives and kills the prey.This is a very fair and exciting game between bear and hound.Then the hunter would come with a gun and end the game with murder.

If the Hound has tricks, so does Thor.Three or four times Thor struck in vain, for the Eyre Valley, with his great agility, evaded him.So Thor backed away slowly towards the boulder, and Muska curled up beside the boulder.Thor is retreating, and the Hound is approaching step by step.

The barking of the hounds grew louder, and it was evident that Thor could not drive the hounds away, or tear them to pieces.This frightened Muska, who turned suddenly and rushed into the rock crevice behind him.

Thor backed back and forth until his hip touched the boulder.Then Thor turned his head sideways, looking for the cub.Not even a hair of Mascar was to be seen.

Thor shook his head again, looked left and right, and after that, he was sure that Muska had left.So, it continued to retreat, and did not stop until it blocked the narrow passage.

At this time, the hound was barking like a maniac, the slender neck erected like a brush handle, and the mouth was drooling, showing snarling fangs and red gums.

The hounds approached Thor step by step, challenging him, keeping him from retreating, luring him to attack, luring him to catch them.However, the space the excited hound left behind him was only ten yards wide.Thor estimated the spatial distance using the same algorithm that he had measured the reindeer's distance from him a few days earlier.Then, without too much growling and warning to the hounds, Thor rushed at the hounds, and the sudden attack forced the hounds to flee desperately.

Thor didn't stop, it was still fighting.Thor measured the distance and actual location of the trail, which was narrowed to only five feet wide by abrupt rock walls.Thor caught the last hound and crushed it under the bear's paw.Then it tore at the Airedale dog, and the hound struggled, screaming, and the sound reached Otto and Langdon.

At this moment, the two of them were panting and hurried over.The wind stagnates between the basin and the slope.

Thor was lying on the narrow path, and the hounds roared again. He was still tearing at the hapless hound, leaving blood, hair, and internal organs on the rocks.Then Thor stood up, and he was looking for Muska again.At this time, the cub curled up into a ball, shivering, and squatted with both feet in the crack.Thor may be thinking, Muska has already gone up the mountain, it can't waste time now, it has to leave the fighting scene as soon as possible.The wind picked up again, and Thor caught a strong scent on it, the sweat of Otto and Langdon.

For a full 10 minutes, Thor ignored the seven hounds barking behind him.Occasionally, it just stops, turns its head, and takes a look.Thor continued to retreat, and the Airedale became more and more courageous. Finally, an Airedale jumped up and rushed forward, biting Thor's leg with its fangs.This move accomplishes what barking cannot.Thor roared, turned, and went after the hounds again, back fifty yards up the trail. Five minutes later, Thor turned around and continued walking up, toward the ridge.

If the wind had come from the other direction, perhaps the Hounds would have triumphed, but every time Langdon and Otto sped forward, the wind would send their warm scents to Thor, keeping him on his toes.The Grizzlies have been cautious and let the wind blow from the right.Of course, it would have been easier and quicker to reach the summit by taking the short cut on the sloping back side of the trail, but that way Thor would have lost the scent of the hunters and their position.As long as Thor took advantage of the wind, it was safe, unless the hunters made a detour to block it, and Thor's means of escape would be checked.

It took Thor half an hour to reach the highest point of the ridge.If it follows the shale side of the mountain from the highest point and goes up two or three hundred yards, it reaches the watershed of the range.In doing so, however, Thor would have to jump out of hiding and expose himself.

Thor did just that.It sprinted suddenly, throwing the hound behind him thirty or forty yards away.In two or three minutes, Thor's silhouette on the mountain is clearly visible if viewed from the bottom up, especially in the last minute, Thor's silhouette is not blocked by a shrub branch or a rock, and it is full of snow. It looks very handsome against the white snow.

Otto and Langdon saw Thor five hundred yards away, and they opened fire.

The first bullet flew close to the top of Thor's head, sounding strange and screeching; in an instant there was the crackling of the rifle, and the second shot sent flying snow five yards in front of Thor.Thor moved quickly to the right, sideways in the shooter's direction, when he heard a third shot.

While the gunshots were still echoing off the cliffs, Thor was struck hard on the head by something that fell like a baseball bat from the sky and landed five inches behind his right ear.Thor fell to the ground like a log.

The shot was just a slanted pass with little blood, but it stunned the bear for a moment, like someone being hit in the jaw and momentarily dazed.

Before Thor could get up from the fall, the hounds were already on him, tearing at his throat, neck, and body.Then, with a growl, Thor jumped up, and he broke free from the hounds. He was fighting fiercely, and both Langdon and Otto heard his roar.Now they were standing with their fingers on the triggers of their rifles.They waited, and fired their final shots once the Hound was a little farther from Thor.

Thor climbed up step by step, while baring his teeth at the mad hounds, he ignored the smell of people, the strange "thunder", the burning "lightning", and even death.Langdon was five hundred yards below, cursing desperately because the hounds were too close for Thor to shoot.

The ferocious hound became Thor's shield, "protecting" it to the intersection of the mountain top and the sky.At the top of the hill, Thor disappeared, followed by the Hound.After that, the barking of the hound gradually became weaker.The grizzly bear was in front and the hounds were behind. It quickly avoided the threat of the hunter.It's a thrillingly long game, and more than one hound will be doomed forever.

(End of this chapter)