Grizzly King

Chapter 19

Though the Hound was still a mile away, Thor heard the Hound barking.Thor was less inclined to shun the Hound than he had been a few days ago.why?There are two reasons.If it's just a hound, Thor is not afraid.It was, by contrast, afraid of a multitude of badgers, or of a multitude of screeches that sounded at it from the rocks.Thor found that all the hounds had only mouths and small fangs, and he easily defeated them, but the fellow who followed the hounds made him uneasy.But today Thor stood still and came face to face with the one who brought the strange smell into the valley, and Thor did him no harm.In addition, Thor is also looking for the female bear Escovar - humans are not the only species willing to risk their lives for love.

On that fateful day, the Hound chased Thor over the hills.As Otto expected, Thor did not continue to go south, but made a large circle to the north.After the fight, Muska got separated.On the third night, Thor found the female bear Eskvar.It was also at dusk that day that Pipenascus died.Thor heard the sharp crackle of Otto's gun.Thor stayed with Escovar that night.The next day, the two of them were also together and spent the day and night.After that, Thor left Escovar.When Thor was looking for Escovar for the third time, he found Langdon and trapped him on the ledge.However, before it smelled Escovar's breath, it first heard the roar of the hounds tracking it.

At this time, Thor was walking south, getting closer to the hunter's camp.It had been walking on the higher slopes, where the slopes were shallow and the grass less, and the slopes were fragmented by patches of shale, deep trenches, and occasional raised rocks.Thor walked against the wind, so that if he got close to Escovar, he would not lose his scent of the she-bear.Thor heard the barking of the hounds, but did not smell the animal being pursued, nor the two men who followed on horseback.

At any other time, Thor would have played his usual trick and made a detour.That way, favorable winds can help it anticipate danger.But now, Thor is eager to find his mate, and being cautious is no longer the most important thing.When the hound was within half a mile of him, he stopped suddenly, sniffing the air; then he sped on, till he was stopped by a narrow ravine.

Escoval was emerging from the lower slope of the mountain, and it was crawling rapidly towards the top of the deep valley.Thor hurriedly climbed down, just in time to meet Escovar, but at this moment, the ferocious barking of hounds sounded nearby.Escovar paused, and it sniffed Thor's nose to nose; then Escovar walked on again, ears drooping back in frustration, and a threatening snarl rising from his throat.

Thor followed Escovar, who roared too.Thor knew that Eskvar was running away from the hounds, and he followed behind, crawling up the mountain, and the relentless anger slowly built up and spread throughout his body again.

At such moments, Thor was in a particularly bad mood.A week ago he was a fighter, the hounds chased him, he was chased; but when danger threatened his mate, Thor became a demon, a cruel and merciless one.

Thor was behind Eskvar, getting farther and farther away from the she-bear; twice she turned, with sharp fangs gleaming in her mouth, and with a defiant growl like muffled thunder, she rolled towards her opponent.

Thor climbed out of the ravine and came near the peak.I saw Escovar crawling towards the skyline in a panic.Wherever it went, there was chaos, rocks slid off the sandstone cliffs, and many broken stones fell and piled up in piles.The skyline was above Thor, less than three hundred yards away.It looked up, and Escovar was buried in the rock.

The hounds were getting closer and closer to Thor, they growled loudly, and they were approaching the deep valley. Thor turned around, and he was waiting for them.

At this time, Langdon looked through the binoculars. Half a mile to the south, he saw Thor, and almost at the same time, the Hound also appeared.Langdon rode halfway up the hill, climbed from there to higher ground, and followed a well-trodden path at the same level as Thor's position.Langdon stopped, and from where he stood he looked through the binoculars across the valley for miles around.Langdon didn't look far before he spotted Otto and the Indian.They dismounted near the ravine, and Langdon watched as they galloped into the ravine and disappeared.

Langdon's telescope turned to Thor again.Now the hounds surrounded it.Langdon knew that in that kind of open space, the grizzly bear wouldn't have a chance.Then Langdon saw something moving upward among the rocks, and he vaguely saw Escovar climbing steadily toward the craggy peak.Oh!With a soft cry, Langdon realized that it was a female bear, and the grizzly bear was her mate, and she stopped to fight.If the hounds surrounded the bear for ten or fifteen minutes, the bear would be lost, and Otto and Mitusen would be at the edge of the ravine, within a hundred yards of Thor.

Langdon stuffed the binoculars into its case and sprinted down the narrow path.He went well for the first two hundred yards; then the road broke up and became an innumerable trail.The trails were slippery and soft on shale slopes, and it took Langdon five minutes to advance the fifty yards.

Then the trail hardened again.Panting for breath, he kept running.After another five minutes, the ridge blocked Langdon's view, and he could not see Thor and the Hound.Then Langdon ran another fifty yards over the ridge.Just under the ridge, suddenly, he stopped.A steep ravine blocked the way forward.Now he was five hundred yards from Thor, and there was Thor with his back to the rock and his great head facing the hounds.

As Langdon watched, he braced himself for a cry; meanwhile, he expected to see Otto and Mitusson emerge from the chasm.Suddenly, he thought, even if they heard the shouts, they could not understand him; Otto could not have guessed that he wanted to spare the beast who had been hunting for nearly two weeks.

Thor swooped down on the hounds, driving them a good twenty yards down the ravine, while Langdon sprang swiftly behind a rock.There's only one way to save Thor now, and hopefully it's not too late.The pack retreated a few yards down the slope, and Langdon's gun was aimed at the pack.There is only one thought in his mind:
Either abandon the Hound, or let Thor die.Thor spared his life this day!

Langdon didn't hesitate. He pulled the trigger.This is a long-range shot.The first bullet kicked up a cloud of dust, but it was fifty feet away from the dog of Air Valley.Langdon fired again, but missed.The gun crackled again for the third time, and there was an immediate scream of pain, though Langdon himself didn't hear it.A hound rolled on the ground, down a ramp.

The gunfire did not affect Thor, but at this point, Thor saw one of his opponents fall, rolling down the hill.So it turned slowly, and was carried away to the safety of the rock pile.Then, the fourth and fifth shots fired.At the fifth shot, the howling hounds retreated into the deep valley, and one hound was hit on the front foot and limped.

Langdon jumped onto the boulder where his gun rested, his eyes fixed on the skyline.Escobar had just reached the top of the hill, and it stopped for a while, looked down, and then disappeared.

By now, Thor had hidden himself among boulders and piles of broken sandstone, following the trail of the she-bear.Less than 2 minutes after the grizzly disappeared, Otto and Mitusen crawled to where it had been.From where they were standing, even shooting towards the skyline, they were within pretty good range.However, Langdon suddenly yelled excitedly, waving his arms and pointing down.

Otto and Mitusson are tricked by Langdon.In fact, Thor walked away from the rock pile, and the hounds were roaring and barking at the nearby rock pile, but Otto and Mitusen believed that the whereabouts of the bear could be seen from where Langdon was standing, and the grizzly bear must be on the way. Run towards the valley.So they ran another hundred yards down the slope, and then they stopped, turned their heads, and looked at Langdon again.Where should I go?Standing on the rock, Langdon pointed to the skyline.

Thor just reached the skyline.It stopped for a while, and Escovar also stopped, and they both looked at the humans one last time.

Langdon waved his hat and called out, "Good luck, old friend, good luck!"

(End of this chapter)