He had taken off his coat, and he now swung it out before him in a half-circle, and as it struck the bear it covered his own position.

He swung aside once more and drove his arm into the dark.

The bayonet struck the nose of the beast.
Now there was a knocking and a hammering at the window, and the wrenching of the shutters.

He gathered himself together for the next assault.

Suddenly he felt that every particle of strength had gone out of him.