The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1878-04-23

before they could be seen. Throwing
herself upon her knees, the little girl
pushed aside the glossy green leaves and
with a low cry of delight stopped down
and kissed the clusters and fragrant ber-
ries as they lay fresh and bright before
her,
80 you dear, darling little things ~
cried she, how love to see you again,
and know that the rest of the pretty
things are coming right along ~
The she began to pluck, and put them
sometimes in her mouth, some in her
pail and SO long did she linger over her
pleasant task that the sun was already
in the tops of the pine trees, when re-
turning from little excursion in the
woods to get sprig from a shad bush,'
Roxie halted just within the border of
the little glade, and stood a moment
transfixed with horror.
Beside the pail she had left brimful of
berries, sat bear cub scooping out the
treasures with his paw, and greedily de
vouring them apparently quite delighted
that some one had saved him the trouble
of gathering his favorite berries for him
self.
One moment of dumb terror and then
a feeling of anger and reckless courage
filled the heart of the woodsman's child,
and darting forward, she made a snatch
at her pail, at the same time dealing the
your robber sharp blow over the face
and eyes with branch of the shad-bush
in her hand, and exclaiming:
You great horrid thing Every
single berry is gone now, for won't eat
them after you. So nowl"
But, so far from being penitent or
frightened, the bear took this interference
and especially the blow, in very bad part
and after moment of blinking aston
ishment, he sat up on his launches,
growled little, showed his teeth, and
then intimated very plainly that unless
that pail of berries was restored at once,
there would be trouble for some one
But this was not the first bear cub that
Roxie had seen, and her temper was up
as well as the bears. So, firmly grasp
ing the pail, she began to retreat back
ward, at first slowly, but as the bear
dropped on his feet and seemed inclined
to follow her, or rather the pail of ber-
ries, she lost courage, and turning, be-
gan TO run, not caring or noting in what
direction and still mechanically grasp
ing the pail of berries.
Suddenly, through the close crowding
pines which had so nearly shut out the
daylight, appeared an open space, and
RoXie hailed it with delight, for it was
the river, and once across the river she
felt as if she would he safe Even i'm
the brief glance she threw around as she
burst from the edge of the wood, she
saw that here was neither the bridge nor
the ford which she had crossed in the
morning point altogether strange and
new to her, and, as she judged, further
down the river, since the space from
shore to shore was considerably WIDER
But the bear was close behind, and
neither time nor courage for deliberation
was at hand, and RoXie, after her mo-
ment's pause, sprang forward upon the
ice, closely followed by the clumsy little
beast.
AT that very moment, "a mile farther up
the stream, Mr.. Beamish and his son
Jake were cautiously driving Bob across
the frozen ford and the old man was
saying:
I'm afraid we'll have to go round by
the bridge after this, Jake. shouldn't
wonder if the river broke up this very
night"
1t wouldn't do for Roxie to come
over here again alone,' said Jake, prob
ing crack in the ice with his stick
And Roxie-poor little Roxie-whom
Jake was so glad to think of as safe at
home, was at that very moment stepping
over wide crack between two great
masses of ice and staring forlornly about
her, for little way in advance appeared
another great gap, and the bear close be-
hind was whimpering with terror as he
clung to the edge of the floating mass
upon which Roxie had only just leaped,
and which he had failed to jump upon.
Shaking with cold and fright, the little
girl staggered forward across the ice un-
til at its farther edge she came upon a
narrow, swiftly rolling tide, increasing
in width at every moment-the current
of the river suddenly set free from its
winter bondage, and rapidly dashing
away its chains.
RoXie turned back but the crack she