St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1895-09-20

was still ignorant of her retreat.
The bees were out in great force that
afternoon. The fronts OF some of the
hives were black with them, and from
each low hive-hole stretched a widening
stream of busy insects. The hummng
throng attracted the bulls attention,
and he halted just before one Of the lar
gest colonies. He was hot, and the bees
did not like his presence. AS they buzzed
angrily about his head he shook his ears,
then dug his horns into the ground and
threw a shower of earth over the near
est hive
This was challenge and the bees
were not slow to accept it. He felt sew
eral hot stings in his ears, and lowering
his horns again with a grunt Of indigna'
ton, he threw another shower of earth.
Then the bees began to swarm upon
his hide, seeking out the tenderest spots
with their stings. They thrust veno-
mously at his eyes his cars his nostrls.
wherever the hair was thin and the skin
tender they gathered with unerring in
stinct. The astonished animal switched
his tail madly, skipped about with short
beIlowings Of rage and surprise, and
rooted his smarting nose in the soft
earth of the carrot patch. Bees were
quite a new experience to him. But he
was not long in connecting them with
the white hive that stood so boldly be-
fore him. Here he saw was new and
intolerablc kind of fly: there in that
white box was its home, it's breeding
place. He would crush the nuisance.
Mamie was forgotten. Hope had come
back to the heart of the trembling girl
where she crouched amid the pea-vines,
for she saw that in the bees she had
found a potent ally.
Throwing his heels high in the air, the
bull launched himself upon the nearest
hive. Over it went with a dull crash,
and in dark cloud out pulled the bees.
The bull felt myriad of little flames
descend upon him scorchingly, but with
quiveriug skin he endured them for a mo-
ment, while his horns and mighty fore
head made kindlng wood of the hive.
He lifted his head with a roar Of tri-
umph, the honey streaming down his
face and bits of comb dropping from his
horns and ears.
At this moment the poison from the
innumerable stings that were piercing
him went through his nerves like fire,
and he seemed to realize that the triumph
was, after ALL not his. He bounded des-
perately into the air, no longer able to
endure the whitening torment. To Nan
MES eyes he seemed wrapped in a cloud
of black gauze, so thckly swarmed the
bees around him. Believing shrily with
terror he plunged forward into the rasp-
berry thicket, and dashed through it
right up to the garden fence. The
branches scraped off many OF his assail
ants and bewildered the pursuing
swarms. When he reached the fence he
wheeled and galloped madly back across
the garden, passing within few feet o.
Nannie's hiding place. Down went corr
and sunfower, hollyhock and larkspur
before that blind charge. A moment
later he disCerned the gate, swept through
it, carrying away a post as he went, and
Numbered up the road beyond sight and
hearing.
When he was surely gone, Mamie was
too prudent to expose herself to the bees
!, She crept cautiously beyond their range
keeping low in the thickest of the peas
the currant bushes and the raspberries
Last she stole through high covert o
artichokes, beyond which the bees were
not circling. She ran to the house anC
up stairs, where her grandmother, who
had been awakened by the roaring of the
bull, was standing at the window speech
less with wrath at the destruction which
) had been wrought among her cherished
bees. Little did she dream of the peri
from which Mamie had just escaped
Only after a wild burst of tears, was
Mamie able to recount her strange ad
venture.-Charles G. b. Roberts, in New
York independent.