Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1896-05-08
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trees, strikes narrow CLEANS OF silver out
of the black pool to the children's right,
and paints softer and brighter the soft,
bright green of the moss ON cypress
trunks The cypress trees grow in the
water. This is the "swag land" that
Claude's mother cautions him daily to
shun, for in that muddy water two help
less children might sink and die, and
their shrieks be never heard
No doubt Claude looked upward at
the clusters of mistletoe, the white her
ries of which cleaned among the tree
tops and wished himself as big as Luci
us. Lucius had been promised a whole
large silver dollar when he should fetch
barrel of mistletoe and holly to Mr..
Crosby, the northern gentleman who
was staying at Colonel Ormond's. He
was very accomplished gentleman, this
northern gentleman. He had come from
Texas, where he had killed bears and
deer and learned to lasso wild horses
He was going to send the mistletoe to a
pretty young lady north. He told Claude
SO himself. Claude thought that it must
be his sister. He gave Claude 30 cents
once, for nothing on earth but gathering
him bag of pecan nuts. He had as
much money as that
Marveling over such wealth and gen
crosby, Claude ran along the path. They
had reached the lowlands, and Claude,
who obediently kept on the higher
ground, was lifting baby sister in order
to carry her across a muddy place when
an awful thing happened Claude saw
bear. Not bear in picture this time;
a real flesh and blood, fur and claws
bear He was plain to SEQ, coming at
gentle pace through the trees, huge
! bulk of grayish black, with black muz-
zle, and a red, red tongue lolling be-
tween two jagged white saws of teeth
Claude's heart bumped against his
ribs. His thin legs shook to the extent
that he had like to have dropped baby
sister. Was the bad bear come to eat
| them at last? In one swift and agonized
glance his eyes seized on the single
chance of escape A log f1oated on the
water of the hollow, one end almost
touching the dry ground, the other
against blackberry tree, Like all such
trees, the blackberry had knots and
| Jumps ON the trunk, and many low
| growing limbs. Children that had climb
ed from babyhood could wriggle mp the
tree by these knots and sit in the
branches. The unsteady log would bear
their light weight, but it would not hold
up big bear.
1t is not likely that Claude reasoned
the matter out completely. Some in.
stinctive picture of such a thing came to
| him, and he hurried baby sister on to
the safety bridge. She had seen the bear
now. She was sure it was the bad bear
sent on a mission of vengeance because
she had been "mean," and she chung to
Claude, trembling, so that she nearly
toppled him over, aud wailing: ooh,
| don't let bear eat baby Baby be good
Me good now !" in a piteous small voice
of fright.
How poor little Claude, with his heart
| jumping and his legs shaking, was able
to trundle that fat and frightened baby
over the wet, Shiny, unstable log is hard
to explain. Somehow he did do it, half
holding, half pushing baby sister. Well
for both children that their feet were
shod with nothing more slippery than
their own skinl
They could hear the bear heavily plod-
ding through the underbrush. They
dared not look behind, they dared not
hurry, for black death was ambushed in
the morass waiting only slip.
They scrambled up the blackberry
branches Claude helped baby sister into
a crotch. She was too little and feeble
to climb very high. After he had crawl
| ed beside her he ventured to look back.
Yes, the bear was coming. Deliberately
he waddled across the road to the log.
He mounted the log. He was walking
on the log.
Mamma mammal screamed the
frightened baby, "bear fixin to eat me -
Claude burst into walls and cried for
his mother, too, but in an instant he was
shouting with relief: Look "a there
Look a there He done mired upH'
Sure enough, the bridge that had been
none too stout for the two babies sank
under the big bear, and off he swashed
into the swamp with mighty thud and
sputter. He heaved and plunged until
be got two paws upon the log, but a
could do no more, and perhaps he Ie-
signed himself to his bathtub, the day
not being cold, and his coat being thick
one, since he presently gave over his
struggles and stood passively eying the
children with perfectly gentle and
sleepy stare.
Now, know, if Claude did not, that
the bear had stopped at Farmer Nor
mans storehouse and gluttonously de-
voured whole side Of "middlings.
feel no sort of surprise at his peaceful
ways. He must have been stuffed too
full for jumping about much
But as Claude looked at his mild eyes
a wonderful thought came to him. Was
it the bad bear? Bad bears in the stories
never pursued any except naughty,
"mean" children. And Claude had not
been "mean." He had been "toting"
baby sister home as we'll as he could,
d, while baby sister had been "sorter
like" which is Arkansas for cross,
ne had repented and was running along
good as good. he stared hard at the
bear. He was half persuaded that the
bear meant to speak. Bears conversed
fluently in the stories.
"Please, SIR" said Claude, sis you
the good bear?"
The bear grunted.
"What, sir?" said Claude, with anx-
ious politeness.
"Ur-r-rp' said the bear.
"He D'iutedlV does favor the circns