The Opelousas courier., 1899-09-02

the air Of one who goes forth to battle
that she gripped her torch and
clutched her apron of sweet apples, as
she turned again to the blackness of
the forest path.
Between this cabin and the next the
distance was but half O mile. Her
nerves were now getting so we'll stead
led that sho no longer cared for the
looming and shifting shadoro' hll at
length Il shadow distinctly smhI>er
than the rest made the underbrusn
rustic audibly with it's motion. Her
heart gave a most uncomfortable leap,
and she straightway thought of the wolf
which her husband had spoken of.
But, wolf or shadow, it fled away with
out menacing her and she came in
safety to the last cabin between her
and home. =
Here the neighbors were asleep and
she had to arouse them in order to
beg another pine-knot. The n
which she had got at the previous
house was by no mean burned out,
but she feared lest it should fai! be-
fore the end of her journey. The
sleepy neighbors were aston1shed at
her appearance. They threatened to
detain her by force, when she refused
their invitation to stay all night with
them. But Mrs. Buckler was by this
time a good deal "workod up" as she
afterwards expressed herself; and she
treated their kind p]ersuasions with
scant courtesy. She almost ran from
the house; but in her apron. among
the sweet apples, she carried the ex-
ira pine knot. all the same.
To ward off unpleasant thoughts,
she kept picturing in her mind the way
the children would enjoy the apples in
the morning. She also thought of the
remonstranoes, tempered with ill-con-
cealed admiration, with which her
husband would greet her return. Her
blood quite glowed again as she
thought of the lofty fashion in which
she would make light of it all. Just
at this moment she saw, in the middle
of the path before her, a large black
bear, watching her curiously.
Her heart stood still, and 81, her.
self instantly followed his e example,.
Then she reflected that she must APP
pear calmly Indifferent, if she would
hope to escape. Slowly she moved
forward again, waving her torch; and
the bear, stepping out of the path,
watched her steadily from among the
underbrush as she went by. Then he
stepped back into the path and fol-
lowed her.
Her first and most natural impulse
was to run like the wind for home, but
this, after one startled leap forward,
she checked with a mighty effort Of
her will. She walked on with swift
but steady steps, watching the bear
ont of the corner of her eye, but all
the time clutching o~bstinately at her
apronful of apples. The bear, very
slowly, kept drawing closer and closer,
bent upon attacking, but evidently de-
tered by dread of the torch.
But the torch, meanwhile, was burn
ing low; and Mrs. Buckler, in her ex-
element, failed at first to notice this.
She was holding the pine-knot over
her shoulder, as a sort of shield
against her pursuer. When, with a
shaking at the knees, she realized that
it was on the point of Pickering out,
she tried hastily to light the other;
and in the effort some of her treasured
apples fell out of her apron, and rolled
behind her on the path.
As soon as the bear came to these
apples he stopped, and began devour-
ing them with the keenest relish.
"Why!" thought Mrs. Buckner,
with a sudden tightening of her load
of terror; sits not me he's after, but
the sweet applesl" and straightway all
her old courage returned.
She paused, and took time to light
her new pine-knot deliberately and
we'll. Then she hurried on and it
was some minutes before her pursuer
was again at her heels.
And now, SO sudden are the revul-
sions of a woman's feelings, she was
concerned only for the sweet apples. |
They were the children's apples; and
it went sorely against her grain to let
a bear have any of them. Not until
he had come most uncomfortably |
close could she bring herself to again.
propitiate him; and then she doled
out but three of the precious green
globes, dropping them oil the path be-
hind her with slow Reluctance.
The animal took perhaps a quarter |
of a minute to dispose of this Mig
gardly contribution, and then came |
on again with a sort of hopeful conf
dence.
"No!" declared Mrs. Blu ckler, firm |