The Saint Paul globe., 1904-12-18


bulge and animal spirits yourself, and
it's quite different to have your pardner
work it on you. At last, however, /
concluded It would be all the same the
next century, and turned in, but was
so ratified that forgot the bears, and
didn't lock up with the usual care.
It must have been about in the
morning when woke all in tremble
/ had the feeling that things were away
off, but I couldn't place what was the
matter, until looked at the square of
moonlight on the floor that came
through the window, and was near to
screech like a tomcat, for there was a
monstrous black shadow bobbing back
and forth in the patch of light.
drew on my back for all the sand had
and raised my eyes. BY all the Nor
mon gods! My heart fairly knocked
my ribs loose. Nicely framed in the
window was the head of a grizzly, and
I'll take my oath it wasn't over size
smaller than beer baTreli
6 " Now, thinks l. if l can only get
that gun before he sees me, and if the
cussed thing will only do the right
thing by me this encei'
So out [ steps, and the first rattle
out of the box 1 stumbled on few
dozen of the purchases Ag had brought
home, and. down them and me came
like an earthquake. I scarf the bear so
he drew back, no use trying to work
sneak now. Jumped for the holster,
unlinlbefed, and turned the gun loose
for general results. l guess every load
went off, from the noise, and she flew
out of my hand and vanished behind
me. Lord! The place was full of
smoke. and the plunder that was scat
tered around so you could neither see
nor walk, and that bear was sWatting
the door in fashion that showed he
was going to give us a call any old how
and I was plumb distracted-for the
life of me I didn't know what to do.
g Don't make such damn noise,'
growls Aggy.
You'd better get out of that.' I
yells. You'll get noise enough in a
minute!' But he didn't pay the least
attention.
"Just before the door went down
broke for the cock loft; it was the only
spot that seemed to hold the teeniest
bit Of safety. I clim up the wall like
a hoppergrass, but had no more than
made it when my friend was in the
house. Twas me he wanted to see, too,
apparently, for he never noted any,
thing else, but headed straight for the
loft. I had kind of hoped the other
two would amuse him for while, but
It wasn't to be. With the door down,
the moonlight streamed in so it was
almost as light as day.
Keep your big feet off mel says
Ag, very indignant, as the bear walked
on him. It's great thing not to know
who you're talking to sometimes.
frVNo1l hr0tbor hnor I1non6c him calf
and reaches for the loft. He could
just nicely hook his front toenails on
the board, and when I saw that 1 would
have sold myself out hide and hair
and good will of the business extreme
ly reasonable Here's where my es-
teemed friend Hydraulic Smith gets
piped out l thought, and I tried to
meet my finish like a man, but there
was something about winding up as
filler for a dirty, smelly bear wrapper
that took all the poetry out of the sit
uation.
'T saw that Aggy had got on to the
state of affairs at last; he was crawl
ing backward very cautious, and he
had a look of panied surprise on his
face that beat anything I'd ever seen
on the phiz of man or beast before.
For all was so scarf that was sweat
ing icicles, couldn't help but snicker.
Howsomever, at that moment brother
bear threw his weight on the board
and she snapped like a toothpick, and
my merry smile took a walk. Lord,
was in a desperate fix He had only
to keep on pulling down boards to the
last one, and then, of course, I'd come
down with 1t.
Something had to be done. grabbed
a sack of flour and heaved it at him; {;
the sack caught on splinter and
ripped, so beyond covering him with
powder 1t had no particular result. He
did stop and taste the flour. but, heav-