Los Angeles herald., 1905-02-19
The Dog, the Deer
and the Bear

WHitn ne ndu IOunQ IN Ine
woods, the little deer was at once in
troduced to Towser Harold's pup. a
dog of fine breed, with hunting blood
In his veins.
Within a week the pup and the fawn
were tolerably good friends. Once in a
while the dog would in a moment Of
playfulness bowl over the fawn and
frighten it so that It would stand all
a-quiver in some corner, with eyes as
bright and flashing as two stars.
The fawn grew faster than the dog,
and within few months it stood as
high from the ground as Towser; but
the pup was heavier and stronger and
the young deer swfter and more agile.
The strange friendship developed and
Strengthened through daily association.
though between the two there always
existed a certain antipathy that could
not be entirely eliminated. They were
not responsible for it, for long lines of
ancestors had made them what they
were. The fawn was always suspic-
ious and Towser was always scenting
the trail and holding his head up in
strange, eager expectancy.
Some day, I'm afraid, they're going
to fight it out for the mastery" prophe-
sled Mr.. Winsted, shaking his head
dubiously. He had come upon the two
Unexpectedly when they were in one
Of their defiant moods, and only his
voice and presence probably prevented
a duel.
"Then we must keep them apart,
father" said Harold firmly. Il don't
want to lose either one"
So after that the buck was kept in a
field shut off from Towser's quarters
by high wire fence. This fence was
woven so tight and close that the dog
could not get through or under it.
This separation of the two, instead Of
strengthening their friendship, ap-
peared to estrange them more than
ever. They were now only allowed to
be together when accompanied by
Harold they went out for walks in the
woods.
One day they wandered long dis
tance from the house, and found them
selves on the border of wild, beauti-
full lake, fringed on all sides with large,
primeval trees and thick bushes. Har-
old climbed out on a fallen tree to
fish. The water was very deep, and
as the boy could not swim he took par
ticular care to sit firmly astride of the
log, with his back to the woods. Tow
yI01 IL. L.
and lay down in the sun to sleep. The
deer wandered along the edge of the
lake to crop the rich, succulent grass
that flourished there
Harold was so intent upon his fish
ing and Towser so sleepy that neither
one noticed the cracking of the bushes
back of them. They were only made
aware of it by deep growl so close
to them that they started up in sur
prise.
Standing with one paw on the log
and dripping jaws wide open was
huge bear-the biggest cinnamon bear
that Harold had ever seen, dead or
alive. The animal was hungry and
and he stood between the boy
and dog and the shore.
"If 1 could only swim!" Harold mur-
INJURED to himself glancing at the
water. The lake was so deep that he
could not see bottom and he knew he
had no chance in that direction. He
had retreated to the very end of the
log, and he was completely cornered.
Towser was also backing toward him,
him almost into the water.
He was very pale and frightened,
and the bear was so close now that
the vicious blows with his front paws
almost reached Towser's head.
But just at this moment there was
sound in the bushes along the edge of
the lake. The bear heard it, and the
boy and the dog heard it, but none of
them took much notice. What could
come out of the forest to disturb old
Bruin or help Harold and Towser?
Attracted by the dogs wild barking,
the deer was trottng toward the scene.
When he saw the bear he first stopped
and snorted. Flight was the first in
stinct that stopped him. Then he
pranced around little on his hind legs,
his head raised high in the air.
Before the bear could turn or the
boy and dog move, the buck shot for
ward with the swiftness Of an arrow
launched from bow. With marvel
Gus precision and deftness the lowered
head came straight for the bear. The
body fairly leaped from the shore
across the log, and landed directly
against the broad back of the bear.
There was a dull thud, a growl, and
a splash! The bear was crumpled up
in heap and knocked clean off the log
into the lake. While he was splashing
and spluttering around in the water
Harold and Towser ran along the log
to the shore.
There on the edge of the lake stood
the buck, with head high and eyes de-
hant. When the bear swan toward
the shore he was received by another
blow from the hard antlers. In vain