The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1906-01-26

BOXES oil apples TO market at once.
The better to serve their present pur-
pose, Clement covered the top of it
over with boards lightly nailed, and
made a peep-hole in the tailboard.
The chamber thus formed inside
the body permitted one to sit at ease
on low stool, and Clement placed
the little lamp and cup of magnesium
powder for making the fash on top
of the body outside.
With this by way of outfit, the two
young people sat up several nights,
watching for the bears. Lucretia was
afraid to remain out there in the
wagon alone, and Clement was
obliged to go along, too.
BY the second night, however,
Clements interest in watching for
bears that did not come mad nearly
vanished. He fell asleep at the front
end of the wagon. But his sister
maintained the vigil assiduously. She
could sleep through the days; Glenn
ent was obliged to work.
Bears came to the trees at the far
end of the row during the third night,
but they were not near enough to be
photographed After this, Clement
refused to spend the night in the
wagon; he preferred his bed. But
Lucretia persevered She had by this
time grown accustomed to her hid
ing-place in the wagon body, and she
ventured to remain there alone. Glenn
ent 1lmself considered the place safe
enough for ner He did not believe
that bear would go near the wagon.
He slept with his window up, how
ever.
On either the fourth or fifth night
of her prolonged effort to "hunt with
a camera" Miss Brooks fell asleep,
perhaps for an hour or two. A con-
siderable jar and rafting of the wag-
on walked her suddenly. She looked
out at the peep-hole. The night was
starlit, and it seemed to her that
those apple-trees were full Of bears!
Branches were cracking and apples
were falling by the bushel! There
were loud champing sounds, cough
ing, snuff1ing, and all the riotous COM
motion of an ursine feast.
For the moment our amateur pho
tographer was not much alarmed, but
rather elated. This was just wat
she had watched for. In nervous
haste she reached for her camera and
made ready to work the flash-light.
Just then, however, the wagon was
Jared again, and she heard shut
fling noise close beside it.
Could this be Clement? But on
peering forth she saw very large
animal within an arms length of the
peep-hole. Its great muzzle was
raised to sniff the cart!
Miss Brooks gasped in terror
wnereupon the animal rose upon it's
launches with a low growl. This
completed her CONSERVATION, for the
creature doomed up much taller than
the cart 1t seemed to her to be
eight, yes, ten feet tall, and so near
that she smelled it's breath.
She felt sure that at stroke OF
one of those big, dropping paws it
could have knocked the cart body to
bits.
Miss Brooks did what most young
ladies would do under circumstances
SO startling-she screamed, or at
tempted to do So but was so terrified
that she merely made faint sound.
The bear snuffed repeatedly and went
ambling round the wagon, evidently
investigating those little, gaspy
squeaks.
BY this time Clement had arrived
on the scene with his gun. He, too,
had been soundly asleep at the cabin,
but walked, having heard through the
open windows the sounds of urSine
activity in the orchard. He jumped
up and putting his head out at the
window to listen, distinguished his
sisters little gasping cries.
MY heart nearly Topped over" so
Clement wrote in a letter, for l
thought those bears were eating Lu-
cretia up! | grabbed my gun and
ran up there. At every step l could
hear the faint little squeak! 1t was
awful! | didn't expect to get there
There wasn't much left of her, to
judge by the sound!
81 ran along beside the log fence,
and tnen l saw that tremendous big
bear moseying round the wagon. Just
as l got there he swung round on
the upper side of it, so that he stood
clear of the body, and l cooked both
barrels and let go at him. l was wild
with fear, for l thought that bear
had eaten Lucretia. He looked big
enough to eat a whole family.
1.-THE bear gave yell and ran. The
other bears left, too, when they heard
the gun. | could hear them leaping
out of the apple-trees, swarming
over the log fence, coughing up APP
pies, making a general stampede up
into the tall timber. But didn't stop
to listen to them, ran to the wagon.
Lucretia!' l exclaimed, with a
terrible sick feeling coming over me.
Speak, can't you? Are you alive
And with that Lucretia put her