The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1909-04-04
.rnat,s what bid dIa lo. He'd

bars had killed In the past i've
wears, ANA mebbe he also knowed
about the old woman hein' away. !
was lyin' on the bed In sich way
that when | had turned over a bit !
could see the varmint standin' In the
ioah and surveyin' things. He didn't
waste more'n two minits at this. As
soon as he had made up his mind that
be had struck a good thing he entered
the cabin aud walked straight up to
me on the bed, The only thing |
could do was to play dead. shet my
eyes and held my breath while the
varmint smelt Of me and rooted me
with his nose. You talk about goose
flesh. but II seemed as II was clean
kivered with pimples as big as haEel.
nuts, Lawd, stranger, but was
skeert and no mistake, II that bar
had rooted d mint longer | should
have screamed out, al. he hauled OF
list In time. He had ether bizness,
and be could finish me any old time,
Our cabin was liked up purity com.
Portable for pore folks @ It was D
milk safe, dish tgpsg;l,. 4 loanse
chairs, table, and Sd en-, and In tse
co'ner was bag OF -four and a kcs
Of 'lasses, with bacon hanging % the
hooks. Yes, sab, we was plunb cam,
Portable ON that day, and | orter been
singin gospel hymns instead of hunt.
In. That bar had come into the
cabin to wreck things, and he started
like a steam engine. saw every
move be made. In sixty seconds he
had that bag or tiour scattered all over
the tlooh. In another sixty be had th1
'lasses mixed with 1t. Sich mus, Eo
body ever saw befo' He wouldn't
eat the bacon, but Jest chawed and
tore 1t into strips.
sruin on Warpath.
III TO or five drunken and ugly
tempered men had come In to wreck
things they could not have gone at II
any intelligenter and mo low down
than that bar. He tipped over the
safe and cupboard and clawed 'em to
splinters; be used up the lounge In
two minits: be smashed chairs with
one blow Of his paw. / couldn't have
taken an az and knocked the table
apart as quick as he did. And all the
time he kept an eye on me, and IL I'd
been all right | couldn't have jumped
mp and reached the doah befo' he'd
had me- Inside Of twenty mlnits be
had wrecked everything breakable,
and then be stood for leetle and sur
veyed his work. Right then ] was
hopin that he'd be satisfied and 60
away. had stolen a part Of the
Lawd's day. and thought | had been
punished 'nuf. Seems that | hadn't.
however. That's the trubble with
wickedness, stranger. When you start
In bein' wicked thar's no tellin' how
long and how hard you are goin' TO be
lambasted TO pay up for it.
"Bimeby the bar decided TO end un
by hayin' some fun with me. l don't
reckon fooled him the least mite
when ! played dead, A bar hain't no
idiot about sich things. He cum with
rush and Jumped on to the bed and
rolled over and over and wallowed
around like hog in a mudhole. His
claws ripped ard tore the bedclothes
and the ticks, and purity soon the
pesky vaFmInt crowded me out, and !
fell on the fiooh. / struck my ankle
in sich a way that the pain made me
faint away. and have allus been glad
on IT,
Arrived Just In Time.
1T was about this time that the old
woman, !istenin' to the preachin' over
at the Co'nurs, got the feelin' on her
that all was not right at home, and
she comes away to see what's the
row. She hears the rumpus and smells
bar befo' she gets to the cabin. She
also sees my rife standin' at the doah.
She comes keerfully up and peeks In
and watches things for mebbe five
minits. This was soon arter ! had
tainted away. and the varmint was
playin' horse with me. He was drag,
GIN me all over the room In play, and
be was maxim me, sight to see. !
was all kivered with the Iasses and
-four. which was beaten into a paste,
and | was bein' dragged over tho
wreck Of the furniture to boot. The
bar had bit me dozen times over,
but nothin' to hurt. He was probably
savin' his big bites to the last.
"The old woman stood thar and
watched, sorry for the devastation but
feelin that the lesson would do me
good, and at last she ups with the
rife and shoots old bruin through the
/ head. It was an hour later when /
cum to, and 1t was jest month befo'
! l stepped outdoahs agin. We was
I rnore'n 800 out o. pocket and was
laid up all that time for fiyin' in the
! face Of the Lawd. When I cum to
expected powerful lambastin' from
| the old woman. 1t was her golden
chance, and looked to see her take
advantage Of 1t. What dye reckon she
saidp ..
"She rubted In, Of course"
mot a bi: 1f IT, stranger. She didn't
say blamed word for two hull weeks,
and then one afternoon she quietly OBJ
served: