The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1909-10-27

"All at once there came binding
flash. felt Lucy clutch my arm con-
vulsively, with little gasp. She was
evidently too frightened to cry out.
There in the road before us, not
five feet away, sat great bear, erect
on his launches, calmly surveying our
trembling trio. The apparition was
terrific clap Of thunder, then total
darkness. We clung to each other in
silence, but new horrors awaited us.
There, to the right In the shadows, ap-
peared a cleaning pair Of eyes, shin
ing direfully from the thicket. l
turned to the left, only to see the
gruesome phenomenon repeated.
in front Of us the bear! To the
right and left, unknown terrors! The
perils OF the forest were less to be
feared. Better to die of starvation
than to be ignominiously eaten by
bear or devoured by two unknown, un-
namable monsters.
Dropping Mr.. Flemming's lantern,
and abandoning the umbrella to the
winds OF heaven, grasped the chill
dren and dashed wildly into the thick
ct. On and on We fed, struggling
through underbrush, stumbling over
vines colliding with trees, not daring
to glance behind us lest we see those
cleaning orbs in close pursuit. On
and on, till, gasping and breathless,
| y,otr nj
seemed, in an open space. In tumult
of JOY | recognized our own clearing.
We had come out of the woods into
the field which father had been plough
ing.
"On we struggled, the light of home
before our eyes, and the light Of hope
in our hearts. The rain-soaked soil
gathered in clods on our shoes, imped-
ing our progress, while our drenched
garments clung tightly to our shiver-
ing forms
''At last the house was reached, and
We burst in on our astonished par
ents, muddy, wet, and draggled. Moth
er raised her hands in bewilderment,
and father let fall to the hearth the
pipe he was smoking. They had sup
posed us safe and dry at the Flem-
mings.
"Breathlessly, we told our story,
while mother hustled about the kitch-
en- bringing dry clothing and prepar-
ing steaming bowls of ginger tea.
Father was rathed sceptical concern
ing our narrative, being inclined to
regard the bear as hallucination on
our part. but we knew better. That
bear was real and big. And, as for
those balls Of fire in the thicket, the
testimony Of three we felt should be
sufficient.
This testimony was shortly cor
roborated in most startling manner.
The fury of the storm had abated, the
rain had ceased, the sky was cellar,
and the moon had appeared, silvering
the clearing with its mellow light. The
shadows of the trees were etched
sharply on the glistening soil. / was
standing at the window, admiring the
beauty of the night, when there came
the sound of wheels, and saw light
gig stopping in front of the house.
Two men alighted, and came quickly
up the path. AS father opened the
door in response to loud knock, he
was accosted by portly individual
Good evening, sir, I'm sorry to
disturb you at such an hour. but we
stopped to inquire if you know any
thing of the whereabouts of one yellow
bear and two DEER?
Seeing fathers astonished look, he
hastened to explain. They're a part
of Fielding Brothers Great Show, the
best of its kind, which is to exhibit
at Shelby the fifteenth The portly
individuals voice had assumed an ora
torical tone. Back here, a mile or
two, the horses got scared at the
storm and bolted. The cages were
overturned, and the animals escaped;
but we think they must be around
here somewhere
"'They are,' piped up Lucy: the
bear is standing in the road a mile
back, and the deer are each side Of
him in the woods
"At the ludicrous image conjured
up by Lucy's words, father burst into
a hearty laugh, then he hastened to
narrate to the visitors our narrowing
experiences.
After questioning us minutely, they
departed in search of their missing
menagerie; but, before they went, the
fat gentleman bestowed upon each of
three blissful children a ticket to
Fielding Brothers Great Show, the
best of it's kind
They succeeded in locating the
lost animals, Tor we afterward saw
them in their cages at Shelby, but
that" said grandfather, observing the
eagerness on the faces of his listen.
ers, that, children, as Kipling would
say, is another ry."-Christian Reg
lister,