The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-03-18
Bees and B. airs
BY M. QUAD
Copyright, 1913. by Associated Lit
erary Press.


way and said:
It's a story agin myself"
That's all right
1T happened a long time ago" .
1T will be just as good
WAL" he started in. ''one Sunday
mawnin' arter breakfast the old wo-
man looks at me sorter queer and
says:
"'Zeb, you know thar's camp meet
in gwine on over at Smokers grove
"Mebbe do says !.
They are havin' a powerful time l
hear
:" Glad on it
'Zeb, Wen take u walk over to that
camp meetin' as soon as 1 git the dishes
washed up, and we won't come back
home till night
1T would be time throwed away
but ives gwine right along jest the
same she says.
at was jest the season to watch wild
bees and line 'em to a tree" explained
Zeb, land / figered on putin in the
day at that. l told the old woman so
and asked her to go on alone, and she
turned on me with:
"'Zeb White. if yo' reckon to cheat
the Lawd and come out all right yo1l
git left! Nobody ever did it in all this
world. If yO' steal his day sunthin'
will shorely happen to yo'.'
but we want honey in the fall.
don't We? says I.
What's the good of honey if 20
lose yo'r soul|
| 'NobOdy's gwine to lose his soul on
account of huntin' up a bee tree
! "'Mebbe not. Mebbe he'll jest break
his neck or leg or wildcats will claw
him up or the bars roll him about
The Bible tells about the fate Of the
stiff necked and obstinate, but yo'
won't heed it. Jest go right along arter
yo'r wild honey. Zeb White, and I'll
go to the camp meetin' by myself. I
reckon YOU find out the power OF
Providence befo' sundown'
she went away without another
word to me. and fur half an hour l
was a good mind to foller on. didn't
feel right about it tall, and my old
dawg skunk away from me as II he
was ashamed OF his master. l didn't
want to give in, however, and bimeby
I shet the doah and strolled off to look
fur bees. | was maxim fur a place
about two miles away, but befo' l
reached it l stopped to look at a big
chestnut tree with a boiler in it. That
boiler was big huff fur TO men to
stand in, and | was was loOkin' in and
wonderin' why I had never seen the
tree befo' when I heard sunthin' NOV
in behind me / wheeled about. and
thar was whoppin' big bar sneakin'
up on me. | could tell by the looks of
his eye that he meant bizness, and it
was no use to try to bluff him. One
Jump carried me into the hOller. and
he rushed and jest missed me. I had
no gun, but / did have my knife along,
and when the bar tried to foller me
into the tree l slashed him To- or five
times. He was no fool. He seen
had the advantage. and he jest backed
off and sot down to wait. / kept purity
quiet fur an hour thinkin' he'd git dis
cOuraged and go away, but he had 9th
pr plans on hand. When ! stuck my
head out and waved my arms and yell
ed at him he growled a few times. but
he didn't come a foot higher.
at was plain that ! was in a bad
, way" continued the old hunter. but
didn't see what I could do about it,
was in the boiler. and the bar was
, outside, and thar was no show fur me
K to come out until he went away II
- cum shutdown, and it cum night, and
he was still thar. I saw I was in fun
Re all night. and I went to sleep. l woke
up once and saw his eyes shinin'. but
he let me alone. I woke soon arteI
daylight and he was still thar. Not Il
j. worry You with pertiCklers, l passed
:. two nights and two days and a half il
that tree, and at last I'd hev given my
left arm fur a drink of spring water
to say nothin' about my hunger ] wa.
no longer 4 match fur the bar. I wa:
weak and Eighty, and he'd hev a bis
advantage over me. However. I was
tryin' to work up my courage to craw
gut and do the best and hev it owe
with when Abe Holden, who was look
e In fur his lost mewl, cum that way
and the varmint made a sneak NJ,
: voice wasn't much stronger than
h baby's, but I managed to make Alb
hear. and he pulled me out and helpe,
+ me home. The old woman sot on tn
ar doorstep singin' a hymn, and as w
rum up she looks at Abe and says:
< Good evenin', Mr.. Holden Kin
y take it that yo'r old woman is peartY
Fairly peart, fairly peart. Mrs
If White he replied.
t land yo' pear to hev a strange
r with you she goes on.
"'No, ma'am. It's Zeb. yo'r old man
~ Indeed. The last l saw of my oil
y man he was gwine out to find a be
- tree. Did he find it?'
HE found boiler tree, ma'am.'
"'Yes?'
- AND a barr
"'Yes? And what does he thin
a about cheatin' the Lawd outer his SUI
q Inav2'