The Washington herald., 1914-03-22

"Over yam. on the side OF Eagle Noun
ting. / had a powerful clus call from
| bars about ten years ago." said the old
'Possum Hunter, as We sat smoking on
| his door step. During the summer 1
| diskivered a bee-tree. II was big
swarm and hard at work. and I knowed
they'd have a heap O. honey laid by when
the frost came. One day. about the mid
die OF October. me and the old woman
/ sot out fer the tree. takin' along an AK
and wash-tub. I hadn't seen a bar
| around fur six months. and thereto
thought il useless to lug my rifle. We
lad got about halfway to the tree when
| we come TO a spot with tracks on 1t, and
arter look or two ! made out that d
bar had passed along. Purity soon We
come upon further signs. and befO' We
/ reached the tree I reckoned that thar
was at least three bars spookin' around.
''Thar's only one way to tackle a bee
tree. Yo' must cut it down and drive the
bees of with smoke. l begun work with
the ak, while the ole woman gathered
| bresh to make a fire. and in about an
hour ! had the tree shakin'. was cal
culating which way IL would fall when
the ole woman, who was behind me,
speaks up quietly and says:
""Zeb White. kin a man an a woman
! outrun a barr
They mout fur a leetle ways says I.
kin n man and a woman outrun a
bar fur .wo miles?
1t would be nip and tuck
Would you say that a man and
woman could outrun five bars fur two
miles,
"'Of co'se not. What yo' akin sich
questions furT
"'Bekase I'm wantin' TO know what's
gwine to become of the man and woman.
Don't yo' see them five bars making
down this way from the rocks%
II looked around" said the old man.
| "and them five bars was comm up fast
and not twenty rods away. The sudden
sight Of 'em sort o frustrated me. and l
was stsndin' thar like a fool when the
old woman calls out:
"FoIler me. Zeb. and may the Lawd
hold us in the holler of his hand"
She made for a small tree few rods
away and up she went and I arter her.
Ny heels was skaseIy five feet off the
ground when the bars was below US. II 5
hard job fer bar to climb a small.
smooth tree. as thar is no hold fur his
claws, but ! reckon some of the var
mints would have folIered us up but fer
the smell OF the honey clus by. They
growIed around fer few minits and
then went over To- the bee-tree. When
they had drawed of the old woman looks
down at me from the limb on which she
was rOostin' and says:
"Zeb. it pears to me as il We arter
hold a prayer meetin' up yere"
How kin that help says /.
~ dunno, but il looks as If we was in
trubble. II that tree falls il may come
this way: IL IL don't fall them bars may
keep us up yere fur a week. II we don't
hold a prayer meetin' we'd better sing
the doxology or sunthin'.'
1T looked as IL we was in a bad fix.
but couldn't see how prayin' or sinGin'
was gwine to help US out. / fggered that
our plan would be TO drop down and
make a run fur il when the bars got
busy with the bee-tree, but they was
too sharp fur me One bar was left 10
! guard US while the other four held a
confab as to how they was To git the
honey. II was a clean fo'ty feet from
| the ground to the entrance of the holler.
and arter debatin' fur half an hour the
| four began to climb. As they went up.
one arter another, and all on the same
| side OF the tree, the ole woman shet h"r
eyes and whispered prayer. Then she
opened them and said:
'Zeb. I've said heap o. mean things
| to yo' in my time and l want to ak yO'r
forgiveness.
" But yO' amt dying said.
Its the same thing. The weight O.
them bars is gwine to bring that tree
over our way and We shall be smashed
TO squash,
81 saw il would be so. and my heart
pounded my ribs and my h'ar stood up
as them bars clawed their way up. Each
one was anxious to git at the honey fust.
but only one of 'em had reached the hole
when the bee-tree began to tremble and
waver. and the next mint she was COM
in our way. / yelled out and the ole
woman began to pray, while every bar