Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1914-01-17
FROM THE BEARS PAW
BY ANNIE HINRIcAssN.

et.e2e.s.es-te4,eess.ss
Gibraltar and are partners. Glib
raltar is a dancing bear. Some people
might say I am Gibraltar's owner, but
between him and me there's never
been a question of master and beast.
We're partners, share and share alike.
We walk from town to town. We
have enough to eat, and there Is no
sweeter sleep than the sleep one gets
under the stars.
One day as Gibraltar and | we're
strolling along country lane we
saw a girl coming toward us. She
stopped little way and called:
"Will your bear hurt me?'
mo, indeed, miss" says l. Hes
as gentle as a kitten"
She came up to us and myl she
was pretty. Her eyes we're like the
sky and her cheeks were like the
wild roses in the hedges.
"Will he mind if l pat him?" she
asked.
She patted old Gibraltar's head
and pulled his ears. 81 do love bears"
she said. whats his name?"
| told her and she said that was a
beautiful name for a bear.
made him dance and she sat down
by the road and laughed and clapped
her hands.
After awhile she said she must go.
She dropped a dollar in my money
basket and went her way.
1t was about shutdown and we
stopped at the first haystack and ate
our supper and went to sleep
In the night woke up. There
we're people on the other side of the
haystack. A woman was crying.
Then a man said he was sorry; that
he couldn't help it; he didn't love her
any more; change was the law of ma
ture and she must accept conditions
She said something about the love
of the old days and the claim it gave
her. That seemed to make the fellow
tired and he said he didn't care for
hash love. He asked her to give him
something-I couldn't hear what-and
she said she wouldn't, it was hers and
gave little scream.
"Oh, you BRUTE" she said. you've
broken the chain and stolen it."
That woke Gibraltar and he groan
ed. The man came around the hay
stack. What are you doing here?.
he asked.
"Sleepin'," | says.
Get out" says he. This isn't {
hoboes' roost."
Next morning when l woke up
saw we we're near a house and w
ambled toward it looking for a break
fast. 1t was big house with a lon
porch in front of it and on the pore
we're a lot of people. 1t wasn't farm
house, as l had supposed, but som
swell's summer cottage, and Gibralta
and | had butted into house party.
When they saw us they called to u
to come to the porch, they wanted Gil
raltar to dance.
On the lowest step sat my little SUI
shine lady and beside her was tn
fellow / had seen the night before
Near them was tall woman wit
yellow hair.
After Gibraltar had done his stunt
l passed the money basket The las
person it came to was the fellow be
side the sunshine lady and he was s.
busy talking to her that he neve
j looked at what he pulled out of hi
pocket and threw into the basket
l hung the basket on Gibraltar
paw and told him to make a bow
He bowed so low that the basket silt
off and fell at the sunshine lady
feet. There was something in it whicl
didn't look like money and she picke'
it up.
1t was a gold locket about the siz'
of half dollar She opened it, ant
there was the fellows picture and
ITO Beatrice, from George"
She snapped the locket shut ant
handed it to the tall woman. "Thi
is yours, / think" she said
The man looked as if he wanted t
smash things, Gibraltar and me pan
ticularly.
The little sunshine lady put he
hands in Gibraltar's fur and shook hi
big head. Gibraltar" she said, "yo1
have done a great deal for me toda,
and / thank you, old fellow. Eyel
out of the paws of bears"
She kind o. choked then and tool
up Gibraltar's chain and we went of