Evening star., 1920-11-21

p, store, packing up bacon and beans
and flour and feed to be taken over
Enoch Thomas. in North Fraternity
They would have to go over tonight.
| Ordinarily Will did little delivering.
and that by day alone, but Enoch was
| an ancient customer. and good one.
&, and he was accustomed to demand
and to receive consideration. win had
! promised the things that night. and
Andy would drive over with them be-
| fore he went to bed. For the sake OF
his pride in the store he would not
| have refused to go: nevertheless ne
| disliked the thought of that trip
Much of the way lay through the
gloomy place by day, and worse In
darkness. Andy was-put it kindly
a timid boy. Some rough-tongued
folk in Fraternity used harsher
word.
The talk that went back and forth
about the stove this evening was not
calculated to reassure him. Luke Halls
had seen a bull moose in the road
through the swamp that day. He
was telling the tale. already thrice
! told. to some new arrival. big, as a
horse. the critter was" Luke declared.
And the horns on him q good six
feet acrost."
Old man varney sighed incredu-
lously, and said: You imagined 1t,
Luke. Never was airy moose here
abouts when I was younger. Where'd
they come from now?"
! II didn't imagine them tracks Of
his" Luke insisted. stubbornly; and
Andy. wide-eyed. asked over Luke s
shoulder: What did you do?"
II didn't figure 1 had any appoint
ment with a bull moose" said Luxe.
unctuously. IT turned my old hiVVer
on its two hind wheels and come back
out of there"
Jean Bubier laughed his scornful
laugh "You should have hit him
wit little switch" he said. He Will
not hurt you. l have seen many
mooses A bull moose. it is He
snapped his fingers lightly. Nothing
at ALL" he said.
Luke appealed to Jim Saladine. a
mighty hunter before the Lord, and
Saladine said. slowly: "Tll argue with
a bull moose If you give me thirty
thirty. No other way"
THEN sore one told how a COW
L moose had chased a horse and
buggy half a mile that spring: an
other remembered the bull that had
treed a man the fall before. Tale fol-
lowed tale. Lee Motley came in and
abolished the moose as topic by tell
ling them that there were wildcats in
Whitcher swamp. That was matter
that more nearly concerned them all.
A moose will steal a little paSturaSe.
;perhaps; but wildcat may take
ham, or a lamb, or even a pigling il
the signs are right. Heard 'em two
nights ago" said Motley. And last
night they come up to my chicken
house, and took crack at one. You
could hear 'em splitting and squawl-
ling half a mile into the swamp"
Andy shivered at that and came to-
ward the stove with side Of bacon
lin one hand and the paper that would
wrap it in the other Wi.dcats?" he
asked, quaveringly.
"Ehr Motley ejaculated; and he
looked up at Andy, saw who it was.
winked at Luke Hill and enlarged the
tale. He was not sure, he said.
whether they were wildcats OF aynxes.
Or maybe catamountS.
Will Bissell told Andy soberly: You
want to look out when you go through
the swamp, Andy! Watch the trees.
and see tot they don't drop on you"
Andy asked Motley uncertainty:
You think they'd-jump a man."
His obvious uneasines delivered
Andy bound into the hands of the
|Philistines. II he had been alone with
Motley the farmer would have reas-
sured him and Nheartened him. So
would any man in the store. But the
presence Of the others prompted Mot
ley to have sport. Andy's very teeth
were on edge with fright within a
matter OF minutes. Others Joined
Motley in the sport. When Andy went
Bubier followed and screamed in his