The Bozeman courier., 1926-09-10

heard but silence, and very little Of that
lie told himself that he was silly-that
his ears had played him false. The studio
was empty:
"Grrrrrrfr'
Festus exhaled audibly. This time the
sound was unmistakable. 1t was q deep
throaty inhuman thing of ghOstly timbre,
and Festus was not unduly partial to the
supernatural. But a tense virgil failed to
bring to his ears a repetition Of the un-
earthly noise, and once again he started
forward.
"GrrrrrrP'
30, Golly@"
This time there was no hesitation. Fes-
tus experienced a violent urge to be else
where and to be there at once. Instinct
informed him that the studio was not as
popular with him as it should be.
In the pitchy blackness he turned to re-
trace his steps. 1t was not an easy task
and the very need Of haste and much Of
1t made things even more difficult.
Unfortunate for Festus, Roeksy the bear
was lonely. And ROcksy realized that his
visitor was departing-which caused Rock
sy to become very sad.
After all, Rocksy had spent a very mel
ancholy evening in the dank stiffness Of
the studio. His bearish dignity was hurt
and the friendly heart Of him craved com
panionship. And now his guest was about
to depart. ROcksy determined to try
in his simple way-tO persuade Festus to
remain.
Wherefore Rocksy gave final scratch at
his NANCY hide and padded along after
Festus. Festus' ears-keened with fear
heard the queer flump-fump Of ROcksy's
paws-and Festus threw discretion to the
winds. He uttered a yell, made a leap and
cOllided with something considerable hard.
er than his anatomy. Instantly he lost
all sense of direction and all control OF
| his jangling nerves
He skidded hither and thither in the
darkness, uttering wierd cries. He knew
now that he had made a mistake-perhap:
even a fatal mistake. The presence o.
the bear had been unknown to him and
he was without a clue to what manner o.
beast was pursueing him from set to set
emitting inhuman grunts and woOfs.
And then a queer thing happened. Festu
was cOming-and so was the bear. Thel
met chest to chest. A terrible shriel
escaped from the lips Of Mr.. Martin.
But ROcksy knew exactly what to do
Not for nothing had he started life a
"a wrestling bear before entering the shO
shop business. His muscular arms wen
out gently, enfolding Festus in clasl
of passionate friendliness.
Festus felt the hairy arms, the coll
nuzzling nose, the enormous body-an
! Festus' instinct of self preservation playe
, him dirty trick.
Festus struck. He uppercut and he di
it hard. The blow landed flush on tina
portion Of the bears jaw which in pug
ilistic parlance is known as the buttOI
. ROcksy grunted with pain and surprise
. . and then with anger. Was this, theI
the way HIS ITleuuly SuDIdCGS MGEG " u
I received? Was his new found playmat
thus to inflict corporal punishment upo
him.
Rocksy himself was not without instinC
= and his instinct was to retaliate in kim
l One paw swished through the air an
u came to rest on the side of Mr.. Martin
head. Festus turned a complete somersau
: and came up blubbering with fear. b
g didn't know where he was, or what mai
g ner of devil was pursuing him and swa
e ting him with such sincerity. All tn;
b Festls knew was that he desired to
away and to be there permanently. I
t sidled along a wall, cringing from Il
4 wierd grunts Of his enemy-then questtI
d hand came to rest on an electric hgl
/ switch.
# Click! The studio was flooded with
= binding glare. Festus and Rocksy pin DIN
Y ed. The bear started forward, and Fest
y sounded the retreat. A ladder, restiI
u against the walls Of an interior set al
offering the only available haven Of safet
y y caught his frantic eye and ne clamDer
L up it with more haste than grace.
q There he sat, gazing down upon the be
% and recalling stories Of bears climbil
= abilities. But ROcksy was not in elim
ie his feelings had been injured. He seat
- himself and stared reflectiVely up at t
sc pop-eyed victim.
{ 20, Lawsy-hongry bear what he !
y y he jest waits fo' me to come down III
Who the bear was and whence he h
e. come were unfathomable mysteries TO I
ce terrified Mr.. Martin. Immediate facts OF
concerned him. Assuring himself that
II, bear was not coming after him, he tri
collecting his thoughts.
en- The Immediate future did not appt
in overly attractive. To Festus' vivid 1ms
a inatiOn, Rocksy seemed hungry and 81
lie tus flattered himself that he would ma
ic succulent meal for any bear. And ye
ce he glanced more closely at his capt
a Rocksy did not seem entirely unfrlend
r. frTI
mt Gosh If I an that bear was only &c
IS friends"
Tbat was the solution to the pres
nd problem: to make friends with the be
IS But how? Making friends with wild be
ne is at no time an unhazardous undertak1n
ir- and when one has just hung an upp
at cut on the beasts jaw shuah ne
ed would have fit with him If had sa
D. him fust."
he he Festas spoke to the bear pretty
1g- Rocksy cooked his head on one side,
lCs parently speculating as to Whetner I
,ne was a sincere advance or mere trlcker!
tSee "Never did see a bear no. cutter tl
..hne what you is"
JIG fWrrrrrrf
"Rechon they amt no sense Of us fig
,te ,to in is they?"
lto "Grrrrrrrf!"
he ''Nossuh-there shuah aint-an' tha's
Ian Tentatively and fearfuIly Festus
SS | cended single runS. Ahe DedE SySU
az interestedly, but made no hostile M.
ne one more rung. "Nice, pretty lii bear
sss. wouldn't do me no hahn, would your
1ry No answer. Festus was sure that
OS bear was willing to be friends: But
nose he was mistaken2 ''If l on'y
Dlte somethin' to give him"
sea From his perch on the ladder Fe'
oE eve roved the set 1t was Kitchen
re- re- terior-and quite suddenly Festus stifte
aoh then his lips expanded into a grin
az az sheer bliss.
elt SSweet mannas fun Heavum! What
my yes behOldP'
Ii was nothing short Of a miracle
ye- there, atop a cupboard and within Z
as reach Of Festus,arm, was large II
- howl brimming with big blue peerless
ue s'Huckleberries % Festus exclaimed
- statically-. "HOnest- to- goodness hue
berries which there amt nothin' else
is fonder Of thanT
Here, ready to hand, was the peace
fering for which Mr.. Martin had pra
ne reached the bowl and, holding IL