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Show -flM l a I GIRL AND A BEAR Brave "Little Sister" Gets Reward Re-ward for Capturing "A Great Ferocious Monster." By GERTRUDE MARY SHERIDAN. . "I should die of fright," declared Netta Farbes. "I am sure I should." Why. just think of it, Beauty way off on the very edge of civilization, wild animals, savages and mountain outlaws! out-laws! No, thank you, not for me!" "But David will be there," explained Beatrice Merrill, the bride of a week, and she spoke in a simple confident way that indicated her brave bright Siusband to be a power of valor and strength in her estimation. "Well, that is a good deal, I will Eonfess," admitted Netta. "But David can't be with you all of the time, can &e? If he's going to be the great cattle cat-tle king he thinks he Is, he must have a lot of work to do. I'm sure you will :fa.int at the first sight of a fierce cowboy, cow-boy, and as to those Indians think of eeing them creeping creeping creeping through the grass, with their hideous tomahawks and scalping knives ugh!" and the imaginative Bliss shivered In incipient hysterics. Beatrice only smiled sweetly, opti-tnlstlnai'y. opti-tnlstlnai'y. It was true she had been roQP,tft. up tenderly, the only child of fend doting parents, shielded from every ev-ery rude alarm, her girlhood experience experi-ence a path of ever-blooming roses. But it was true also that the rugged unest figure of David Merrill had tome into her life as a hero. His love bad filled her existence'magically. One of nature's real noblemen, he had come from directly next to nature to woo and win and carry away to hi3 rude far western home a timid, inexperienced inex-perienced prairie flower. And when the eventful departure came, every stage of the journey accomplished ac-complished seemed to carry Beatrice Into a new realm of delight. Even that last Btage drive over the lonely bills and into a settlement crude as a frontier mining town, was full of novelty nov-elty and excitement. Beatrice clapped lier hands ingenuously as some delighted de-lighted child at the queer antics of There Burst From a Copse a Great Shagged Bear. the playful prairie dogs. She went Wild over the splendid full colored flowers. Then when a cavalcade of genuine cowboys came to Last Limit to accompany them to the ranche, their honest loyal admiration charmed the pretty bride and she felt that she was going a;. rng true friends. "There are no bears," she wrote excitingly ex-citingly to Netta two weeks later. "The Indians are poor harmless 'creatures 'crea-tures who come to the door begging only once in awhile, and make you glad to be able to be charitable. But there is the clear, clear sky oh, so infinitely blue all of the time! And such sunsets! And the boys dear, rough, honest fellows, who come around bashful and proud of their 'little 'lit-tle sister,' as they call me, and who would die for me, if I asked them. And David Oh, so grand and splendid when he goes off on a horse that would scare you! And me, poor little me gained ten pounds already, brown as a berry, and oh, so happy in this lovely peaceful spot, so sweet and solemn sol-emn in the clear morning sunlight, that I reverently call it God's land! "As to the mountain outlaws booh! Once there was a few of them, but they have been driven off the trail. There's a band, they say, with a leader named Buckskin Joe. They say he Is a bad, desperate fellow. There's a thousand dollars offered for his capture, cap-ture, so it isn't likely "he'll ever dare to venture near a ranche where .half a dozen brave, powerful herders -would be glad to make a target of blm. Bugaboo, all the horrid things you predicted! Come out and see me, nd see what real men look like!" In fact Beatrice had become so In tove with her new life, that one morn- ing when she found the vicinity of ttu house deserted she was not one bit worried. David the day before had made a famous sale and had gone off to a distance to negotiate for a new herd. Most of the men had accompanied accom-panied him. .The others had been given giv-en a holiday and had gone to Last Limit, where a circus had come along. Beatrice went about her pleasant home tasks happy as a sprite, singing merrily, planning with delight a famous fam-ous strawberry pie of gigantic proportions propor-tions for her formidable horde when they should return, ravenous and delighted, de-lighted, at supper time. She had gathered gath-ered a great apron full of the rich, luscious fruit in the ravine about a quarter of a mile from the house, when she heard shots and shouts in the distance. dis-tance. These died away, and she started for the house leisurely, attributing attrib-uting the commotion to some hurrah exploits of the cowboys on a neighboring neighbor-ing ranch. Then suddenly Beatrice uttered a sharp cry. There burst from a copse a great shagged bear. Its mouth was foaming, the blood was trickling down from its face, and it swung along at a fearful rate in the direction of the house. "I won't faint!" determined Beatrice "Although I hardly know what to do. Oh, dear!" She fluttered like a frightened butterfly. but-terfly. Seeking refuge or eatables, the bear tore through the little house garden, gar-den, aimed for the open cellar doors, darted down the steps, and then Beatrice ran fast as Bhe could, reached the house, slammed down the cellar doors and set the heavy oaken bars across the heavy planks. Then she ran into the house, locked and bolted the door leading into the cellar and sat down to cry. It was only as a relief to her overwrought over-wrought excitement that the tears came, for Beatrice felt fairly triumphant. trium-phant. She had controlled her fright, she had caged the enemy. What an exploit to write to Netta about! What a grand thins to narrate to her husband! How the gallant cowboys would praise and make a veritable heroine of her! Beatrice was very proud of her first exploit In capturing "a wild" savage denizen of the primeval forest." Beatrice valiantly took down the house rifle from the antlers over the dining room clock and placed it on the table. Then she got the axe from the yard. Next she added the poker to this warlike equipment. She listened for some demonstrations demonstra-tions from below. The "frenzied growls," the "frightful leaps," she had read about as pertaining to bears, did not ensue as she had expected. She wondered if the Infuriated animal had gone to sleep. She hoped he had not discovered the old cupboard In which she kept the butter and milk. About an hour later Beatrice heard the tramp of horses and the sound of human voices along the trail. Six mounted men came into view. Their leader doffed his hat as he drove up to the doorway where Beatrice stood. "We are looking for a stray bear," he began. "Oh, yes!" announced Beatrice eagerly, eag-erly, "a great ferocious monster ' "Not at all a harmless toothless old animal escaped from the circus in Last Limit, but valuable as a trick bear, and $100 offered for its capture." cap-ture." "Why, what Is this?" inquired David Merrill, as he and his hearty crowd sat down to the smoking supper that evening, and he found a little heap of bank notes under his plate. Then Beatrice told her story, with dancing eyes. And David swung her up in the air and kissed her at its termination, while the enthusiastic cowboys gave "Huzza!" with an admiring ad-miring echo for their brave "little sister." (Copyright, 1013. by W. O. Chapman.) . |