| OCR Text |
Show I I , ll B I Aunt Hulda's Bear I ii fl ; I "Aunt Iluldy lind somo nmazln' fl t p'lntn," said tho loquacious and rem- fl Inlnccnt man from tlio Knob country. s i "So lind that b'nr. Ho wns n gonttlno HH - ! spccluicut o' what tho Ktioh country could turn out In tho way o' b'ar whon Bfl ; ; It not out to do It, that b'nr was, nnd f ho had been mlsln' tho very old Ned ; nmongst tho )lt;s and farm projuce Bfl' ' j generally for bo long, nnd had hop' so Bfl J ,: regular and aggravating- shot of All I tho traps nnd tricks that was sot nnd trlod to waylay nnd clrcumvont him, that at last what did old man Mose, ovor to tho Eddy, do but declare ho would give $20 In cash for that b'nr BB ' , I fetched In dead, or $30 If anybody'd BH i run him In and baud him over nllvc. Bfl'' a 1 "AUvo!' folks hollered when thoy BB ' licerd of It. 'Anybody that tries to BB ' fetch that b'nr In alive,' they says, BB' 'will more than likely find their own- Bfl ( BolvoH bcln' fetched In dead!' thoy BB i cays; but folks didn't know It all. nnd Bfl I thoy hadn't stopped to consider Aunt Bfl ' R 'llnldy. Bfl I "'Joiithn,' says Aunt Huldy to Uncle BB . Jcp nno dny, jest about that time; Bfl , 'JejiUta,' says Bho, 'seems to mo that BB ' If I was you I'd sort o' taka a holiday BB this artornoon and wander oror to'rds BB, - Dig Injln Swamp. Mobbo you mowt t. run foul o" that posky b'ar. Of course.' i ' soys sho, 'you enn't hardly expect to Bfl ' ' get him alive, but all things bolng Bfl , k mortal bcro bolow,' gays she, 'you HH piowt accidentally git him dead. It Bfl jyou do,' sayfl she, 'It'll bo $20, and $20 HH will boy a cow,' says she. HB "Undo Jcp didn't sco but what Bfl f that'd bo a proper Idee, and ho BB knocked off stump-grubbln', took his HH i old smoothbore rlllo and started out HH v " 'Jonas went and borrlcd that oth- HH; r gun o' mlno, ding his plctur, and I hain't lirung It back ylt,' says Undo 3op, as ho started. , "Tho b'nr 'II fetch Jest ezac'ly ns , much if you git It with tho smooth- boro nH It will if it had cotno a tumb- BBJ ' j ' lln' down boforo tho gun that Jonns HH borrlcd,' says Aunt Iluldy. 'So don't BBJ ' wnsto your linio grumblln',' says sho. BH ' "Go look for the b'ar.' BBJ M "So Uuclo Jop went, snyln' that It BBJ j 1 ho got on to the trail o' tho cunnln' BH j f old varmint lm'il toiler It If ho had to HH : M camp on It nil night. Ho got over jest this rldo o Dig Injln nnd hadn't HH A eco no sign o' that b'ar or any other HB j I ti'ar, and was beglnuln' to think that HBv; II klm and Aunt Huhly didn't git a HB ! It cow till thoy got It with tho price o' B ' j that b'ar they'd novor quarrel about It who'd do tho tnllkln'. when ho heerd HB , m somollilu' wnort. Ho turned, and thorn BBJ it fi fc HC0 llle '''ar ntnndln' right out In BBJ i i . t, llaln sight, and actlu' as If he w:m BBJ' V nfenrd Undo Jcp was goln' on ultli- BBJ ' out seoiu' him. Undo Jcp knowed It BBJi ' 1 V vns him, 'cnuso that b'ar was the only i I twe In tho hull Knob country that had BBJ f a whltu spot on Its brisket. Ht "'This Is tho ilrst tlmo I uvor was BBJ, to n shoolln' match for n cowl' says BBl Undo Jcp, nnd tho Idee tickled him so BBJ tluit ho had to take his gun down from 1 his Bhoiilder till ho could git tjmmgh BBJi )ila lnughln'. 'A shootln' match for a BBtf cow,' says ho, and ho haultd up u'gln & I WW r ' ..'W kwi "" Br "He Turned, an' Thar He See the BBl Bit and wli.U'Keti away nt the whUo snot BBh; on t In- chlst BBfl' ' The b'nr give u start, felt of his i" , chlRt wilh one o' his paws as If some-'. some-'. '' thin' wns tlcklln' of him thero, and I tj:en turned a look on Undo Jcp, as .jpiuch as to sny: '"4 " 'I iiiA a-here. uow! W'jat a' yaa BBS.!- MjaiiOI'n' that gun fo ding kcorlMM BBBBj n-.oth.d here for?' BBHj I "Tiia b'ar looke'd mad, too, and Undo BBBJ v- ,i Jf-v vap so took bad; at tho unmltl- BBB1 ' t cuted cri'lei's not lumblla' and glvln' l : I sBflflflflflflflflflflflflflft afn !BfflffBHBm--'' his dyln' kick thut tho b'nr was com-Iu' com-Iu' for him hot-foot beforo ho lind ovon thought o' loadln' his gun. And tho b'nr kop' him dodgln' nnd skirmish-in' skirmish-in' 'mougst tho trees for half an hour boforo he could git n load Into his gun. And then sco what that b'ar done. Soon as he sco that Undo Jcp had his gun loaded, tho nggravntin' bruin begun to dodgo amongst tho trees himself, and ho done It so slick and quick that Undo Jcp couldn't git his gun onto him no way, and tho first thing ho knowed tho b'ar had dodged out o' sight. " 'If that ain't a dirty, mean trick I wouldn't say sol' says Uncle Jcp. "Pulled It Tight and Jumped Behind the Big Pine Tree." 'Sneakln' awny Ilko that, you pig-steal-In thief o' tho night, you!' says ho. 'It I'd had tho gun that Jonas borrlcd and hain't brung back ylt, I bet you wouldn't a-done It, consarn his plcturl nut sonco I'm on your trail I'll toller , It, by cats, nnd show you somo tricks that maybe you hain't hcerd on ylt!' says Undo Jpp, nnd ho follered tho b'nr till night, and then bunked In at Ell's, t'other side o' tho swamp, so's ho could bo on hnnd early next morn-Tn' morn-Tn' to show the b'ar them tricks. I "Aunt Huldy woke up In tho night j somo tlmo nnd hcerd the pig squeal-in'. squeal-in'. Sho Jumped out o' bod and run to tho winder. Tho moon wns shlnln' I bright ns day. Aunt Iluldy Jest glvo one look, nnd then says: I "'H'nr artor tho pig!' says she. "A sookln' big b'ar, and ho'll have that j pigpen smashed down In loss than n , Jiffy.' says she. 'And there ain't a ; gun In tho hnuso! If there was,' says ' she, 'I'd sneak out nnd blow tho top i o' that b'lr's hend off,' says she. 'Tho I Idee o' Jpptlm Iendln' his one gun to I Jonas, who hain't brung It back ylt, nnd then goln' off with t'other one 1 nnscampln' all night on a b'ar's trail! ( Consarn that Jonas! If I had hlra hero I'd no. I wouldn't, neither!' hoi-I hoi-I lers Aunt Iluldy, who'd been looking' ! out o" winder all tho tlmo she was ' talkln'. -No, I wouldn't, neither!' sho hollers, elnppln' hur hands. 'It was a 1 smllln' I'rnWdence that mado Jcptha lend Mint enn tn .Tnnnn nnd linn' .Tnnnil from fetchln' of It back!' sho hollers, and then sho scooted down to tho kitchen grabbed her clothes lino, tied n sltppln nooflo In ono end of it, nnd started out on a run to'rds tho plgpon. "The b'ar stood on his hind foot liatigln' away at tho pigpen, and tho splinters was flyln' tremendous. Then tho door went smnshln' In, and tho b'ar reached In an' yanked tho pig out. Ho hadn't much raoro than donn It, thouch, when from round tho barn Aunt Huldy come a rushln'. Sho give a yoll. Tho b'ar droppod tho pig Ilko a ltot p'later, nud 'foro ho could turn and bo what It was that had skcert him Aunt Huldy dropped tho ncoso end of tho clothes line down over bis head, pulled It tight, and jumped to-hlnd to-hlnd the big plno tree that stood Jest a comfortablo Jump away. " 'It was a smllln' J'rovldonrc,' says sho, 'that mado Jcptha lend his otlior gun to Jonns and kep' Jonas from fetchln' of It back,' says sho, 'for otherwise oth-erwise me and Jcpthn would bo out Jost ten dollars!' snys.she. "Tho b'ar como to hlmnclf and sprung after Aunt Huldy. Ho slung his big foro legs around tho treo to ketch her where sho stood, holdln' on to the ropo, and In Icsb tlmo than It took him to fetch a good breath Aunt Huldy had circled round that trco enough times to bind him to tho trunk as s.rniu and lastln' ns If ho'd been n j knot growln' thero, and sho kop' right oa wlndla' tho ropo around him and the treo till tho rop wad all usd m and the b'ar was a prisoner at thi, stake. "Then Aunt Iluldy went bnck to bed and wni snorln' away as If nothln' troro hnil happened than only Jest git-tin' git-tin' up to glvo tho baby peppermint, 'lxing In tho forenoon o' next day Uucto Jcp como a-stragglin' homo. " 'Huldy,' says he, 'if it hadn't boen fcr Jonns borrylng thnt other gun o' mlno nnd not fetchln' of It back, I'd n killed that pesky b'ar dead, ylsterd'y, an' won them $20,' ho snys, 'ding his udy plctur's! ho says, moanln' Jonas. "Well, Jcptha,' says Aunt Huldy, 'It's nn all-pcrvadln' good thing that you didn't do It,' sho snys. "'What fur?' says Undo Jop, hardly hard-ly bellevln' his cars. " 'Why, 'cnuso if you'd 'n' killed thnt b'nr dehd ylsterd'y, says Aunt Iluldy, 'I couldn't 'a' ketched him nllvo last night,' says she. 'Artor Aunt Iluldy got through laughln' nt Uncle Jep stnndln' thora stnrln' nt her with his mouth whlo open and his eyes almost bulgin', sho took him out to t'other side o' the pigpen, pig-pen, nud there, biiro enough, was tho rnmpagcln' old b'ar that was worth i $30 allvo tied so fast to the big plno treo that hu couldn't hardly holler. Uncle Jcp didn't say nothln'. Ho I couldn't. He Jest chopped down tho I tree, trimmed the limbs offen It to make it n log, hooked tho steers to It, and drug It and tho b'ar ovor to tho Eddy. Old Mose forked over tho $30 only loo quick, nnd $10 besides for tho plno log, bo that Aunt Huldy nnd Undo Jcp didn't only git thoir cow, but thoy had qulto a Bnug flggor to stuff In the old coffco pot for futuro rofcrence, besides. And what did Aunt Huldy do? Sho mndo Jonas a present of tho horded gun and thnnked him fcr borryin' It and not fetchln' it back. "'Though I dunno as I ought to thank you, neither,' sho says to Jonas. 'It was a smllln' Provldenco that dono It.' sho says." Ed. Mott In Now York Times. |
