Black Bruin | Page 4

the
same droll old chap, shuffling and shambling, sniffing and inquiring
with his keen nose. If he be the smaller black or brown bear, he will
often be found in the company of man, conducting himself with dignity,
and generally showing much good behavior for a wild beast.

Black Bruin
CHAPTER I
A THIEF IN THE NIGHT
Outside, the fitful early April wind howled dismally, swaying the
leafless branches of the old elm, and causing them to rub complainingly
against the gable end of the farmhouse. Two or three inches of fine
snow had fallen the day before and the wind tossed it about gleefully,
festooning the window-sashes and piling it high upon window-sills. It
was one of old winter's last kicks and made it seem even more wintry
than it really was.
Although the wind moaned and the snow danced fitfully, within a
certain quaint farmhouse in Northern New York was warmth and
comfort, all the more apparent by the touch of winter outside.
A cheerful fire was crackling in a large kitchen range, suggesting, by its
brightness and snapping, pine-knots full of pitch and resin. The front
doors of the stove were open and the firelight danced across the room,
filling it with cheer. It was one of those homelike kitchens where
everything is spick and span, and the nickel on the stove shines like
silver.
A young farmer of perhaps thirty years was sitting with his shoes off
and his heels toasting upon the hearth, while his wife, a pretty,
rosy-cheeked country girl, of about his own age, sat in a large
splint-bottom chair, sewing. If it needed one more thing to complete the
cozy picture of simple, wholesome country life, it was not wanting, for
just at the wife's elbow was a cradle, which she occasionally jogged
with her foot, giving it just enough motion to keep it swaying gently. In
the cradle slumbered the heir of the household and the link of pure gold
that bound these two lives together.
Everything in the room breathed contentment. The kettle hummed and
sputtered, sending forth its white cloud of steam, while the kitchen
clock ticked off the pleasant moments.

The man was deeply interested in the weekly paper for which he had
just driven to the office, but he occasionally stopped to take a bite out
of a large red Baldwin apple that he found in a dish on the table near
by.
He was so engrossed in local items that he did not hear his wife's
excited question until it was repeated for the second time.
"John, what is that?" she asked.
"What is what?" he replied, laying down his paper that he might give
his full attention to her inquiry.
"That noise on the piazza," she answered in a low tone.
"I don't hear any noise," returned the man; but almost as he spoke a
slow shambling step made the floor-boards of the old piazza creak and
a heavy hand was laid upon the door.
"Hello, who's there?" asked the man, for he could think of no one who
would be calling at the hour of nine, which is really late in a farming
community.
But there was no reply to his inquiry, only the sound of a heavy step
moving up and down in front of the door.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" repeated the young farmer in an
irritated tone, for he was both surprised and annoyed by the intrusion.
For answer, the kitchen door began creaking and straining as though
great force was being exerted on it from the outside, and before the
astonished couple could exchange glances of amazement and
incredulity, with a mighty crash it tumbled in upon them, bringing one
door-jamb with it, and fell with a bang upon the floor.
But the most astonishing thing of all was the figure that stood drawn up
to its full height in the doorway.
The man and woman sat as though petrified, amazement and fear

written upon their pale faces, for there in the doorway, eyeing them
intently, and with no thought of retreat, was a large black bear.
As the bear stood there, arms akimbo, bear fashion, her great white
teeth showing through half-parted lips, and the strong claws suggesting
what execution could be done by a well-directed blow, she was
anything but a reassuring visitor.
The young farmer, feeling that something must be done to scare off this
hair-raising intruder, leaped to his feet in sudden desperation, and,
shouting at the top of his voice, seized the door and slammed it back
into the casing with all his strength, bumping the bear's nose severely.
Then he set his shoulder against it, and braced with all his might.
But his move was a bad one, for there was a short