Black Bruin | Page 5

angry growl on the
outside and the next instant the door, farmer and all went spinning
across the room, the man falling heavily and striking against the stove
in the fall, and the great shaggy monster at once followed up her
advantage by shambling awkwardly into the room.
The woman screamed and fainted, and then a gust of wind from the
open doorway blew out the light, leaving the kitchen in darkness.
For a few moments the only sounds heard in the room were the ticking
of the clock, the humming of the teakettle, and the shambling steps of
the bear as she prowled about. But both of the figures on the floor were
unconscious of what was going on, while a bright stream of blood
trickled from a deep cut in the man's forehead.
Finally he was aroused by a cold draft of air upon his head. He put his
hand to his forehead and saw that it was dripping with a warm fluid. He
then put his fingers into his mouth and tasted and knew that it was
blood. Then full consciousness surged into his throbbing head and he
remembered.
There was no animate sound in the room and a terrible foreboding
chilled his heart. He listened for his wife's breathing, but no such sound
reached his ears.

"Mary," he called in a whisper, "are you here?" But there was only the
ticking of the clock and the hum of the kettle.
With an unspeakable fear he sprang to his feet, throwing off all caution
and cried, "Mary," in a loud voice, but with no better results.
Then with a trembling hand he struck a match and by its feeble light
saw his wife lying on the floor like one dead. Kneeling beside her he
felt her pulse. It fluttered feebly and he knew she had only swooned. A
dash of cold water soon revived her and she sat up and looked
bewilderingly about.
There upon the floor lay the door with the shattered jamb beside it and
in front of the stove was a bright pool of blood, but no bear was visible.
Then the match went out and they were again in darkness.
Suddenly, with a paroxysm of fear, the woman sprang forward and
clutched in the darkness for the cradle; then with a wild, pitiful,
heartbroken cry, she fell to the floor.
"Mary, Mary, what is the matter?" cried the bewildered husband, trying
with trembling fingers to strike another match.
A moment it sputtered and then burned bright, and by the fitful light the
man beheld that which turned his blood to ice and his heart to stone.
The cradle was empty, and the baby was gone.
CHAPTER II
THE CHASE
When the sudden gust of wind from the open door blew out the light
and left the room in darkness, the great she-bear was not as much
inconvenienced as one might imagine, for the bear is something of a
prowler at night, doing much thieving and hunting when the darkness
screens its deeds, as he has a very good pair of night-eyes.
Being thus left in darkness, the great brute stepped gingerly about,

taking care not to tread upon the two prostrate forms on the floor, until
she came to the cradle. There she stooped and investigated, passing her
tongue caressingly over the little sleeper's face. Then with her great
clumsy paws she drew the blanket in which the baby had been wrapped
about the sleeping child, and taking the loose ends in her teeth, swung
it clear of the cradle and held it as though in a hammock.
Still standing erect, the bear edged carefully to the doorway, but once
on the piazza, where she felt sure that the way was clear, she dropped
on all fours, and started for the woods at a clumsy, shuffling trot. But
clumsy as the gait was, it took her over the ground rapidly, and she was
soon far into the forest.
The heartbroken mother, after being brought back to consciousness,
could only sit and wring her hands and moan, "O John, John, my baby,
my darling, I shall never see it again."
For a few moments the strong young man sat as though stunned by the
suddenness of the blow. His brawny arms were nerveless; the heart had
gone out of him, leaving him helpless as a little child. But presently his
strong manhood asserted itself, and a bright glitter came into his keen,
gray eyes.
"Mary," he said, almost roughly, "stop taking on so and listen to me. I
am going after our child and with God's help I will bring him back."
The realization of the hopelessness of it all nearly choked him, but he
had to say something to quiet the look of misery and