"Game comes down to drink thar," said Shif'less Sol.
"Lie still and let's see," said Paul. The boat was almost hidden in the
thick foliage that overhung the river, and nobody on it stirred. Two deer
presently walked gingerly to the water, drank daintily, and then walked as
gingerly away. Soon a black bear followed them and shambled to the water's
edge. He looked up and down the stream, but he saw nothing and the wind
blowing from him toward the boat brought no dread odor to his sensitive
nostrils. He drank, wrinkled his face in a comical manner, scratched
himself with his left paw, and then shambled away. Shif'less Sol laughed.
"I'd hev to be hard pushed afore I shot that feller," he said. "Ain't the
black bear a comic chap when he tries to be. I declare I hev a real feller
feelin' fur him. I couldn't ever feel that way toward a panther. They
always look mean an' they always are mean, but I could hobnob right along
with a jolly, fat black bear."
"Yes," said Paul, looking dreamily far into the future. "It's a pity they
have to go."
"Hev to go, what do you mean, Paul?" interrupted Long Jim Hart, as he
cracked a joint or two.
"Why," replied Paul, "all this country will be settled up some day, and
how can bears and panthers and buffaloes roam wild on farms?"
Long Jim looked at him with eyes slowly widening in wonder.
Pages:
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126