The Story of Ben 15 



some fishing and a Httle hunting we were, for the most 

 part, held close by the steady rain and gave much time 

 to the training of our cubs. Each of us of course 

 adopted his own system of education. O^Brien, being 

 an Irishman, would hear of no half measures; talked of 

 ''sparing the rod and spoiling the child," and was de- 

 termined to be master in his own house. In this way 

 he soon developed a disposition in his little cub that I 

 have never seen equalled for viciousness in any animal 

 whatever. She would, at the mere sound of Jack's 

 voice, become a vindictive little devil; and she would 

 spit, and strike at, and fight him until she was com- 

 pletely exhausted. And when she finally died from 

 the effects of the constant whippings he gave her 

 in trying to break her spirit, she tried to bite him with 

 her last breath. 



Ben and George occupied the original little cave in 

 the bank, and we spent many hours laughing at their 

 antics. At first they would scratch and bite if you 

 touched them, but we never whipped them nor cor- 

 rected them in any way and they soon lost their fear 

 of us. We put on heavy leather gloves, handled them 

 gently but firmly, and — ^let them chew. They were so 

 small that they could do us no harm and after a few 

 days they grew gentle as kittens. It was not long be- 

 fore, when they were not tied up, they would come and 

 climb into our laps. They would lick our hands like 

 puppies and, when allowed to, would come into our 



