HOW I KILLED A BEAR. 



Xv 



(tr 



V 107 



and put a ball into his head. He didn't mind it now ; he 

 minded nothing. He was calm in death. In order that 



O 



he might remain so, I blew his brains out, and then 

 started for home. I had killed a bear ! 



14. I sauntered into the house with an unconcerned 

 air. There was a chorus of voices : " Where are your 

 blackberries ? " " Why were you gone so long ? " " Where 

 is your pail ? " "I left the pail ! " " Left the pail ? what 

 for ? " "A bear wanted it." " Oh, nonsense ! " " Well, 

 the last I saw of it, a bear had it." " Oh, come ! You 

 didn't really see a bear ? " " Yes, but I really did see a 

 real bear." " Did he run ? " " Yes, he ran after me." 

 " I don't believe a word of it ! What did you do ? " 

 " Oh, nothing particular except kill the bear." Cries of 

 "Gammon!" "Don't believe it!" "Where is the 

 bear ? " " If you want to see the bear, you must go up 

 into the woods. I couldn't bring him down alone." 



15. Having satisfied the household that something ex- 

 traordinary had occurred, I went down into the valley to 

 get help. The great bear-hunter, who keeps one of the 

 summer boarding-houses, received my story with a smile 

 of incredulity ; and the incredulity spread to the other 

 inhabitants, and to the boarders, as soon as the story was 

 known. However, as I insisted in all soberness, and 

 offered to lead them to the bear, a party of forty or fifty 

 people at last started off with me to bring the bear in. 

 Nobody believed there was any bear in the case ; but 

 everybody who could get a gun carried one, and we went 

 into the woods armed with guns, pistols, pitchforks, and 

 sticks, against all contingencies and surprises a crowd 

 made up mostly of scoffers and jeerers. 



16. But when I led the way to the fatal spot, and 

 pointed out the bear, lying peacefully wrapped up in his 

 own skin, something like terror seized the boarders, and 



