180 Old Bays on the Farm 



claim one o' them cubs fer pay fer his loss on 

 that knife. 



''An' now comes the most remarkable feature 

 as ever concluded a b'ar story. 



"I hadn't more'n straightened things about an' 

 was gettin' my bag o' b'ars on my back to strike 

 out fer home when along came a neighbor o' ours. 

 His clothes was torn to ribbons an' he was 

 drenched with blood. 



" 'What in thunder have you been doin' tearin' 

 yerself up so amazin'?' says I. 



*' * Wildcat,' says he, 'been rasselin' with a wild- 

 cat.' 



"Then I up an' told him my story an' how 

 troubled I was 'bout losin' Jim's butcherin' knife. 



KNIFE ABRIVED JUST IN TIME 



"The man pondered fer a spell an' then gave 

 me the particulars o' his scrap. 'The wildcat 

 had me down,' he said, 'an' it was gettin' mighty 

 near the last round an' I expected it'd be all up 

 with me, when I heer'd a rumpus in the scrub. 

 There was a b'ar comin' tearin' towards us with 

 its head down an' its eyes jest hangin' out on its 

 cheeks. The b'ar had got most on top o' me an' 

 the wildcat an' then seein' us it turned so quick in 

 its tracks that it almost throwed itself down. Jest 

 as that b'ar turned somethin' shot off of her an' 

 fell square in my hand. It was a butcherin' knife 

 covered with blood. That, of course, gave me a 



