MEETING OF THE WILD MEN 195 



stood; for them three trees is goin' to do a mighty lot o' fig- 

 gerin' in this here story. 



"As I was sayin', there was two pines with a birch in between, 

 an' all standin' in a row, with the upper branches o' pines 

 runnin' square in among the branches o 1 the birch. 'Bout 

 half ways between the birch and the east pine, but a trifle off 

 the line, was a pool o' water. Before I turns in for the night, 

 I takes the packet an' sticks it on the end of a long pole, an' 

 shoves it up against the birch tree, for fear o' the fire spreadin' 

 an' burnin' up the mail. 



"Me an' Old-pot-head's son turns in an' sleeps as sound as 

 any trippers could. Some time in the night I wakes up with 

 a mighty start that almost busts me heart. Somethin' was 

 maulin' me. So, with me head still under the blanket, for I 

 dassn't peep out, I sings out to the Injun an' asks him what in 

 creation he's kickin' me for; an' if he couldn't wake me with- 

 out killin' me. Old-pot-head's son yells back that he hasn't 

 touched me. Then you bet I was scared; for the thing hauls 

 off agen an' gives me a clout that knocks the wind plum' out o' 

 me. 



"Just then I heard Old-pot-head's son shout, 'Keep still, 

 Bill, it's a big black bear.' I grabs the edges o' me blanket an' 

 pulls 'em in under me so hard I thinks I've bust it. But the 

 bear keeps on maulin' me, an' givin' me such hard swats that 

 I began to fear it'd cave in me ribs." 



"But, Billy, why didn't you shoot it?" asked the Reverend 

 Mr. Wilson. 



"Shoot? Why, your reverence, don't you know, packeteers 

 never carries a gun?" the old man exclaimed with disgust, and 

 then continued his story: 



"Not content with that, the brute starts to roll me over an' 

 over. An' all the time I'm doin' me best to play dead. Now 

 you needn't laff. I'd like to see any o' youse pretendin' you 

 was dead while a big bear was poundin' you that hard that you 



