32 WILD BROTHER 
Comfortably settled in the mother’s lap, both 
the bear and the baby were enjoying their midday 
refreshment. A proud and affectionate smile stole 
over the gentle woman’s face as she glanced down 
at the little ones. I pulled the trigger, and there 
came a vivid flash and a dull heavy report that 
rattled the dishes on the shelves. 
Pandemonium prevailed. The room was filled 
with smoke. Above the crying of the frightened 
children could be heard the high falsetto squeal of 
the terrified bear. 
“Land sakes alive, Mr. Underwood !” exclaimed 
the startled parent. “Why did n’t you tell us what 
was going to happen?” 
To add to the excitement and confusion the cook, 
who in the men’s room had heard the jarring re- 
port, came rushing in. Blinded by the smoke and 
dismayed at the uproar, for a few minutes he 
was panic-stricken. 
It took some time to quiet the family and assure 
them that no harm had been done. When the 
smoke had cleared away, I explained to them that, 
if I had told them what was going to happen, they 
would have been frightened before the event oc- 
curred, and the mother’s expression would have 
been strange and unnatural. 
Now that everything was all right, and no one 
had been hurt, the children were for having an- 
