Part 7 (1/2)
”I've been thinking--do you iht?” asked Darry
Hank Leeson shook his head
”Don't allow as they will About a year ago I gave thet Fetter fair warnin' if he showed his face abouthie They know me, an' knoon't stand any nonsense They'll be likely to give ot ht to be safe until the soldiers get the news”
”Reckon you will be, lad,” answered the trapper
He was very much of a quaint character, and for two hours the boys sat up, listening to his tales of encounters ild animals, desperadoes, and Indians
”I've had my own little fun with b'ars,” he said ”Got in a tree onct, and a b'ar kept , and in running over a brook I dropped et away?” asked Darry
”I didn't knohat to do fust The b'ar had ht at the botto he couldn't coo down, and there as--a-lookin' at each other, he a-growlin' and I a-sayin' all kind o' unpleasant things about him”
”Didn't you have a pistol?”
”No, all I had with me at the time was a powder-horn, a matchbox, and my pocket-knife What to do I didn't know, and I was a-thinkin' I'd be starved out, when a thought struck me to blow him up with powder”
”Blow him up!” cried both boys
”Thet's wot, lads--blow him up I had a handkerchief, ye see, an' into this I dumped 'bout half my powder, an' into the powder I put threeout Then I tied powder an' matches into a hard lump and watched my chance There was a flat rock near the roots of the tree, and putty soon Mr B'ar squatted on this rock Then I let drive fer the rock, an' the powder an' ood an' hard, I can tell ye”
”And exploded?” put in Joe eagerly
”Yes, exploded with a noise ye could hear 'ht up into thet ba'r's face, blindin' hi his jaw half off, and the way he ran to save hione I dropped down and ran for ht him between the rocks and finished hiht, and soon after the tale was concluded Leeson showed the boys into the inner rooh bed with a straw mattress
”Make yerselves ter huot to offer ye”
”But we don't want to turn you out,” said Darry
”I'll make myself comfortable near the door,” answered Leeson ”I want to sleep with one eye open--in case those rascals should take a notion to coh to rest indoors again and take off the clothing they had worn during the storh,” declared Joe; ”but I don't want too much of it”
”Oh, we've seen the worst side of it,” returned Darry ”I expect lots of good tiet to the fort”
”Oh, so do I, for thefor the cousins to get to sleep, and a little while later Hank Leeson also threw himself down to rest
But the old trapper remained close to the doorstep, and slept with his rifle near at hand
An hour went by, and the darkness and silence continued There was no moon, and only a few stars were visible At a distance a few night birds were calling, and occasionally the howl of some lonely wolf could be heard, but that was all