THE ARKANSAW BEAR

[Illustration]

NEW YORK R. H. RUSSELL PUBLISHER

[Illustration: BOSEPHUS AND HORATIO]

THE ARKANSAW BEAR

A TALE OF FANCIFUL ADVENTURE

TOLD

IN SONG AND STORY BY

ALBERT BIGELOW PAINE

IN PICTURES BY

FRANK VER BECK

[Illustration]

 NEW YORK: R. H. RUSSELL LONDON: KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER & CO. 

 MDCCCXCVIII

 COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY

 ROBERT HOWARD RUSSELL

 Printed in the United States of America

 DEDICATION

 TO MASTER FRANK VER BECK, FOR WHOSE

 BEDTIME ENTERTAINMENT

 THE ARKANSAW BEAR

 FIRST PERFORMED

CONTENTS

 CHAPTER PAGE I The Meeting of Bosephus and Horatio 11 II The First Performance 20 III Horatio and the Dogs 29 IV The Dance of the Forest People 38 V Good-bye to Arkansaw 46 VI An Exciting Race 55 VII Horatio's Moonlight Adventure 64 VIII Sweet and Sour 73 IX In Jail at Last 83 X An Afternoon's Fishing 92 XI The Road Home 101 XII The Bear Colony at Last. The Parting of Bosephus and Horatio 111

[Illustration]

CHAPTER I

THE MEETING OF BOSEPHUS AND HORATIO

[Illustration: Music]

 "Oh, 'twas down in the woods of the Arkansaw, And the night was cloudy and the wind was raw, [Illustration: Music]

 And he didn't have a bed and he didn't have a bite, And if he hadn't fiddled he'd a travelled all night. "

BOSEPHUS paused in his mad flight to listen. Surely this was someoneplaying the violin, and the tune was familiar. 

He listened more intently. 

 "But he came to a cabin and an old gray man, And says he, 'Where am I going? Now tell me if you can----'"

It was the "Arkansaw Traveller" and close at hand. The little boy torehastily through the brush in the direction of the music. The moon hadcome up, and he could see quite well, but he did not pause to pick hisway. As he stepped from the thicket out into an open space the fiddlingceased. It was bright moonlight there, too, and as Bosephus took in thesituation his blood turned cold. 

In the center of the open space was a large tree. Backed up against thistree, and looking straight at the little boy, with fiddle in positionfor playing, and uplifted bow, was a huge Black Bear!

Bosephus looked at the Bear, and the Bear looked at Bosephus. 

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" he roared. 

"I--I am Bo-se-Bosephus, an' I--I g-guess I'm l-lost!" gasped the littleboy. 

"Guess you are!" laughed the Bear, as he drew the bow across thestrings. 

"An-an' I haven't had any s-supper, either. "

"Neither have I!" grinned the Bear, "that is, none worth mentioning. Ayoung rabbit or two, perhaps, and a quart or so of blackberries, butnothing real good and strengthening to fill up on. " Then he regardedBosephus reflectively, and began singing as he played softly:--

 "Oh, we'll have a little music first and then some supper, too, But before we have the supper we will play the music through. "

"No hurry, you know. Be cool, please, and don't wiggle so. "

But Bosephus, or Bo, as he was called, was very much disturbed. So faras he could see there was no prospect of supper for anybody but theBear. 

"You'll forget all about supper pretty soon, " continued the Bear, fiddling. 

 "You'll forget about your supper--you'll forget about your home-- You'll forget you ever started out in Arkansaw to roam. "

"My name is Horatio, " he continued. "Called Ratio for short. But I don'tlike it. Call me Horatio, in full, please. "

[Illustration: "MAYBE YOU CAN PLAY IT YOURSELF. "]

"Oh, ye-yes, sir!" said Bo, hastily. 

"See that you don't forget it!" grunted the Bear. "I don't likefamiliarity in my guests. But I am clear away from the song I wassinging when you came tearing out of that thicket. Seems like I neversaw anybody in such a hurry to see me as you were. 

 "Now the old man sat a-fiddling by the little cabin door, And the tune was pretty lively, and he played it o'er and o'er; And the stranger sat a-list'ning and a-wond'ring what to do, As he fiddled and he fiddled, but he never played it through. "

Bo was very fond of music, and as Horatio drew from the strings themellow strains of "The Arkansaw Traveller" he forgot that both he andthe Bear were hungry. He could dance very well, and was just about to doso as the Bear paused. 

"Why don't you play the rest of that tune, Horatio?" he asked, anxiously. 

"Same reason the old man didn't!" growled the Bear, still humming theair, "Oh, raddy daddy dum--daddy dum--dum--dum--

"Why!" continued Bo, "that's funny!"

"Is it?" snorted Horatio; "I never thought so!

 "Then the stranger asked the fiddler 'Won't you play the rest for me?' 'Don't know it, ' says the fiddler, 'Play it for yourself!' says he----"

"Maybe you can do what the stranger did, Bosephus--maybe you can play ityourself, eh?" grunted the huge animal, pausing and glowering at thelittle boy. 

"Oh, no, sir--I--I--that is, sir, I can only wh-whistle or s-sing it!"trembled Bo. 

"What!"

"Y-yes, sir. I----"

"You can sing it?" shouted the Bear, joyfully, and for once forgettingto fiddle. "You don't say so!"

"Why, of course!" laughed Bo; "everybody in Arkansaw can do that. Itgoes this way:--

[Illustration: Music]

 "Then the stranger took the fiddle, with a ridy-diddle-diddle, And the strings began to jingle at the tingle of the bow, [Illustration: Music]

 While the old man sat and listened, and his eyes with pleasure glistened, As he shouted 'Hallelujah! And hurray--for--Joe!'"

When Bo had finished, Horatio stood perfectly still for some moments inastonishment and admiration. Then he came up close to the little boy. 

"Look here, Bo, " he said, "if you'll teach me to play and sing thattune, we'll forget all about that sort o' personal supper I was planningon, and I'll take you home all in one piece. And anything you want toknow I'll tell you, and anything I've got, except the fiddle, is yours. Furthermore, you can call me Ratio, too, see?

 'Oh, ridy-diddy, diddy-diddy----'

how does it go? Give me a start, please. "

Bo brightened up at once. He liked to teach things immensely, andespecially to ask questions. 

"Why, of course, Ratio, " he said, condescendingly; "I shall be mosthappy. And I can make up poetry, too. Ready, now:--

 "I am glad to be the teacher of this kind and gentle creature, Who can play upon the fiddle in a----"

"Wait, Bo! wait till I catch up!" cried Horatio, excitedly. "Now!"

"Hold on, Ratio. I want to ask a question!"

"All right! Fire away! I couldn't get any further anyhow. "

"Well, " said Bo, "I want to know how you ever learned to play thefiddle. "

Horatio did not reply at first, but closed his eyes reflectively anddrew the bow across the string softly. 

 "Oh, raddy daddy dum--daddy dum--dum--dum---

"I took a course of lessons, " he said, presently, "but it is a longstory, and some of it is not pleasant. I think we had better go on withthe music now:--

 "Oh, there was a little boy and his name was Bo, Went out into the woods when the moon was low, And he met an Old Bear who was hungry for a snack, And his folks are still awaiting for Bosephus to come back. "

"Go right on with the rest of it, " said Bo, hastily. 

 "For the boy became the teacher of this kind and gentle creature, Who can play upon the fiddle in a very skilful way. "

"But I say, Ratio, " interrupted Bo again, "how did it come you neverlearned to play the second part of that tune?"

Horatio scowled fiercely at first, and then once more grew quitepensive. He played listlessly as he replied:--

"Ah, " he said, "my teacher was--was unfortunate. He taught me to playthe first part of that tune. He would have taught me the rest of it--ifhe had had time. "

Horatio drew the bow lightly across the strings and began to sing, in afar-away voice:--

 "Oh, there was an old man, and his name was Jim, And he had a pet bear who was fond of him; But the man was very cruel and abusive to his pet, And one day his people missed him, and they haven't found him yet. "

"Oh!" said Bo; "and w-what happened, Horatio?"

Horatio paused and dashed away a tear. 

"It happened in a lonely place, " he said, chewing reflectively, "alonely place in the woods, like this. We were both of us tired andhungry and he grew impatient and beat me. He also spoke of my parentswith disrespect, and in the excitement that followed he died. "

"Oh!" said Bo. 

"Yes, " repeated Horatio, "he died. He was such a nice man--such a nicefat Italian man, and so good while--while he lasted. "

"Oh!" said Bo. 

Horatio sighed. 

"His death quite took away my appetite, " he mused. "I often miss himnow, and long for some one to take his place. I kept this fiddle, though, and he might have been teaching me the second part of that tuneon it now if his people hadn't missed him--that is, if he hadn't beenimpatient, I mean. "

"Oh, Ratio!" said Bo, "I will teach you the tune all through! And I willnever be the least bit impatient or--or excited. Are you ready to begin, Ratio?"

"All ready! Play. "

 "Oh, it's fine to be the teacher of a kind and gentle creature Who can play upon the fiddle in a very skilful way, And I'll never, never grieve him, and I'll never, never leave him, Till I hear the rooster crowing for the break--of--day. "

"That was very nice, Bo, very nice indeed!" exclaimed Horatio, as theyfinished. "Now, I am going to tell you a secret. "

"Oh!" said Bo. 

"I have a plan. It is to start a colony for the education andimprovement of wild bears. But first I am going to travel and see theworld. I have lived mostly with men and know a good deal of theirtaste--tastes, I mean--and have already travelled in some of the States. After my friend, the Italian, was gone, I tried to carry out his plansand conduct our business alone. But I could only play the first part ofthat tune, and the people wouldn't stand it. They drove me away withguns and clubs. So I came back to the woods to practice and learn therest of that music. My gymnastics are better--watch me. "

Horatio handed Bo his fiddle and began a most wonderful performance. Hestood on his head, walked on his hands, danced on two feet, three feet, and all fours. Then he began and turned somersaults innumerable. Bo wasdelighted. 

"It wasn't because you couldn't play and perform well enough!" he cried, excitedly. "It was because you went alone, and they thought you were acrazy, wild bear. If I could go along with you we could travel togetherover the whole world and make a fortune. Then we could buy a big swampand start your colony. What do you say, Ratio? I am a charity boy, andhave no home anyway! We can make a fortune and see the world!"

At first Ratio did not say anything. Then he seized Bo in his arms andhugged him till the boy thought his time had come. The Bear put him downand held him off at arm's length, joyously. 

"Say!" he shouted. "Why, I say that you are a boy after my own heart!We'll start at once! I'll take you to a place to-night where there arelots of blackberries and honey, and to-morrow we will set forth on ourtravels. Here's my hand as a guarantee of safety as long as you keepyour agreement. You mean to do so, don't you?"

"Oh, yes, " said Bo. 

"And now for camp. We can play and sing as we go. "

As the little boy took Horatio's big paw he ceased to be even the leastbit afraid. He had at last found a strong friend, and was going forthinto the big world. He had never been so happy in his life before. 

"All right, Ratio!" he shouted. "One, two, three, play!"

And Ratio gave the bow a long, joyous scrape across the strings, andthus they began their life together--Bosephus whistling and the Bearplaying and singing with all his might the fascinating strains of "TheArkansaw Traveller":--

 "Oh, there was a little boy and his name was Bo, Went out into the woods when the moon was low, And he hadn't had his supper and his way he didn't know, So he didn't have a bite to eat nor any place to go. Then he heard the ridy-diddle of Horatio and his fiddle, And his knees began to tremble as he saw him standing there; Now they'll never, never sever, and they'll travel on forever-- Bosephus, and the fiddle, and the Old--Black--Bear. "

CHAPTER II

THE FIRST PERFORMANCE

[Illustration: Music]

 "Oh, 'twas down in the woods of the Arkansaw I met an Old Bear with a very nimble paw;

[Illustration: Music]

 He could dance and he could fiddle at the only tune he knew, And he fiddled and he fiddled, but he never played it through. "

BO was awake first, and Horatio still lay sound asleep. As the boypaused the Bear opened one eye sleepily and reached lazily toward hisfiddle, but dropped asleep again before his paw touched it. They hadfound a very cosy place in a big heap of dry leaves under some spreadingbranches, and Horatio, though fond of music, was still more fond of hismorning nap. Bosephus looked at him a moment and began singing again, inthe same strain:--

 "Then there came a little boy who could whistle all the tune, And he whistled and he sang it by the rising of the moon; And he whistled and he whistled, and he sang it o'er and o'er, Till Horatio learned the music he had never learned before. "

The Bear opened the other eye, and once more reached for his fiddle. This time he got hold of it, but before his other paw touched the bow hewas asleep again. Bo waited a moment. Then he suddenly began singing tothe other part of the tune:--

[Illustration: Music]

 "Yes, he learned it all so neatly and he played it all so sweetly That he fell in love completely with the boy without a home;

[Illustration: Music]

 And he said, 'No matter whether it is dark or sunny weather We will travel on together till the cows--come--home. '"

Before Bosephus finished the first two lines of this strain Horatio wassitting up straight and fiddling for dear life. 

"Once more, Bo, once more!" he shouted as they finished. 

They repeated the music, and Horatio turned two handsprings withoutstopping. 

"Now, " he said, "we will go forth and conquer the world. "

"I could conquer some breakfast first, " said Bo. 

"Do you like roasting ears?"

"Oh, yes, " said Bo. 

"Well, I have an interest in a little patch near here--that is, I takean interest, I should say, and you can take part of mine or one of yourown if you prefer. It really doesn't make any difference which you dojust so you take it before the man that planted it is up. "

"Why, " exclaimed the boy as they came out into a little clearing, "thatis old Zack Todd's field!"

"It is, is it? Well, how did old Zack Todd get it, I'd like to know. "

"Why--why I don't know, " answered Bo, puzzled. 

[Illustration: "ONCE MORE, BO, ONCE MORE"]

"Of course not, " said the Bear. "And now, Bosephus, let me tell yousomething. The bears owned that field long before old Zack Todd was everthought of. We're just renting it to him on shares. This is rent day. Wedon't need to wake Zack up. You get over the fence and hand me a fewof the best ears you can get quick and handy, and you might bring one ofthose watermelons I see in the corn there, and we'll find a quiet placethat I know of and eat it. "

Bo hopped lightly over the rail fence, and, gathering an armful of greencorn, handed it to Horatio. Then he turned to select a melon. 

"Has Zack Todd got a gun, Bosephus?" asked the Bear. 

"Yes, sir-ee. The best gun in Arkansaw, and he's a dead shot with it. "

"Oh, he is. Well, maybe you better not be quite so slow picking out thatmelon. Just take the first big one you see and come on. "

"Why, Zack wouldn't care for us collecting rent, would he?"

"Well, I don't know. You see, some folks are peculiar that way. Zackmight forget it was rent day, and a man with a bad memory and a good guncan't be trusted. Especially when he's a dead shot. There, that one willdo. Never mind about his receipt--we'll mail it to him. "

Bo scrambled back over the fence with the melon and hastened as fast ashe could after Horatio, who was already moving across the clearing withhis violin under one arm and the green ears under the other. 

"Wait, Ratio, " called the little boy. "This melon is heavy. "

"Is that a long range gun, Bo?" called back the Bear. 

"Carries a mile and a half. "

"Can't you move up a little faster, Bo? I'm afraid, after all, thatmelon is bigger than we needed. "

The boy was fat and he panted after his huge companion. 

Suddenly there was a sharp report, and Bosephus saw a little tuft of furfly from one of his companion's ears. Horatio dodged frantically anddropped part of his corn. 

[Illustration: CONQUERING THE WORLD. ]

"Run zigzag, Bo!" he called, "and don't drop the melon. Run zigzag. Hecan't hit you so well then, " and Horatio himself began such aperformance of running first one way and then the other that Bo wasalmost obliged to laugh in spite of their peril. 

"Is this what you call conquering the world, Ratio?" Then, as hefollowed the Bear's example, he caught a backward glimpse out of thecorner of his eye. 

"Oh, Ratio, " he called, "the whole family is after us. Zack Todd, andold Mis' Todd, and Jim, and the girls. "

"How many times does that gun shoot?"

"Only once without loading. "

"Muzzle loader?"

"Yep, " panted Bo. "Old style. "

"Good! Hold on to that melon. We'll get to the woods yet. "

But Horatio was mistaken, for just as they dashed into the edge of thetimber, with the pursuers getting closer every moment, right in front ofthem was a high barbed-wire fence which the Todd family had built aroundthe clearing but a few days before. The Bear dropped his corn, and theboy carefully, but with some haste, put down the melon. Then theyturned. The Todd family was just entering the woods--old Zack and thegun in front. He had loaded it and was putting on the cap as he ran. 

"What shall we do, Bo, what shall we do now?" groaned Horatio. 

The situation was indeed desperate. Their pursuers were upon them, andin a moment more the deadly gun would be levelled. Suddenly a brightthought occurred to Bo. 

"I know, " he shouted; "dance! Horatio! dance!"

[Illustration: "DANCE! HORATIO, DANCE!"]

Horatio still had his fiddle under his arm. He threw it into positionand ran the bow over the strings. In a second more he was playing anddancing, and Bo was singing as though it were a matter of life anddeath, which indeed it was:--

[Illustration: Music]

 "Oh, there was a fine man and a mighty fine gun And a Bear that played the fiddle and a boy that couldn't run, [Illustration: Music]

 And the boy was named Bosephus and Horatio the Bear, And they couldn't find a bite to eat for breakfast anywhere. "

The Todd family stood still at this unexpected performance and stared atthe two musicians. Old man Todd leaned his gun against a tree. 

 "Now they couldn't buy their breakfast for their money all was spent, So they dropped into a cornfield to collect a little rent; But they only took a melon and an ear of corn or so, And were going off to eat them where the butter blossoms grow. "

The Todd family were falling into the swing of the music. Old Mis' Toddand the girls were swaying back and forth and the men were beating timewith their feet. Suddenly Bosephus changed to the second part of thetune. 

[Illustration: Music]

 "But the old man got up early with a temper rather surly, And he chased them with his rifle and to catch them he was bound;

[Illustration: Music]

 Till he heard the ridy-diddle of Horatio and his fiddle, Then he shouted, 'Hallelujah, girls, and all--hands--'round!'"

The first line of this had started the Todd family. Old Zack swung oldMis' Todd, and Jim swung the girls. Then all joined hands and circledto the left. They circled around Bosephus and Horatio, who kept on withthe music, faster and faster. Then there was a grand right and left andbalance all--every one for himself--until they were breathless and coulddance no more. Horatio stopped fiddling and when old man Todd couldcatch his breath he said to Bo:--

"Look a-here; that Bear of yours is a whole show by himself, and you'reanother. Anybody that can play and sing like that can have anything I'vegot. There's my house and there's my cornfield; help yourselves. "

Bo thanked him and said that the corn and the melon already selectedwould do for the time. To oblige them, however, he would take up amodest collection. He passed his hat and received a silver twenty-fivecent piece, a spool of thread with a needle in it, a one-bladedjack-knife and two candy hearts with mottoes on them--these last beingfrom the girls, who blushed and giggled as they contributed. Then hesaid good-by, and the Todd family showed them a gate that led into thethick woods. As the friends passed out of sight and hearing Bosephuspaused and waved his handkerchief to the girls. A little later Horatioturned to him and said, impressively:--

"That is what I call conquering the world, Bosephus. We began a littlesooner and more abruptly than I had expected, but it was not badly done, and, all things considered, you did your part very well, Bosephus; verywell indeed. "

CHAPTER III

HORATIO AND THE DOGS

[Illustration: Music]

 "Blossom on the bough and bird on the limb-- Old Black Bear sits a-grinning at him;

[Illustration: Music]

 Sawing on his fiddle and a-grinning at the jay-- Grinning as he saws the only tune that he can play. "

HORATIO leaned back against the tree and played lazily. Bosephus laystretched full length on the leaves, following idly with any words thathappened to fit the strain. A blue jay just over their heads bobbed upand down on a limber branch, waiting for them to go. The Bear took upthe song as the boy paused:--

 "Boy on the bank and bird on the tree-- Bird keeps a-bobbing and a-blinking at me; Bobbing and a-blinking, and a-waiting for a bite-- Hasn't had a thing to eat since late--last--night. "

"I say, Ratio, " interrupted Bo. "Suppose we move on and give Mr. JayBird a chance?"

Horatio grunted and rose heavily. After their adventure with the Toddfamily they had come to a pleasant spot in the woods by a clear streamof water. Bo, who had some matches in his pocket, had kindled a fire androasted some of the corn, much to the disgust of Horatio, who dislikedfire and asked him why he didn't roast the watermelon, too, while he wasabout it. Then they had eaten their breakfast together and taken abrief rest before setting forth again on their travels. A jay bird waswaiting to peck the gnawed ears and melon rinds. He stared at thestrange pair as they strolled away through the trees, the Bearcontinuing his favorite melody. 

"Ratio, " said Bo, pausing suddenly, "what is that I hear scurryingthrough the bushes every now and then?"

"Friends of mine, likely. "

"Friends! What friends?"

"Oh, everything, most. Wild cats, wolves, foxes and a few wild bears, maybe. "

"Wildcats! Bears! Wolves!"

"Why, yes. Often when I play in the moonlight they come out and dancefor me. "

"Oh!" said Bo. 

"I have them all dancing together, sometimes. I'll have them dance foryou before long. "

"Oh, Ratio, will you?"

"Yes. It's a lot of fun, but there's no money in it, and that's whatwe're after now, Bo. We're going to buy that swamp, you remember, andstart that bear colony. "

Bosephus was about to reply when Horatio paused and listened. There wasthe distant sound of dogs barking. 

"Hello!" said Bo. "We're coming to somewhere. Now we'll give our firstregular performance. Come on, Ratio!"

Horatio hesitated. 

"How many dogs do you suppose there are, Bo?" he asked anxiously. 

"About a dozen, I should think, big and little. "

"Little dogs, Bo? Little snapping dogs?"

"That's what it sounds like, and some hounds and a big dog or two. Youdon't mind dogs, do you?"

[Illustration: "HELLO!" SAID BO, "WE'RE COMING TO SOMEWHERE. "]

"Oh, no, not in the least--but it's most too soon after breakfast togive a performance, and besides, all that noise would spoil the music. "

But the little boy, who still had in his pocket the two candy heartsthat had been given to him by the Todd girls, walked ahead proudly. 

"You trust to me!" he said, flourishing a large stick. "I'll stop theirnoise pretty quick. I'm not afraid of dogs!"

The Bear followed some steps behind, looking ahead warily. 

"I'm not afraid, either, you know, " he said, anxiously. "Only when thereare so many of them they get me mixed up on my notes and one of themonce had the ill manners to nip quite a piece out of my left hind leg. "

Presently they came into an open space and plump upon a littlecrossroads village. A gang of dogs gambolled upon the common, chasingstray geese and barking loudly. Horatio paused. 

"Come back, Bo, " he whispered. "There's no money in that crowd. "

But Bosephus was already some distance ahead, stick in hand, and thedogs had spied him. They ceased barking for a moment and two or three ofthe larger ones ran away. Then the little dogs began yelping again andcame on in a swarm. Bo made at them with his stick, but they dodged pasthim, and in a moment more were circling and snapping around Horatio, whowas waving his violin wildly with one paw and slapping like a mankilling mosquitoes with the other. 

"Quick, Bo!" he shouted. "Quick! Help! Murder!"

The little boy wanted to laugh, but ran up instead and began strikingamong the bevy of dogs that were torturing his friend. Some of themhowled and ran off a few paces. Then they came flocking back. SuddenlyHoratio thrust his violin into Bo's hand and ran swiftly toward a largetree a few yards distant. The curs followed and jumped high into the airafter him as he scrambled up to the lower limbs. 

Bosephus hurried after them and struck at them so fiercely with his clubthat they ran yelping away. A number of villagers, attracted by thecommotion, were now appearing from all quarters. 

"Here come the people, Ratio, " said Bo, grinning. "Now we can perform. "

"All right, Bo, " whispered the Bear, "but if you'll kindly hand me upthat fiddle I believe I'll perform right where I am. "

The boy passed up the violin and the Bear struck a few notes. By thistime the people had collected. There was a blacksmith with a leatherapron, and a painter with all colors of paint on his clothes. Behindthem there came a woman with dough on her hands and another carrying ababy. Other men and women followed in the procession, and a dozen or sochildren of all ages. They halted a little way from the tree and stoodstaring. Horatio sat astride a big limb and commenced playing. Suddenlythe boy threw back his head and began to sing:--

 "Oh, the dogs barked loud and the dogs barked low And the boy stood still and the Bear climbed the tree, At an Old Black Bear and a boy named Bo. While the people came a-running to see what they could see. "

The children drew up close at the first line and held their breath tolisten. As the boy paused they shouted and screamed with laughter at thesight of Horatio fiddling in the forks of the tree. The dogs sat in arow and howled plaintively. 

"Sing some more, " cried the woman with the baby; "it amuses my littleJoey. "

[Illustration: BOSEPHUS HURRIED AFTER THEM AND STRUCK AT THEM. ]

 "Yes, the people came to see them and the dogs they ran away, And the boy began to sing and the Bear began to play, Till it tickled all the children and it made the baby crow, And it set the people dancing till they jumped--Jim--Crow. "

"More! more!" shouted the people as they formed into cotillons andreels. "Sing us some more!"

[Illustration: Music]

 "Oh, the ridy-diddle-diddle of Horatio and his fiddle, And the singing of Bosephus they had never heard before;

[Illustration: Music]

 And it set them all to spinning, and the music was so winning That they wined them and they dined them until half past four!"

"Wait! wait!" called the woman with the baby under her arm, "I'm all outof breath. "

"No, no!" shouted the children and all the others. "Go on! Go on!"

So once more and yet another time the unwearied musicians repeated theirperformance, and then Bo politely passed his hat to the dancers. When hehad been to each one his hat was heavy with some money and many usefularticles. 

"Bring your Bear down out of the tree, " said the blacksmith, "and wewill give you a feast on the common. "

Bo beckoned to Horatio to climb down, but the big fellow hesitated. 

The temptation of a feast, however, was too much for him. 

[Illustration: ONCE MORE AND YET ANOTHER TIME. ]

That night, when they had both danced again for the people and Horatiohad given them an acrobatic exhibition, they strolled away through theevening loaded down with luxuries of all kinds. The villagers went withthem to the outskirts, and called good luck after them. As they passedinto the quiet shadows of the forest they once more heard the barkingof dogs in the distance behind them. 

"We have had a good day, Bosephus, " said Horatio, with a long sigh ofsatisfaction. "We are on the road to fortune. To be sure, there arelittle thorns along the way--"

"Dogs, for instance--and guns. "

"Trifles, Bosephus; trifles. Don't give them a second thought. Of courseyou are only a little boy as yet, and will outgrow these fears. "

"And learn to climb trees. "

"I hope you don't think I climbed that tree out of fear, Bosephus. Imerely went up there to get a better view of my audience. One shouldalways rise above his audience. And now let us sing softly together aswe go. It will rest us after our day of conquest. "

And touching the strings lightly and singing softly together, thefriends sought leisurely their evening camp. Here and there a lightrustle in the bushes showed that the forest people were listening, andthe leaves of the forest whispered in time to their melody. 

CHAPTER IV

THE DANCE OF THE FOREST PEOPLE

[Illustration: Music]

 "Oh! the night was warm and the moon was bright, And we pitched our camp in the pale moonlight;

[Illustration: Music]

 In the pale moonlight and the green, green shade, And we counted up together all the money we had made. "

THE little boy jingled the coins in his hands, and sang reflectively tothe Bear's soft music. Their camp fire had died down to a few redembers, and the big moon hanging in the tree-tops made all the worldwhite and black, with one bright splash in the brook below. They hadfinished their supper, and Bosephus, with the needle and thread given tohim by old Mis' Todd, had patiently mended by the firelight a small rentin his trouser leg. Horatio, watching him with a grin, had finallyremarked:--

"You see, Bo, if you wore clothes like mine you wouldn't have to dothat. "

"And if the dog that did that had got his teeth into your clothes, you'dhave wished they were like mine. Maybe that's why you didn't give him achance. "

"Let's count the money, Bo. "

So then they counted up their day's receipts. There was something morethan a dollar in all, and Horatio was much pleased. 

[Illustration: THEIR CAMP-FIRE HAD DIED DOWN. ]

"I tell you, Bo, " he said excitedly, "we've made a fine start. By and bywe will earn two or three times that much every day, and be able tostart our bear colony before you know it. "

The little boy fondled the coins over and over. They were the first hehad ever earned. 

"Ratio, " he said at last, "don't you suppose when we get a lot ofmoney--a big lot, I mean--we might give some to those people I used tolive with?"

Horatio scowled. 

"I thought you said they didn't treat you well and you had to run away. "

"Yes, of course, Ratio; but then they were so poor and maybe they'd havebeen better to me if I had been able to earn money for them. They didtake me out of the poor house, you know, and--"

"And you tried to get back again and got lost and fell in with me. Nowyou are sorry and want to go to them, do you?" and the Bear snorted sofiercely that the little boy trembled. 

"Oh, no! Not for the world! I never was so happy in all my life, only Ijust thought--"

"Then don't think, Bo, " interrupted Horatio, gently. "You are only alittle boy. I will do the thinking for this firm. Now for a song, Bo, tosoothe us. "

So then they played and sang softly together while the moon rose and thefire died out, and the boy poured the money from hand to hand, lovingly. 

"Bosephus, " said his companion, as they paused, "were those people youlived with nice people? Nice fat people, I mean?"

"Not very. Old Mr. Sugget might have been pretty fat if he'd had more toeat, but Mis' Sugget wasn't made to get fat, I know. It wasn't herbuild. "

"It was the old man that abused you, wasn't it?"

"Well, mostly. "

"Knocked you about and half starved you?"

"Sometimes, but then----"

"Wait, please. I have an idea. When we get our bear colony started we'llinvite this Sugget party to visit us. We'll feed him--all he can eat. Byand by, when he gets fat--how long do you suppose it will take him toget fat, Bo? Fat enough, I mean?"

"Fat enough for what?" shivered Bo. 

Horatio drew the horsehair briskly across the strings and looked up atthe moon. 

"Fat enough to be entertaining, " he grinned, and began singing:--

 "Oh, there was an old man and his ways were mighty mean, And he wasn't very fat and he wasn't very lean, Till he went to pay a visit to a colony of bears, Then you couldn't find a nicer man than he was, anywheres. "

While the Bear played the little boy had been watching a slim, movingshadow that seemed to have drifted out from among the heavier shadowsinto the half-lit open space in front of them. As the music ceased itdrifted back again. 

"Play some more, Ratio, " he whispered. 

Again the Bear played and again the slim shadow appeared in themoonlight and presently another and another. Some of them were slenderand graceful; some of them heavier and slower of movement. As the musiccontinued they swung into a half circle and drew closer. Now and thenthe boy caught a glimpse of two shining sparks that kept time andmovement with each. He could hardly breathe in his excitement. 

"Look there, Ratio, " he whispered. 

Horatio did not stir. 

"Sh-h!" he said softly. "My friends--the forest people. "

The Bear slackened the music a little as he spoke and the shadowswavered and drew away. Then he livened the strain and they troopedforward again eagerly. 

Just then the moon swung clear of the thick trees and the dancers werein its full flood. The boy watched them with trembling eagerness. 

A tall, catlike creature, erect and graceful, swayed like a phantom inand out among the others, and seemed to lead. As it came directly infront of the musicians it turned full front toward them. It was animmense gray panther. 

At any other time Bo would have screamed. Now he was only fascinated. Its step was perfect and its long tail waved behind it, like a silverplume, which the others followed. Two red foxes kept pace with it. Twogray ones, a little to one side, imitated their movements. In thebackground a family of three bears danced so awkwardly that Bo wasinclined to laugh. 

"We will teach them to do better than that when we get our colony, " hesaid. 

Horatio nodded without pausing. The dancers separated, each group toitself, the gray panther in the foreground. Spellbound, the boy watchedthe beautiful swaying creature. He had been taught to fear the"painter, " as it was called in Arkansaw, but he had no fear now. Healmost felt that he must himself step out into that enchanted circle andjoin in the weird dance. 

New arrivals stole constantly out of the darkness to mingle in themerrymaking. A little way apart a group of rabbits skipped wildlytogether, while near them a party of capering wolves had forgotten theirtaste for blood. Two plump 'coons and a heavy bodied 'possum, aftertrying in vain to keep up with the others, were content to sit side byside and look on. Other friends, some of whom the boy did not know, slipped out into the magic circle, and, after watching the others for amoment, leaped madly into the revel. The instinct of the old days hadclaimed them when the wild beasts of the forest and the wood nymphs trodmeasures to the pipes of Pan. The boy leaned close to the player. 

"The rest of it!" he whispered. "Play the rest of it!"

"I am afraid. They have never heard it before. "

"Play it! Play it!" commanded Bo, excitedly. 

There was a short, sharp pause at the end of the next bar, then a suddenwild dash into the second half of the tune. The prancing animals stoppedas if by magic. For an instant they stood motionless, staring with eyeslike coals. Then came a great rush forward, the gray panther at thehead. The boy saw them coming, but could not move. 

"Sing!" shouted Horatio; "sing!"

For a second the words refused to come. Then they flooded forth in themoonlight. Bo could sing, and he had never sung as he did now. 

[Illustration: Music]

 "Oh, our singing, yes our singing, all our friends to us 'tis bringing, For it sets the woods to ringing, and the forest people know

[Illustration: Music]

 That we do not mean to harm them in their dancing, nor alarm them-- We are seeking but to charm them with the sounds of long ago. "

[Illustration: THE INSTINCT OF THE OLD DAYS HAD CLAIMED THEM. ]

At the first notes of the boy's clear voice the animals hesitated; thenthey crept up slowly and gathered about to listen. They did not resumedancing to this new strain. Perhaps they wanted to learn it first. Bosang on and on. The listening audience never moved. Then Horatioplayed very softly, and the singer lowered his voice until it becamelike a far off echo. When Bo sang like this he often closed his eyes. Hedid so now. 

The music sank lower and lower, until it died away in a whisper. The boyceased singing and opening his eyes gazed about him. Here and there heimagined he heard a slight rustle in the leaves, but the gray pantherwas gone. The frisking rabbits and the capering wolves had vanished. Thered and gray foxes, the awkward bears and the rest of that frolickingthrong had melted back into the shadows. So far as he could peer intothe dim forest he was alone with his faithful friend. 

CHAPTER V

GOOD-BYE TO ARKANSAW

 "Oh, the wind blows cold and the wind blows raw, When the night comes on in the Arkansaw-- Yes, the wind blows cold and the snow will fall. And Bosephus and Horatio must travel through it all. "

THE little boy's voice quavered as he sang, and his teeth chattered. Ithad been more than two months since he started on his travels withHoratio, and the October nights, even in southern Arkansaw, werebeginning to be chilly. The night before he had in some way gotseparated from his friend's warm furry coat and woke shivering. Hekindled a fire now, singing as he worked, while Horatio touched thechords of his violin pensively. He did not feel the cold. Nature wasproviding him with his winter furs. 

"Bo, " he said presently, "you'll have to have some heavier clothes. Either that or we'll have to go farther South. As for me, you know, Icould go to sleep in a hollow tree and not mind the winter, but youcouldn't do it, and I don't intend to, either, this year; we're makingtoo much money for that. "

Bo laughed in spite of the cold and jingled his pockets. They were morethan half full of coin, and he had a good roll of bills in his jacketbesides. 

"No, " he said; "we are getting along too well. We'll be rich by springif we keep right on. I'm thinking, though, that we'll never be able toget South fast enough if we walk. "

"Look here, Bo; you're not thinking about putting me on that cyclonething they call a train, are you?"

"Well, not exactly, but yesterday where we performed I heard a fellowsay that there was a river right close here, and steamboats. Youwouldn't mind a steamboat, would you, Ratio?"

"Of course not. I don't mind anything. I've always wanted to ride on oneof those trains, only I knew the people would be frightened at me, andas for a steamboat, why, if I should meet a steamboat coming down theroad--"

"But steamboats don't come down the roads, Ratio; they go on the water. "

"Water! Water that you drink, and drown things in?"

"Of course! And if the boat goes down we'll be drowned, too. "

Horatio struck a few notes on the violin before replying. 

"Bo, " he said presently, "you're a friend of mine, aren't you? A truefriend?"

"Yes, Ratio, you know I am. "

"Well, then, don't you go on one of those boats. It would grieve meterribly if anything should happen to you. I might not be able to saveyou, Bo, and then think how lonely I should be. " And Horatio put one pawto his eyes and sobbed. 

"Oh, pshaw, Ratio! Why, I can swim like everything. I'm not afraid. "

"But you couldn't save us both, Bo--I mean, we both couldn't save thefiddle--it would get wet. Think--think of the fiddle, Bo!"

The fire was burning brightly by this time and the little boy wasgetting warm. He laughed and rubbed his hands and began to sing:--

 "Oh, we're going down the river on a great big boat, And Horatio's so excited he can hardly play a note, For he never liked the water and he never learned to swim, And he thinks if he goes sailing now his chances will be slim. "

Horatio stopped short and snorted angrily. 

"I want you to understand, " he said, sharply, "that I'm not afraid ofanything. You'll please remember that night when the forest peopledanced and you thought your time had come, how I saved you by making yousing. There's nothing I fear. Why if--"

But what Horatio was about to say will never be known, for at thatmoment there came such a frightful noise as neither of them had everheard before. It came from everywhere at once, and seemed to fill allthe sky and set the earth to trembling. It was followed by two or threefierce snorts and a dazzling gleam of light through the trees. Thelittle boy was startled, and as for the Bear, he gave one wild look andfled. In his fright he did not notice a small shrub, and, tripping overit, he fell headlong into a clump of briars, where he lay, groaningdismally that he was killed and that the world was coming to an end. 

Suddenly Bosephus gave a shout of laughter. 

"Get up, Ratio, " he called, "it's our steamboat! We're right near theriver and didn't know it. They're landing, too, and we can go rightaboard. "

The groaning ceased and there was a labored movement among the briars. 

Presently Horatio crept out, very much crestfallen, and picked up theviolin, which in his haste he had dropped. 

"Bo, " he said, sheepishly, "I never told you about it before, but I amsubject to fits. I had one just then. They come on suddenly that way. All my family have them and act strangely at times. I'm sure you don'tthink for a moment that I was frightened just now. "

[Illustration: HE FELL HEADLONG. ]

"Oh, no, of course not. You merely picked out that briar patch as a goodplace to have a fit in. Do you always think the world's coming to anend when you are taken that way?"

"We'll go right aboard, Bo; you are a little timid, no doubt, so I'lllead the way. " And Horatio stepped out briskly toward the lights andvoices and the landing steamer. 

A few steps brought them out to the river bank and a full view of theboat that had crept silently around a bend to the woodyard, where it washalting to take on fuel. The gang plank had not been pushed out to thebank as yet, but a white ray of light shot from a small window to thedark shore and looked exactly like a narrow board. The boy and the Bearwere both deceived by it, and Horatio in his eagerness to show hisbravery did not pause to investigate. 

"Take the fiddle, Bo, " he said, loftily, "and I'll show you how to geton a boat. You should always be brave, Bosephus. "

Bosephus took the instrument and Horatio, with arms extended as abalance, stepped straight out into nothing and vanished. There was asudden splash, a growl, a scrambling sound in the shallow water andHoratio's head appeared above the bank. Bosephus, at first frightened, was now doubled with laughter. 

"Oh, Ratio, " he gasped, "how funny of you to try to walk on a moonbeam!"

Horatio shook himself and sniffed angrily. A wide gang plank was nowbeing lowered from the boat, and as it touched the bank the boy steppedquickly aboard, followed by the wet, shambling Bear. 

 "Oh, there was an Old Bear on a dark, dark night, Who tried to walk on a beam of light, "

sang Bo, as he crossed the plank, "But the beam wouldn't hold and the Bear broke through, And now Horatio follows, as Horatio ought to do. "

"Hello!" called a voice. "Where did you come from?"

Bo looked up and saw a brawny man with a group of wondering negroesbehind him. 

"We are travelling, " said Bo, "and we want to go down the river. We canpay our way and will make music for you, too. "

"Good boy, " said the mate. "Go right up and report to the clerk, thencome back down here, and after we get this wood loaded we'll give yousome supper and you can give us a show. "

On the upper deck the few passengers gathered around and made much ofthe arrivals. All asked questions at once, and Bo answered as best hecould. Horatio kept silent--he never talked except when he was alonewith Bo. The boy kept his hand on the Bear's head, and when the boatbacked away and puffed down stream he felt his big friend tremble, but alittle later, when they had had a good supper, Ratio's fear passed off, and on the lower deck, where all hands collected, the friends gave anentertainment that not only won for them free passage down the river, but a good collection besides. It was far in the night when theperformance ended. The officers, passengers and crew kept calling formore, and the travellers were anxious to accommodate them. The negroeswent wild over the music, and patted and danced crazily whenever Horatioplayed. Finally Bo sang a good night song:--

[Illustration: Music]

 "Now, we've had a lot of music, and we've had some supper, too, And we're sailing down the river in a little steam canoe, [Illustration: Music]

 And we love to be obliging with our music, but it seems That we ought to go a-sailing to the land of pleasant dreams. 

[Illustration: THE NEGROES WENT WILD OVER THE MUSIC. ]

[Illustration: THE LITTLE BOY WAS IN THE LAND OF DREAMS. ]

[Illustration: Music]

 And I must not fail to mention we enjoy your kind attention, And the favors you have shown to us have filled us with delight, [Illustration: Music]

 And to-morrow we will play for you and sing our songs so gay for you, But now you will excuse us if we say--good--night. "

Bosephus and Horatio were both offered staterooms on the upper deck, butHoratio preferred to sleep outside, and the little boy said he wouldsleep there also. Horatio sat up for some moments after Bo had stretchedhimself to rest, looking at the dark wooded banks and the starlight onthe water behind them. 

"Bo, " he said, at last, "we are going to see the world now, sureenough. "

"Yes, Ratio, " was the sleepy answer. 

"Bo, do you suppose our camp fire is still burning back yonder?"

No answer. 

"I hate to leave old Arkansaw, don't you, Bo?"

But the little boy was in the land of dreams. 

CHAPTER VI

AN EXCITING RACE

 "Sailing down the river so early in the morn, Sailing down the river so early in the morn, Sailing down the river so early in the morn, Never was so happy since the day that I was born. "

THE boat on which Horatio and Bosephus had taken their passage made nolandings during the night, and the little boy and the big Bear sleptsoundly on the deck together. Rather too soundly, as will be seen later. At daybreak the next morning Bosephus was wide awake, singing softly andwatching through the mist the queer forms of the cypress trees, with thelong Spanish moss swinging from the limbs. Horatio, hearing the singing, rubbed his eyes and sat up. He had never been so far South before, sothe scenery was new to both of them, and when they came to open spacesand saw that the shores were only a few inches higher than the river andthat fields of waving green came right to the water's edge they wereboth pleased and surprised at this new world. The climate had changed, too, and the air was warm and spring-like. 

"I tell you, Bo, " said Horatio grandly, "there's nothing like travel. You're a lucky boy, Bo, to fall in with me. Why, the way you've come outin the last few months is wonderful. Of course, there is a good deal ofroom yet for improvement, and there are still some things that you arerather timid of, but when I remember how you looked the first minute Isaw you, and then to see the sociable way you sit up and talk to me now, you really don't seem like the same boy, Bosephus, you really don't. "

The little boy leaned up close to his companion. 

 "Oh, there was a little boy and his name was Bo, "

he sang softly, remembering their first meeting. 

 "Went out into the woods when the moon was low, "

added the Bear, strumming lightly the strings of the violin. 

 "And he met an Old Bear that was hungry for a snack, And the folks are still awaiting for Bosephus to come back. "

they continued together in a half whisper. 

"Ratio, " said the little boy, confidentially, "did you really intendto--to have me--you know, Ratio--for--for supper until I taught you thetune? Did you, Ratio?"

Horatio gazed away across a broad cane field, where the first streak ofsunrise was beginning to show. 

 "For the boy became the teacher of the kind and gentle creature Who could play upon the fiddle in a very skilful way, "

he sang dreamily, and then both together once more:--

 "Now he'll never, never leave him, and he'll never, never grieve him, And we're singing here together at the break--of--day. "

"This is very pleasant travelling, " commented Horatio thoughtfully. "Itbeats walking, at least for speed and comfort. Of course, there are anumber of places we cannot reach by boat, " he added, regretfully. 

"Not in Southern Louisiana, Ratio. I've heard that there's a regulartangle of rivers and bayous all over the country, and that boats goeverywhere. "

Horatio looked pleased. 

"Aren't you glad now, Bo, " he said proudly, "that I proposed this boatbusiness? I have always wanted to travel this way. I was afraid at firstthat you might not take to it very well, and when that whistle blewlast night I could see that you were frightened. It was unfortunate thatI should have had a fit just then or I might have calmed you. You sawhow anxious I was to go aboard. Of course, in being over brave I made aslight mistake. I am always that way. All my family are. One reallyought to be less reckless about some things, but somehow none of myfamily ever knew what fear was. We----"

But just then the boat concluded to land, and the morning stillness wastorn into shreds by its frightful whistle. Horatio threw up both handsand fell backward on the deck, where he lay pawing the air wildly. Thenhe stuffed his paws into his ears and howled as he kicked with his hindfeet. Bo stood over him and shouted that there was no danger, but hisvoice made no sound in that awful thunder. All at once Horatio sprang upand jammed his head under Bo's arm, trembling like a jellyfish. Then thenoise stopped, and with one or two more hoarse shouts ceased entirely. 

"It's all right, Ratio, come out!" said Bo, trying to stop laughing. 

Horatio felt of his ears a moment to see that they were still there, while he looked skittishly in the direction of the dreadful whistle andstarted violently at the quick snorts of the escaping steam. 

"Bo, " he said faintly, "do all boats do that?"

"Oh, yes! Some worse than others. This one isn't very bad. "

"I'm sorry, Bo, for it is a great drawback to travel where one issubject to fits as I am. It seems to bring them on. And it is not kindof you to laugh at my affliction, either, Bosephus, " he added, for Bohad dropped down on the deck, where he was rolling and holding hissides. 

[Illustration: HE STUFFED HIS PAWS INTO HIS EARS. ]

All at once the boy lay perfectly still. Then he sprang up with everybit of laugh gone out of his face. His left hand grasped the outside ofhis jacket, while with his right hand he dived down into the insidepocket like mad. The Bear watched him anxiously. 

"What is it, Bo? Have you got one, too?" he asked. 

"Horatio!" gasped the boy. "Our money! It's gone!"

"Gone! Gone! Where?"

"Stolen. Some of those niggers did it while we were asleep!"

The Bear reflected a moment. Then he said thoughtfully:--

"Do you suppose, Bo, it was that nice fat one?"

"I shouldn't wonder a bit. I saw him watch every penny I took in lastnight. "

Horatio licked out his tongue eagerly. 

"Could I have him if it was?" he asked hungrily. 

"Have him! How?" said Bo. Then he shuddered. "Oh! no, not that way--ofcourse not. But I'll tell you, Ratio, " he added, "we'll make him believethat you can, and frighten him into giving up the money. "

Horatio frowned. 

"I don't like make-believes, " he grumbled. "Can't we let the money gothis time and not have any make-believe?"

"Not much--we want that money right now, before the boat lands; thenwe'll go ashore and get out of such a crowd. Come, Ratio. "

No one was stirring on the upper deck as yet, but the crew was collectedbelow where the second mate was shouting orders as the boat swung slowlyinto the bank. They boy and Bear dashed down the stairs. 

[Illustration: "OUR MONEY! IT IS GONE!"]

"Wait!" shouted Bo to the officer. "Somebody on this boat last nightstole our money, and I want my Bear to find him. It won't take but aminute, for he can tell a thief at sight when he's mad and hungry, andhe's mad now, and hungry for dark meat!" The boy looked straight intothe crowd of negroes, while the Bear growled fiercely and fixed his eyeon the fat darky. 

The crew fell back and the fat darky with a howl started to run. 

"That's the one! That's the thief!" shouted Bo, and with a snarl Horatiobounded away in pursuit. Down the narrow gangway to the stern of theboat, then in a circle around a lot of cotton, they ran like mad, theBear getting closer to the negro every minute. Then back again to thebow in a straight stretch, the thief blue with fright and Horatio's eyesshining with hungry anticipation. The rest of the crew looked on andcheered. Suddenly, as the fat darky passed Bo, he jerked a sack from hispocket and flung it behind him. 

"Dar's yo' money! Dar's yo' money!" he shouted. "Call off yo' B'ar!"

But that was not so easy. Bosephus shouted frantically at Horatio, buthe did not seem to hear. His blood was up, and his taste for dark meatwas stronger than his love of money. As the two came clattering aroundthe second time he was so close to his prey that with a quick swipe hegot quite a piece of his shirt. With a wild yell the fat fugitive leapedover into the river and struck out for shore. 

Horatio paused. His half open jaws were dripping and his eyes red andfiery with disappointment. Bo went up to him gently. 

"Come, Ratio, " he whispered. 

The Bear paid no heed. He was watching his escaped prey, who had reachedthe shore and was disappearing in a great canefield. 

[Illustration: THE FAT FUGITIVE LEAPED OVER INTO THE RIVER. ]

"Come!" Bo whispered again. "We'll go ashore, too. "

Horatio wheeled eagerly. The gangplank was being lowered, and he hurriedBo out on it, so that when it touched the bank he was all ready to givechase again. 

"No, wait; some music first, " said Bo. "I have thought of some new linesfor the second part of the tune. "

For a moment Horatio hesitated. Then the temptation of the music wasstronger even than his appetite, and, throwing his violin into position, he began to play. The passengers, roused by the excitement, had gatheredon the upper deck. The crew coming ashore below paused to listen. 

[Illustration: Music]

 "Oh! there was a fat darky with an appetite for wealth, And the only way to get it was to capture it by stealth, [Illustration: Music]

 But when it came to keep it, his chances were so small, He concluded that he really didn't care for it at all. 

[Illustration: Music]

 For we placed him and we faced him, and my bear Horatio chased him-- In a manner most surprising he pursued him to and fro--

[Illustration: Music]

 And we hope we do not grieve you, but we feel that we must leave you, For the Southern sun is rising, and we're bound--to--go. "

The crew cheered and the passengers on the upper deck shouted and wavedtheir handkerchiefs. 

"Don't go!" they called. "Don't leave us!" But the friends turned theirfaces to the East and set out on a broad white road that led away to thesunrise. 

CHAPTER VII

HORATIO'S MOONLIGHT ADVENTURE

[Illustration: Music]

 "Rooster in de chicken coop crowin' foh day, Horses in de stable goin' 'Nay, nay, nay!'

[Illustration: Music]

 Ducks in de yard goin' 'Quack, quack, quack!' Guineas in de tree tops goin' 'Rack-pot-rack!'"

DURING the two weeks since they had come to the land of sugar-caneHoratio and Bosephus had learned some of the old negro songs ofLouisiana and sang them to their own music. They were doing so now asthey marched along the bank of a quiet bayou, where the blue grass cameto the water's edge and the long Spanish moss from big live oak treesswung down twenty feet or more till it almost touched the water. Theyhad had a good day and were going to camp. 

"Bo, " said the Bear presently, "we are doing well. We are making money, Bo. "

"Fifty dollars since we left the boat, " said the little boy. 

"These fat babies--little darky babies--are very amusing, too, Bosephus, don't you think so?" Horatio added, nodding in the direction of somethey were just then passing. 

[Illustration: "THESE LITTLE DARKEY BABIES ARE VERY--AMUSING. "]

"I notice that you think so, " said Bo, dryly. "If you'll take my advice, though, you won't show any special fondness for them. People might notunderstand your ways, you know, and besides, " he added, with a grin, "I've heard say these darkies down here are mighty fond of bear meat, and there's such a lot of them----"

"Don't you mention it, Bo; I never dreamed of such a thing as you arehinting at. "

"Well, you said you were dreaming yesterday when we met that littledarky boy, and you nearly tore the jacket off of him before I could wakeyou up with a club. "

Horatio drew his bow hastily across the strings and began singing--

[Illustration: Music]

 "Keemo, kimo, kilgo, kayro, Horses in de stable goin' 'Nay, nay, nay!'

[Illustration: Music]

 Rop strop, periwinkle, little yaller nigger, Cum a rop strop bottle till the break of day. "

The sun was just setting behind a large, white, old fashioned sugarhouse, where the bayou turned, and made it look like an ancient castle. The little boy sighed. He had never believed that any country could beso beautiful as this, and he wanted to stay in it forever. Horatio likedit, too. They had played and danced at many of the sugar houses, and theBear had been given everywhere all the waste sugar he could eat. He wasfond of the green cane also, and was nearly always chewing a piece whenthey were not busy with a performance. But the big fellow had neverquite overcome his old savage nature, and the race on the steamboat hadroused it more fiercely than ever. The fat pickaninnies were a constanttemptation to him, and it had taken all Bo's watchfulness to keep himout of dreadful mischief. Bo never feared for himself. Horatio loved himand had even become afraid of him. It was for Horatio that he feared, for he knew that death would be sure and swift if one of thepickaninnies was even so much as scratched, not to mention anythingworse that might happen. Again the little boy sighed as they turned intoa clean grassy place and made ready for camp. 

Long after Bosephus was asleep Horatio sat by the dying camp fire, thinking. By and by he rose and walked out to the bank of the bayou andlooked toward the sugar house that lay white in the moonlight, half amile away. Then he went back to where Bo was asleep and picked up theviolin. Then he laid it down again, as though he had changed his mind, and slipped away through the shadows in the direction of the old sugarhouse. He said to himself that, as they were going in that direction andwould stop there next day, he might as well see how the road went andwhat kind of a place it was. He did not own, even to himself, that itwas the negro cabins and fat pickaninnies that were in his mind, andthat down in his heart was a wicked and savage purpose. Every little wayhe paused and seemed about to turn back, but he kept on. By and by hedrew near the sugar house and saw the double row of whitewashed huts inthe moonlight. It was later than he had supposed and the crowds oflittle darkies that were usually playing outside had gone to bed. Hesighed and was about to turn back when suddenly he saw somethingcapering about near the shed of the sugar house. He slipped up nearerand a fierce light came into his eyes. It was a little negro boy doing ahoo-doo dance in the moonlight. 

[Illustration: HE SLIPPED AWAY THROUGH THE SHADOWS. ]

Suddenly the little fellow turned and saw the Bear glaring at him. Horatio was between him and the cabins. The boy gave one wild shriek anddashed through a small open door that led into the blackness of thesugar house, the Bear following close behind. It was one of the oldCreole sugar houses where the syrup is poured out into open vessels tocool and harden. The little darky knew his way and Horatio didn't. Hestumbled and fell, and growled and tried to follow the flying shadowthat was skipping and leaping and begging, "Oh, Mars Debbil! Oh, please, Mars Debbil, lemme go dis time, an' I nevah do so no mo'. Nevah do nomo' hoo-doo, Mars Debbil; oh, please, Mars Debbil, lemme go!"

But Horatio was getting closer and closer and in another moment wouldseize him. Then, suddenly, something happened. The Bear stumbled and, half falling, stepped into one of the big shallow wooden vessels. Hefelt his hind feet break through something like crusted ice and sink afoot or more into a heavy, thick substance below. When he tried to liftthem they only sank deeper. Then he knew what was the matter. He hadstepped into a mass of hardening sugar and was a prisoner! His forefeetwere free, but he dared not struggle with them for fear of getting themfast, too. The little darky, who thought the devil had stopped to rest, was huddled together in a corner not daring to move. Horatio rememberedBo sleeping safely in their camp and began to weep for his ownwickedness. In the morning men would come with axes and guns. Why had henot heeded Bo? Half seated on the crusted sugar he gave himself up tosorrow and despair. 

 * * * * *

It was early morning when Bo awoke. He was surprised to see that Horatiowas not beside him, for the boy was usually first awake. He calledloudly. Then, as the moments passed and the Bear did not come, he grewuneasy. Suddenly a terrible suspicion flashed over him. He sprang to hisfeet and seizing the violin that lay beside him set forth on a run inthe direction of the white sugar house. He knew Horatio would go therebecause it was nearest, and he felt certain that something dreadful hadhappened. The incident of the day before made him almost sure ofHoratio's errand, and he feared the worst. No doubt they had caught andkilled him by this time, and what would he do now without his faithfulfriend?

[Illustration: SUDDENLY THE LITTLE FELLOW TURNED. ]

He ran faster and faster. As he drew near the sugar house he heard agreat commotion. For a moment he stopped. If Horatio had done somethingterrible and they had caught him perhaps it would be dangerous tointerfere. The next moment he rushed on. Horatio was his friend and hewould save his life if possible, unless----. He did not think anyfurther, but flew on. As he dashed into the cane yard he saw crowdsgathering and men running with axes and clubs. Others had guns and caneknives, and all were crowding toward the big doors of the sugar house, that were now thrown open. Inside he heard shouts, mingled withHoratio's fierce growls. His friend was still alive. 

Without pausing he rushed through the doors and saw a circle of negromen gathered about the big wooden trough where the Bear was a prisoner, snapping and growling and trying to get free. The little pickaninny who, in spite of his fright, had slept all night in the corner, was there, too, and the men with axes and other weapons had entered with Bo. Therewas not a second to be lost. 

"Wait!" screamed Bo; "wait!" And tearing through the astonished crowd hethrust the violin into Horatio's hands. 

"Play!" he shouted. "Play for your worthless life!"

Horatio did not need to be told again. He reached for the violin andbow, and sitting in the now solid sugar struck the strings wildly. 

 "Rooster in de chicken coop, crowin' foh day; Horses in de stable goin' 'Nay, nay, nay;' Ducks in de yard goin' 'Quack, quack, quack!' Guineas in de tree tops, goin' 'Rack-pot-rack!'"

Horatio fiddled furiously, while Bo shouted and sang and the crowdjoined in. They all knew this song, and as they sang they forgot allelse. Axes and guns and clubs were dropped as young and old fell intothe swing of the music. 

 "Keemo, kimo, kilgo, kayro; Fleero, fliro, flav-o-ray; Rop strop, periwinkle, little yaller nigger, Cum a rop strop bottle till de break--of--day!"

You could hear the noise for a mile. They danced and shouted and sang, and work was forgotten. After a long time, when they were tired out, Botook one of the axes and carefully broke the now solid sugar away fromRatio's feet and set him free. Then they brought water and washed hishind paws and he danced for them. 

After dinner, when the friends started out on their journey, the crowdfollowed them for nearly a mile. When all were gone Horatio turned to Boand said:--

"I am glad you came just as you did, Bo. "

"I should rather think you would be, " said Bo, grimly. 

"Because, " continued Horatio, "if you hadn't I might have damaged someof those fellows, and I know you wouldn't have liked that, Bosephus. " Helooked at the little boy very humbly as he said this, expecting a severelecture. But the little boy made no reply, and down in his heart the bigBear at that moment made a solemn and good resolve. 

CHAPTER VIII

SWEET AND SOUR

[Illustration: Music]

 "Oh, we're down in the land where the jasmine blows, And the cypress waves and the orange grows, [Illustration: Music]

 And the song bird nests in the climbing rose-- And all the girls are beautiful, and milk and honey flows. "

HORATIO paused in his playing and looked at Bosephus, who was ready tosing another stanza. 

"Look here, Bo, " he said gravely, "that sounds very pretty and may bevery good poetry and true enough, but I wouldn't get to singing too muchabout jasmine and song birds and climbing roses if I were you, andespecially girls. You are only a little boy, and besides, I can't seethat there is any difference in girls, except that some are plump andsome are not, and that isn't any difference to me, now, " and the Bearsighed and strummed on his violin gently. 

"Oh, pshaw, Ratio! There's lots of difference. Some girls are yellow andsour as a lemon, while some are as pink and sweet and blooming as acreole rose"----

"Bosephus, " interrupted the Bear gravely, "you've got a touch of theswamp fever. Let me see your tongue!"

Bo stuck out his tongue. 

"My tongue's all right, " he grinned. "That kind of fever's in theheart. "

Horatio looked alarmed. 

"You must take something for it right away, Bo, " he declared. "I can'thave you singing silly songs about jasmine and cypress and girls in milkand honey. You know we haven't seen any honey since we left Arkansaw, and I'd travel all the way back there on foot to rob one good honeytree. I'm getting tired of so much of this stuff they call sugar andcane and the like. "

"Why they have honey here, Ratio, too. I haven't seen any bee trees, butI've seen plenty of bees. I suppose they are in hives--boxes that peoplekeep for them to live in. "

"Where do they have those boxes, Bo?"

"Well, in their yards mostly; generally out by the back fence. "

"Could we rob them?"

"Well, I shouldn't like to try it. "

The Bear walked along some distance in silence. The boy was alsothinking and singing softly to himself. He was very happy. Presently helooked up and saw just ahead, in a field near the road, a tree loadedwith oranges. 

"Look, Ratio!" he said. "Don't you wish we had some of those?"

The Bear looked up and began to lick out his tongue. 

"Climb over and get some, Bo, " he said eagerly. 

"Not much. I haven't forgotten the roasting ears and the watermelon wegot from old man Todd in Arkansaw. We might go to the house and ask forsome. 

"Nonsense, Bosephus. Watch me!"

He handed Bo the fiddle, and running lightly to the hedge cleared it ata bound. 

"Fine!" shouted Bo. 

Horatio, without pausing, hurried over to the tree. 

"Funny they should leave those oranges so late, " thought the little boyas he watched him. 

Swinging himself to the first limb, the Bear shook off a lot of the fineyellow fruit, and climbing down, gathered in his arms all he couldcarry. As he did so there came a loud barking of dogs, and withoutlooking behind him he started to run. He dropped a few of the oranges, but kept straight on, the two huge dogs that had appeared getting closerand closer. As he reached the hedge he once more made a grand leap, butthe oranges prevented him doing so well as before. His foot caught inthe top branches and he rolled over and over in the dusty road, theoranges flying in every direction. The dogs behind the hedge barked andraged. 

Horatio rose, dusty and panting, but triumphant. 

"You see, Bo, " he said, "what it is to be brave. You can fill yourpockets now with these delicious oranges. "

He picked up one as he spoke, and brushing off the dust, bit it in halfcheerfully. Then Bo, who was watching him, saw a strange thing takeplace. The half orange flew out of the Bear's mouth as from a popgun, and his face became so distorted that the boy thought his friend washaving a spasm. Suddenly he whirled, and making a rush at the fallenoranges, began to kick them in every direction, coughing and spittingevery second. The two dogs looking over the hedge stopped barking toenjoy the fun. One of the oranges rolled to Bo's feet. He picked it upand smelled it. Then rubbing it on his coat he bit into it. It was not alarge bite, but it was enough. The tears rolled from his eyes and everytooth in his head jumped. Such a mixture of stinging sour and bitter hehad never dreamed of. It grabbed him by the throat and shook him untilhis bones cracked. The top of his head seemed coming loose, and his earsfairly snapped. Then he realized what Horatio must be suffering, andlaughed in spite of himself. 

[Illustration: FLEW OUT OF HIS MOUTH AS FROM A POP GUN. ]

"They are mock oranges, Ratio, " he shouted, "and they are mocking us forstealing them!"

Horatio had seated himself by the roadside and was snorting and clawingat his tongue. 

"I must have some honey, Bo, " he said, "to take away that dreadfultaste. You must find me some honey, Bo. "

"You see, Ratio, " said the little boy, "it doesn't pay to take things. "

"Bosephus, " said the Bear, "a man who will plant a tree like that sonear the road deceives wilfully and should be punished. "

They walked along slowly, the two dogs barking after them from behindthe hedge. 

Just beyond the next bend in the road a beautiful plantation came intoview. They turned into the cane yard and immediately the workhandssurrounded them. Horatio felt better by this time, and they began aperformance. First Bo sang and then Horatio gave a gymnastic exhibition. Then at last Bo sang a closing verse as follows:--

[Illustration: Music]

 "Now our little show is ended, and we hope you think it splendid, And we trust we've not offended or displeased you anywhere, [Illustration: Music]

 You have paid us to be funny, and we thank you for the money, But I'd like a little honey for the Old--Black--Bear. 

Horatio smiled when he heard this, and the planter who was listeningsent one of the servants to the house. He came out soon with a piece offresh honey on a plate. He offered it to Horatio, who handed Bo theviolin, and seizing the plate, swallowed the honey at one gulp. Thismade the crowd shout and laugh, and then Bo shook hands with the planterand said good-bye, and all the darkies came up and wanted to shakehands, too. When he had shaken hands all around the little boy turned tolook for Horatio. He was nowhere in sight. The others had not noticedhim slip away. 

Bo was troubled. When Horatio disappeared like that it meant mischief. He had promised reform as to pickaninnies, but Bo was never quite sure. He was about to ask the people to run in every direction in search ofhis comrade when there was a sudden commotion in the back door yard, anda moment later a black figure dashed through the gate with somethingunder its arm. It was Horatio! The crowd of darkies took one look andscattered. The thing under Horatio's arm was a square, box lookingaffair, and out of it was streaming a black, living cloud. 

"Bees!" shouted the people as they fled. "Bees! Bees!"

Bo understood instantly. The taste of honey had made Horatio greedy formore. He had gone in search of it and returned with hive and all. Therewas a clump of tall weeds just behind the little boy, and he droppeddown into them. They hid him from view, and none too soon, for the Beardashed past, snorting and striking at the swarm of stingers that notonly covered him, but fiercely attacked everything in sight. Howls beganto come from some of the hands that had failed to find shelter in time, and Bo, peeping out between the weeds, saw half a dozen darkiesfrantically trying to open the big door of the sugar house, which hadbeen hastily closed by those within, while the angry bees were peltingfuriously at the unfortunates. 

[Illustration: THE BEAR DASHED PAST, SNORTING. ]

As for Horatio, he was coated with bees that were trying to stingthrough his thick fur. He did not mind them at first, but presentlythey began to get near his eyes. With a snarl he dropped the hive andbegan to paw and strike with both hands. Then they swarmed about himworse than ever, and, half blinded, he began to run around and aroundwith no regard as to direction. Every darky in sight fled like the wind. Some of them ran out of the gate and down the road, and without seeingthem, perhaps, the Bear suddenly leaped the fence and set out in thesame direction. Glancing back, they saw him coming and began to shriekand scatter into the fields. 

Bo waited some minutes; then, noticing that the maddened insects were nolonger buzzing viciously over him, he crept out and followed. He stillheld the violin and was glad enough to get away from the plantation. Thebees had followed the fugitive, and the boy kept far enough behind to beout of danger. By and by he met bees coming back, but perhaps they weretired or thought he belonged to another crowd, for they did not molesthim. A mile further on he found Horatio sitting in the road rocking andgroaning and throwing dust on himself. His eyes and nose were swollen ingreat knots, and his ears were each puffed up like little balloons. Thebees had left him, but his sorrow was at its height. 

"Hello, Ratio! Having fun all alone?" asked Bo as he came up. 

"Oh, Bo, this has been an awful day!" was the wailing reply. "Firstthose terrible oranges and then these millions and millions of murderousbees. And now I am blind, Bo, and dying. Tell me, Bo, how do I look?"

"Oh, you look all right. Your nose looks like a big potato and your earslike two little ones. I can't tell you how your eyes are, for they don'tshow, but your whole skin looks as if it had been stuffed full of applesand put on in a hurry. "

"Bo, " said Horatio meekly, "did you bring the fiddle?"

[Illustration: HE FOUND HORATIO SITTING IN THE ROAD, ROCKING ANDGROANING. ]

"Well, yes; I thought it might happen that we'd need it again. "

Horatio put out his paw for it. The boy gave it to him and he ran thebow gently over the strings. 

"Sing, Bo, " he pleaded. "Sing that song about jasmine and cypress andclimbing roses. It will soothe me. Sing about girls, too, if you wantto, but leave out the oranges, Bo, and put in something else besideshoney in the last line. "

"Ratio, " said Bo, "you've got a touch of the swamp fever. Let me seeyour tongue!"

CHAPTER IX

IN JAIL AT LAST

 "Oh, the sky is blue and the sun is high, And the days roll 'round, and the weeks go by----"

"BO, " interrupted Horatio, softly; "what's that over there on the bankthat looks like a man all in a wad?"

The little boy was singing along through the sweet Louisiana afternoon, putting into his song whatever came into his head:--

 "And I turn, and I look, and what do I see? Someone's left his bundle by a live oak tree. "

"What do you suppose is in that bundle, Bo?" asked the Bear, anxiously. 

"Oh, I don't know. Old clothes, from the looks of it. The owner isn'tfar off. 

 "When a coat and vest and hat, and pair of trousers you espy, You can bet your bottom dollar there's a man close by. "

Horatio looked in every direction. Then he walked over to the clothes. 

"Why, " said Bo, following; "I guess somebody's taking a swim. Come on, Ratio. Remember the honey and the oranges. "

But the Bear was curious. He picked up the hat and set it on his head. Bo laughed lazily. Then Horatio laid down his violin and slipped onearm into the waistcoat, trying vainly to reach with the other. Bogood-naturedly helped him. The little boy felt in the humor for fun, andHoratio looked too comical. 

"Better not put on the coat, " said Bo. "It might not be big enough andif you tore it the owner would make us pay for it. "

But Horatio was excited. 

"Hurry, Bo! Help me on with it. How do I look, Bo? I think I'll dressthis way all the time, hereafter. Is my hat becoming, Bo?"

 "Oh, there was an Old Bear in a hat and a coat, "

sang Bo, but he got no further, for suddenly close by there was a loudyell, and without pausing to look behind Horatio made a wild dash in theother direction, followed by the little boy. Glancing back as they ran, Bo saw that they were pursued by a tall white man. He had paused only asecond to slip on his boots and trousers, and was coming after them fullspeed. In one hand he carried a revolver, in the other Horatio's violin. 

"Shed 'em!" he shouted. "Shed them clothes or I'll shoot!"

"Shed 'em!" echoed Bo. "Shed 'em, Horatio!"

The bear slipped off the coat and flung it behind him. 

"Shed 'em!" shouted the man again, and the waistcoat followed. 

"I won't give up the hat, Bo!" panted Horatio. 

[Illustration: "HOW DO I LOOK, BO?"]

But Horatio was mistaken, for at that instant the world beneath his feetsuddenly opened and he disappeared. Before the boy could check himselfhe plunged after the Bear and was struggling in the deep waters of abayou that came to a level with the bank and was covered thickly andconcealed by fallen leaves. Rising to the surface he found Horatioclinging to a fallen tree and the man, who had now overtaken them, holding out a limb, which the little boy gladly seized. The hat hadbeen already rescued. 

"Well, you're a nice pair!" said their captor. "To run away with a man'sclothes and then go headlong into the bayou and get his hat all wet! I'mglad you didn't have that fiddle, or you'd a-ruined it. I've bin wantin'a good fiddle a long time, an' this here looks like a good one. Come outo' that, now, an' we'll take a walk up toward the jail. I happen to beconstable of this here community. "

Bo groaned as he was dragged to shore. He did not mind the wetting, forthe weather was warm, but now they had lost the violin and would betaken to jail. Of course they would lose all their money. PerhapsHoratio would be killed. The Bear only blinked and shook himself when hehad been also towed to the bank and had scrambled out. 

"I hope you won't take us to jail, sir, " said Bo. "My Bear wasmischievous, but he didn't mean any harm, and I have a little money I'llgive you if you'll return us the violin and let us go. "

"You come along with me!" answered the man, sternly. "It'll take moremoney than you've got to pay your fine, an' as fer that chap, we don'twant no bears roamin' loose aroun' here. March on ahead there, an' don'ttry none o' your tricks. "

The constable cocked his revolver, and boy and Bear hurriedly started inthe direction of the village that showed above the trees about a milefurther on. 

Bo was afraid to speak to their captor again, and as he never talkedwith Horatio except when they were alone, they marched alongdisconsolately and in silence. Now and then the man strummed on theviolin and chuckled to himself. 

[Illustration: "SHED THEM CLOTHES OR I'LL SHOOT!"]

When they got to the village everybody came out to look at them. The mancalled out his story as they went along, and the people laughed andjeered. Heretofore the friends had entered Louisiana villages intriumph. Now, for the first time, they came dishonored and disgraced. Poor Horatio looked very downcast. He knew that he was to blame for itall. 

When they got to the court room they found that the Justice of the Peacewas away fishing, so they were lodged in jail for the night. It was onlya little one room affair, with two small iron-barred windows, quite highfrom the ground. Boys climbed up and looked through these windows andthrew stones and coal in at Horatio, who huddled in a corner. By and bythe officer came with a plate of supper for Bo. He drove the boys awayand left the friends together. There was no supper for the Bear, so thelittle boy divided with him. 

"Bo, " said Horatio, tearfully, "it was my fault. They'll let you go, and, and--I hope they'll give you my skin, Bo. "

Then they went to sleep. 

 * * * * *

Early next morning there was a crowd around the jail. The Justice hadreturned and the people wanted to see the fun. The friends were hustledinto court by the constable, the crowd stepping back to let Horatiopass. The justice was rather a young man and had a good-natured face, which made Bo more hopeful. But when they heard the constable make hischarge against them, both lost heart. They were accused of stealing anddamages and a lot of other things that they could not understand. TheJustice listened and then turned to the prisoners. 

"What have you to say for yourselves?" he asked, looking straight at Bo. At first the little boy tried to speak and could not. The court room wasstill--every one waiting to hear what he was about to say. All at oncean idea came to him. 

"Please, sir, " he trembled, "if you will let my Bear have the violin wewill plead our case together. "

"What violin? What does the boy mean?" asked the Justice, turning to theconstable. 

"Oh, an ole fiddle they dropped when they took my clothes. I lef' itdown 't the house this morning. "

Bo's heart sank. It was their only chance. He was about to give up whensuddenly there came another gleam of hope, though very faint. Wheelingquickly toward the sorrow stricken Bear he shouted:--

"Perform for them, Horatio! Perform!"

The words acted on Horatio like a shock of electricity. He straightenedup with a snort that caused the crowd to fall back, knocking each otherover like dominos. Then he made a bound into the open space and stood onhis head. Then with a spring backward he landed on his feet, and waved abow to the Justice! Another bound and he was walking on his hands andthen, after another bow to the Court, he turned a series of somersaultsso rapidly that he looked like a great wheel! When he landed on his feetthis time, and bowed once more to the Court, the crowd broke out into amighty cheer of applause. 

"Order!" shouted the Justice. "Order!"

It grew still, and the little boy looked at the Court anxiously. 

"Please, Your Honor, " he said humbly, "that's our case. "

"Case!" roared the Justice. "Well, I should say that was a case of fitsand revolution. "

At this the crowd cheered again until they were rapped to order by theCourt. 

"I sentence you, " he said solemnly, and looking sternly at Horatio, "tosudden and disagreeable death!"

He paused, and Horatio staggered against Bo, who was very pale. 

[Illustration: A CASE OF FITS AND REVOLUTION. ]

"To sudden death, " continued the Court, "if I catch you running offand falling in the water with any more of my officer's clothes. And Inow fine you, for the first offense, a performance on the common for thewhole town! Court is adjourned! Show begins at once! Constable, bringthat fiddle!"

With a wild shout the people poured outside. Many scrambled over eachother to get near Bosephus and the wonderful Bear, and when the violinwas brought and the show had begun every soul in the village wasgathered on the common. 

That night, when all was over, the little boy and the Bear were theguests of the Justice, who owned a fine plantation adjoining thevillage. During the evening he had a long talk with Bo, and seemedgreatly impressed with the little boy's natural ability and shrewdness. When they parted next morning he said:--

"Remember, if you ever feel like giving up travel, come back here andI'll send you to school and college and make a man of you. "

"I'll remember, " said Bo, as they shook hands. A crowd had gathered tosee the travellers off. The constable was among them, and as theydisappeared around a bend in the road he waved and shouted with therest. 

"Bosephus, " said Horatio gravely, "I hope you don't think of desertingme. Remember how many close places I have helped you out of. This lastwas a little the closest of all, Bosephus, and I shudder to think whereyou might have been today if it had not been for me. "

"That's so, " said the little boy solemnly. "I don't suppose they'd haveeven given me your skin, Ratio. "

CHAPTER X

AN AFTERNOON'S FISHING

 "Sitting on a bank where the bull frogs dream-- Sitting on the shore of a deep, deep stream-- Sitting on a log and waiting for a bite-- Bound to catch our supper, if we fish--all--night. "

THE little boy was holding a long cane pole that he had cut as they camealong, on the small end of which he had fastened a hook and line, baitedwith a lively worm. The Bear was leaning back against a tree andwatching him lazily. 

"Bo, " said he presently, "I shouldn't wonder if that singing of yoursscared the fish all away. "

"I wouldn't say that to you, Ratio. I know if you'd wake up and take thefiddle and play some they'd walk right out on the bank. "

The Bear laughed sleepily. He was in a comfortable position and the warmafternoon sun was soothing. He hummed some negro lines he had heard:--

 "When yo' wan' to ketch fish yo' mus' jes' set an' wait-- When yo' wan' to ketch fish yo' must spit on yo' bait-- When yo' wan' to ketch fish yo' mus' git across de tide, For dey's alw'ys bettah fishin' on de oth--ah--side. "

"I shouldn't wonder if you were right, Ratio, " assented Bo, anxiously. "It does look better over there, only there's no way to get acrossexcept this slippery looking, rotten old log, and I don't feel much liketrying that. "

"Walk out on it a little way, Bo, " said Horatio, getting interested, "and throw your line over there by that cypress snag. That looks like agood place. "

Bosephus rose cautiously, and, balancing himself with the long canepole, edged his way a few inches at a time toward the middle of thestream, pausing every little way to be sure that the log showed no signof yielding. He could swim, but he did not wish for a wetting, andbesides there were a good many alligators in these Louisiana waters andsome very fierce snapping turtles. He had heard the negroes say thatalligators were particularly fond of boys, and that snapping turtlesnever let go till it thundered. He had no wish to furnish supper for analligator and there were no signs of a thunder storm. Hence he advancedwith great prudence. When he had nearly reached the centre Horatiocalled to him. 

"Try it from there, Bo! Your line's long enough to reach!"

The little boy steadied himself by a limb that projected from the logand swung his line in the direction the Bear had indicated. Then hewaited, holding his breath almost, and watching his float, which laysilently on the water. Horatio was watching, too, with half closed eyes, and now and then giving instructions. 

"Pull it a little more to the right, Bo--nearer that root, " hewhispered. 

Bosephus obeyed, but the float still lay silently on the water. 

"Draw it a little toward you, Bo; sometimes when they think its goingaway they make a rush for it. "

Again the little boy did as directed, but without result. 

"Lift out your bait and see if it's all right. Now fling it a littlefurther toward the bank. "

Bo lifted out the bait, which was still lively and untouched, and flungit far over toward the other shore. Then he waited in silence once more, but there was no sign of even so much as a nibble. 

"Oh, pshaw, Ratio!" he said at last impatiently. "I don't believe youknow anything about fishing. Either that or there are no fish inhere--one of the two. "

He had turned his head toward the Bear as he spoke and was not lookingat his float. All at once the Bear sat straight up, pointing at thewater. 

"Your cork's gone!" he shouted. "You've got one! Pull, Bo, pull!"

The little boy turned so quickly that he almost lost his balance andcould not immediately obey. Horatio was wild with excitement. 

"Why don't you pull?" he howled. "Do you expect him to climb up yourpole? Are you waiting for him to make his toilet before he appears?Well, talk about fishermen!"

Bosephus was struggling madly to follow instructions. He was holding tothe dead limb like grim death and pulling fiercely at the pole with onehand. The fish must be a large one, for it swung furiously from side toside, but could not be brought to the surface. Horatio on the bank wasstill shouting and dancing violently. 

"You'll lose him!" he yelled; "you'll never in the world land him thatway. You ought to go fishing for tin fish in a tub! Just let me outthere; I'll show you how to fish!" and Horatio made a rush toward thelog on which Bo was standing. 

[Illustration: "PULL, BO, PULL!"]

"Go back! Go back!" screamed the little boy. "It won't hold us both!"But the Bear was too much excited by this time to heed any caution. Hehurried to the centre of the log and seizing the pole from Bo's handgave a fierce pull. The fish swung clear of the water and far out on thebank, but the strain on their support was too great. There was a loudcracking sound, and before they knew what had happened both werestruggling in the water. 

"Help! Help!" howled Horatio. "I'm drowning!"

"Hold to the end of the log!" shouted Bo. "I'll swim ashore and tow youin with the pole!"

He struck out as he spoke and in a few strokes was near enough to seizesome bushes that overhung the water. Suddenly he heard Horatio giveforth a scream so wild that he whirled about to look. Then he sawsomething that made him turn cold. In a half circle, a few feet awayfrom where Horatio was clinging to the end of the broken log for dearlife, there had risen from the water a number of long, black, uglyheads. A drove of alligators!

"Bo! Bo!" shrieked the wretched Bear. "They're after me! They'll eat mealive--skin and all! Save me! Save me!"

The little boy swung himself to the shore and dashed up the bank. Hisfirst thought had been to seize the fishing pole and with it to dragHoratio to safety. But at that instant his eye fell on the violin. Hehad learned to play very well himself during the last few weeks and heremembered the night of the panther dance in the Arkansaw woods. Hesnatched up the instrument and struck the bow across the strings. 

"Sing, Horatio!" he shouted. "It's your turn to sing!" and Bosephusbroke out into a song that after the first line the Bear joined as if henever expected to sing again on earth. 

[Illustration: Music]

 "Oh, there was an Old Bear went out for a swim, And the alligators came just to take a look at him, [Illustration: "OH, THERE WAS AN OLD BEAR WENT OUT FOR A SWIM. "]

[Illustration: Music]

 And the Bear was glad to see 'em, and he wanted them to stay, And he sang a song to please 'em so they wouldn't go away. "

As the music rolled out on the water there rose to the surface anotherhalf circle of dark objects. The Bear shut his eyes and his voice grewfaint. They were snapping turtles. 

"Stop, Bo!" he wailed. "It's no use. It only brings more of 'em, and newkinds. "

"No, no; go on, " whispered Bo, who had crept down quite to the water'sedge. "Now--ready! sing!"

[Illustration: Music]

 "Then 'tis 'Gator, Alligator, we expect to see you later, If you really have to leave us--if you can't remain to tea--

[Illustration: Music]

 Then 'tis Turtle, Mr. Turtle, you will notice we are fertile, In providing entertainment for our com--pa--nee. "

New arrivals appeared constantly until the water and logs and stumps bythe water's edge were alive with listening creatures. Still rememberingthe panther dance the boy called in a whisper to Horatio:--

"Softly now; sing it again. "

They repeated the song, letting their voices and music gradually blendinto the whispering of the trees. Bo sang with closed eyes, but thewatching Bear saw the listening circle of heads sink lower and lower sogently that he could not be sure when the water had closed over them. From roots and logs and stumps dark forms slid noiselessly into thestream and disappeared. The music died away and ceased. Horatio lookedat the little boy eagerly. 

[Illustration: "HELP! HELP!"]

"Quick, the pole, Bo, " he called softly. "They're all gone. "

A moment later he was holding on to the cane pole with teeth and clawsand being towed to shore. As he marched up the bank he picked up thelarge fish that was still flopping at the end of the line. 

"Very fine, Bosephus, " he said, holding it up. "You wouldn't have hadthat fish for supper if it hadn't been for me, Bosephus. "

CHAPTER XI

THE ROAD HOME

 "Going back to Arkansaw as fast as we can go-- Never mind the winter time--never mind the snow, For the weather's not so chilly as the Louisiana law, And we'll feel a good deal safer in the Ar--kan--saw. "

IT had happened in this way. The afternoon before Christmas had come andthe little boy and the Bear had been talking over a Christmas dinner forthe next day. 

"Bosephus, " Horatio had said, "we must have something extra. I shouldlike a real old-fashioned dinner. One such as I used to have; but, ofcourse, that is all over now. " And there was an untamed, regretful lookin his eyes. 

"Ratio, " said Bo, "we have got a lot of money--nearly two hundreddollars. We can afford to have something good. I will buy a duck and aturkey and maybe some pies. We'll take a holiday and eat from morningtill night if we feel like it. "

The Bear smiled at this thought and touched the strings of the violin. 

 "Oh, we'll buy a tender turkey, and we'll buy a youthful duck, And some pies, perhaps, and cookies, and some doughnuts, just for luck, And we'll take our Christmas dinner where the balmy breezes stray, And we'll spread it in the sunshine and we'll eat--all--day. "

Suddenly he paused in his singing and listened. They were coming outinto an open space and there was a sound of a voice speaking. Somebodywas talking in a foreign language that Bo did not understand, but theBear trembled with eagerness. 

"Bo, " he whispered, "that's Italian. That's the way my first teachertalked. The one that abused me--and died. "

The Bear licked out his tongue fiercely at this memory and pushedforward into the open, the little boy following. As they stepped outwhere they could see, Bosephus uttered an exclamation and Horatio asnort of surprise. By the roadside sat a dark-browed, villainous-lookingItalian and before him stood a miserable half-starved bear cub, which hewas trying to teach. He would speak a few words to it and then beat itfiercely with a heavy stick. The little bear cowered and trembled andcould not obey. Horatio gave a low dangerous growl as Bo held him back. The Italian turned and saw them. 

"What are you beating that cub for?" asked Bo, sternly. 

The Italian looked at him evilly. 

"Maka him grow an' dance an' playa fid, lika yo' bear, " he said, sullenly. "Soa he maka da mun'. "

"That won't do it. You can teach him better with kindness. Throw thatstick away. Aren't you ashamed of yourself. "

"Minda yo' own biz, " was the insolent reply. 

The little boy saw that it would not be safe to stay there any longer. The cub was whining pitifully and Horatio was becoming furious. Heturned away, the Bear following reluctantly. When they had gone perhapsa half a mile Horatio paused. 

"Let's camp here, " he said. "This is a nice place and I'm tired. "

Bosephus was tired, too. The day before Christmas with its merrypreparation had been a big day among the plantations and the friends hadreaped a harvest. 

"All right, Ratio, " he said, and they made preparations for the night, though it was still quite early. 

[Illustration: "MAKA HIM GROW AN' DANCE AN' PLAY A 'FID'. "]

"Bo, " said the Bear, reflectively, "Christmas always reminds me ofwhen I was a little cub like that poor little fellow we saw back yonder. I was a Christmas present--by accident. "

"A Christmas present by accident! How was that?"

"It was this way. I was always brave and adventurous, as you know. Myfolks lived in a very large tree and were all asleep for the winterexcept me. I stayed awake so as to run away and see the world. Well, Istarted out and I travelled and I travelled. It was all woods and I lostmy way. By and by I got very tired and climbed up into a thick evergreentree to rest. I suppose I went to sleep and some men who were outhunting for a Christmas tree must have picked out mine and tied thelimbs together tight with cords and cut it down. Then I suppose theymust have carried me home and set the tree up in its place and untiedthe cords, for the first I knew I was tumbling out on to a carpet in abig room, and a lot of children were screaming and running in everydirection. I was bigger and some fatter than that cub we saw with theItalian--poor little fellow. 

"I'd like to talk to that villain about five minutes alone, " continuedHoratio, grimly. "I'm sure I could interest him. I'd tell him about theman that used to beat me, and I might give him an imitation of whathappened to him, " and the big fellow rose and walked back and forth inexcitement. 

"But go on with your story, Ratio; what happened to you after you fellout of the Christmas tree?"

"Oh! the children tamed me and fed me till I got so big they were afraidof me, and then I ate up some young pigs and a calf and went away. "

"You ran away, you mean. What happened then?"

"Well, I went quite a distance and fell in with a circus. I learned todance there and stayed with them a while. But one day the young ibexcame in to see me and they couldn't find anything of him after thatexcept his horns, and seemed suspicious of me, so I went away again. "

"Oh, Ratio!"

"Yes; I travelled and changed about a good deal till by and by I fell inwith the Italian who promised to teach me to play the violin, and he didteach me some, as you know, but he wasn't kind to me, so I--I woremourning for him a while, and went away again. Then I met up with you, and you taught me the second part of our tune, and we went intopartnership and I reformed, and we've been together ever since. We'vebeen in some pretty close places together, Bosephus, but I've alwaysmanaged to pull us through safely, and you have behaved very nobly, too, at times, Bosephus--very nobly, indeed. "

"Are you sure you have reformed, Horatio?"

Horatio swung the violin to his shoulder and drew the bow across thestrings. Then he sang softly:--

[Illustration: Music]

 "Oh, there's some folks say a nigger won't steal, But I caught one in my corn-fiel'. 

[Illustration: Music]

 And there's other folks say that a Bear will tame, But I wouldn't trust him with my----"

he hesitated, and then, with a final flourish, "with my money all the same. "

The little boy laughed. The Bear seemed to have forgotten the cruelItalian and was in his usual good humor. 

"I think I can trust you, Horatio; I'm not a bit afraid of you. "

"Bo, " said Ratio, speaking suddenly, "speaking of Christmas trees, weought to have one. I saw a beautiful one up the stream yonder. I thinkI'll go and get it, if you'll look after the supper while I'm gone. "

"Why, yes, Horatio, only don't be long about it. "

Horatio struck the violin with a long vigorous sweep. 

[Illustration: Music]

 "Oh, we'll have a tree for Christmas in this Louisiana isthmus, Where the orange trees are waving and the jasmines are in bloom;

[Illustration: Music]

 And I'll have a Christmas dinner, if I don't I am a sinner, And I'll eat it if it sends me to my doom--doom--doom. "

Bo laughed again. He had never seen Horatio in a better humor. 

"If you eat too much pie it may send you to your doom--doom--doom, " hesaid. "Hurry back, now, with that tree. You can pull it up by the rootsand we'll plant it again here. Then it will keep right on growing. "

The bear set out up the stream and the boy busied himself with buildinga fire and taking out of a sack a lot of food that had been given themby the planters during the afternoon. He spread this on the leaves andmoss and then sat down and gazed into the bright blaze. It was pleasantand warm and he was quite tired. After a while he wondered sleepily whythe Bear didn't come back, and concluded he was having a hard timepulling up the tree. Then he began thinking of all the adventures theyhad had together and of the little cub bear and the cruel Italian. 

"I was tempted to let Horatio at him, " he thought. "A man like thatshould be beaten until he couldn't stand. That poor little creature! Howwistfully he looked at us. He kept whining--perhaps he was telling Ratiosomething. "

The little boy's head nodded forward now and then and presently heslept. He slept soundly and the moments flew by unheeded. He was havinga long dream about old man Todd and the girls and the two candy hearts, when suddenly there arose close at hand such a commotion, such amingling of excited language, fierce snarls and crashing of brush thatthe little boy leaped to his feet wildly. 

"Ratio!" he shouted. "Ratio! where are you?"

The only answer was the redoubled fury of the furious uproar, which Bonow located at the edge of the road but a few feet away. He tore throughthe brush hastily in that direction. As he reached the spot the turmoilceased and he heard the sound of running feet. Dashing through into theroad he beheld a strange sight. A half-naked man was disappearing overthe hill just beyond, and Horatio, holding some rags of clothing in onehand and the paw of the little bear in the other, was looking after himhungrily, as if about to pursue. Before him lay the Christmas tree badlybroken and bruised. 

"Ratio!" exclaimed Bo. "What have you been doing?"

The Bear looked at Bo sheepishly. 

"I went for the Christmas tree, " he said, meekly, "and just as I wascoming back the Italian man came along, and he was beating this littlechap, and so I tried the Christmas tree on him to see how he liked it. Then we got into an argument, and when he went away he left the cub withus and didn't take all of his clothing. "

The little boy reflected a moment. 

"I hope, Horatio, " he said, gravely, "you did not mean to break youragreement about, you know--about dinners. "

"I didn't, Bo; honest, I didn't. I wouldn't touch that fellow if I wasstarving. But I did pretty nearly break his neck, Bo, and I'm glad ofit!"

[Illustration: GOING BACK TO ARKANSAW. ]

"Ratio, " said Bo, solemnly, "it's very wrong, I suppose; very wrong, indeed; but I'm glad, too. Only we've got to postpone that Christmasdinner. That fellow will be back here to-night with officers, and we'vehad all the law we want. We start for Arkansaw in five minutes. A biteof supper and then right about! ready! march!"

And this was the reason Horatio and Bosephus and the little cub bearwere travelling swiftly northward in spite of the winter weather thatwas not yet over. The cub was small and weak and Horatio, who loved himand sometimes called him "little brother, " often carried him. They gaveno performances, but only pushed forward, mile after mile, chantingsolemnly:--

 "Going back to Arkansaw as fast as we can go-- Never mind the winter time and never mind the snow, For the weather's not so chilly as the Louisiana law, And we'll feel a good deal safer in the Ar--kan--saw. "

[Illustration: HORATIO WAS LOOKING AT HIM HUNGRILY. ]

CHAPTER XII

THE BEAR COLONY AT LAST. THE PARTING OF BOSEPHUS AND HORATIO

 "Oh, the wind blows fair and the snow is gone In the Arkansaw when the spring comes on. Oh, the sun shines warm and the wind blows fair, For the boy and the cub and the Old--Black--Bear. "

SO sang Bosephus and Horatio as they sat side by side in the doorway ofa deserted lumberman's cabin in the depths of an Arkansaw forest. Thecub rescued from the brutal Italian and brought with them on their hastyjourney out of Louisiana, stood a few feet away watching them intently. Now and then he made an awkward attempt at dancing, which causedBosephus and Horatio to stop their music and laugh. He had grown fat andsaucy with good treatment, and seemed to enjoy the amusement he caused. At a little distance behind him, some seated and some standing, and allenjoying the entertainment, were seven other bears of various sizes. Thecolony so long planned by Horatio and Bosephus was established. 

The long journey out of Louisiana had been made rapidly and with nodelays. Though midwinter when begun, the weather had been beautiful atthe start, and there had been few storms and but little cold since. Thecub had gradually confided his story to Horatio, who loved him andcontinued to call him affectionately "little brother. " He had beencaptured in a very deep woods, he said, by hunters, who sold him to theItalian. He did not know where these woods were, but as the friendscrossed the Louisiana line and entered lower Arkansaw he grew more andmore excited every day, for he declared these were so like his nativewoods that he could almost hear his mother's voice crooning the eveninglullaby. Soon after, they came one evening upon a deserted lumberman'scamp and took possession of the one cabin that still remained. It was agood shelter and there was a stream with fine fish in it close at hand. But when the friends awoke next morning the little bear was gone. 

They were very sorry, for they had grown much attached to the littlechap and he had seemed to be fond of them also. It was very lonely inthe deep forest without him. Horatio sighed. 

"He didn't appreciate us, Bo, " he said, sadly. "He's gone back to be awild bear. He never got the taste of men--tastes, I mean, and I supposethese woods made him homesick. They are like my old woods, too, and Iget homesick sometimes--even now. " Then the boy and the Bear went to thebrook to fish and the day passed gloomily. 

But that night, when Bo had built a fire in the big fireplace whichalmost filled one end of the cabin, and was cooking the fish, there camea muffled scratching sound at the door. Horatio sprang to his feetinstantly. 

"That's Cub, " he said, excitedly. 

The boy ran to the door and opened it. Sure enough, the little cub stoodbefore him, and out of the darkness behind gleamed seven other pairs ofeyes. The boy was brave, but as he saw that row of fiery orbs he felthis flesh creep and his hair began to prickle. 

"Horatio!" he called, softly, "come quick. "

[Illustration: THE POOR BEAR GAVE WAY COMPLETELY. ]

The Bear was already by his side, and a moment later with the cubstepped out into the night. Then Bosephus heard low growls followed by astrange commotion, which he at first took to be the sound of fighting. Suddenly Horatio ran to him in great excitement. 

"Bo, Bo!" he exclaimed, "it's my family! and, oh, Bosephus, it's Cub'sfamily, too! We're really brothers, and we didn't know it!" Then he ranback into the dark and presently returned with the cub and the sevenother bears, following. The newcomers stared and blinked at the littleboy as they entered the lighted cabin and then withdrew to a darkercorner, where they sat silently regarding everything that passed, likestrangers from the country. The cub sat with them and whispered softly, in the bear tongue, and Horatio now and then went over, too, and nodoubt told them marvellous tales of his strange adventures. Late thatnight all lay down to sleep--the little boy in the arms of his faithfulfriend. 

And so the Bear Colony had begun, even sooner than Bo and Ratio hadexpected, and they had given up all notion of travelling any further. The lumber camp was deserted for good by the woodcutters, for thelargest trees had been cut out and taken away long before. The cabin washeadquarters--Bosephus was president, Horatio prime minister, and thecub, because of his adventures and slight educational advancement, waschief assistant. Early spring was upon the land, and the woods werebeginning to be sweet with song and blossom. Bosephus was almost afraidat first that, with the native woods and the renewal of home ties, Horatio might return more or less to his savage instincts, but he becamegentler and more docile than ever. His place as prime minister and chiefinstructor made him realize his advancement and the importance of goodbehavior. He was grave and dignified, and about the fire in the evening, played the violin with an air of skill and superiority that was veryimpressive. Bosephus at first enjoyed it all immensely. The bears wereobedient and submissive, and were gradually learning to understand hislanguage. He had more money than he would ever need and was lord of allhe surveyed. 

But gradually there came a change. He grew tired of seeing only theblack faces and shining eyes of his subjects and of hearing only thesinging of bees and birds. At first he did not realize what was thematter. Then it came to him at last that this life of the forest waspalling upon him and that, like the cub, he yearned for his ownkind--the faces of men. 

One morning he divided up the money into two equal parts and slipped outto where Horatio was sunning himself and playing softly before thecabin. 

"Horatio, " he said, tenderly, "I have divided up the money. Here is yourhalf. You have been the best friend I ever had and it breaks my heart toleave you, but I can't live away from my own race any longer. I am goingback to Louisiana, to the planter who told me to come back and he wouldsend me to school and college and make a man of me, " and then the littleboy suddenly broke down and fell weeping into his companion's arms. 

For some moments Horatio could not speak. Then he spoke, sobbing betweenevery word. 

"Bo--Bo--you--you're--not--not going to--to leave me! Oh, Bo!" and thepoor Bear gave way completely and wept on the little boy's shoulder. They were all alone, as the others had gone out together for a walk. Atlast Horatio put the boy gently from him and took up his violin. Hebegan to play very softly and sang in a breaking voice:--

 "Oh, he's going away to leave me to the Lou'siana shore, And I'll never see my darling, my Bosephus, any more; He's divided up the money, and he's going far away, And my poor old heart is breaking but he--will--not--stay. We have battled with the weather--we have faced the world together-- Never caring why or whether--never minding when or where-- But he says we now must sever--happy days are done forever, For Bosephus and the fiddle and the Old--Black--Bear!"

[Illustration: FELL WEEPING INTO HIS COMPANION'S ARMS. ]

An hour later Bo was wending his way southward through the sweet springwoods alone. In his inner breast pocket was stored every dollar thefriends had earned together. 

"I will never need it now, Bo, " Horatio had said at parting, "and youwill need a great many times as much. Take it and sometimes think ofyour far off faithful Ratio. " And then, after one long embrace, they hadparted. And now the little boy was trying to keep up courage to carryout what he had undertaken. At every turn in the path he was tempted toreturn and throw himself in Horatio's arms. But he pressed on, hoping toarrive at some sort of habitation for the night, which he did not liketo pass alone in the woods. 

"Poor old Ratio, " he thought. "He will be happier with his own peopleafter a while. And perhaps he will really civilize them. " He turned andcast one long look in the direction of the colony which he could nolonger see. Then facing about again he hurried forward. About a milefurther on he paused at a little brook for a drink. He was bending overthe water when he heard a sudden crashing in the bushes behind him. Hestarted up instantly and seized a heavy stick that lay close at hand. Nearer and nearer came the tearing through the brush, like some heavyanimal in fierce chase. The boy stepped out of the path to let thecreature pass, and then, all at once, he gave a cry of joy and surprise. Headlong out of the bushes, stumbling and rolling at his feet, withtears streaming from his eyes and violin under his arm, was Horatio. 

"Bo, Bo!" he cried. "I couldn't stand it. I'm going with you. That kindplanter will give me a place to stay, I know, and maybe if he sends youto college he'll let me go, too. I could play for the college boys, Bo, and help pay your way. Don't send me back, Bo! Don't send me back!"

Bo embraced him silently. 

"Why, of course not, Ratio, " he said at last, "but I thought you wantedto have a colony of your own people. "

"I did, Bo, but I have turned it over to Cub. He can take care of it. Like you, Bo, I have been civilized too long to live away from men! And, besides, Bo, you need me to protect you. " Horatio recovered his dignityat this point and continued, gravely, "You are brave and noble, Bosephus, but you need some one near you who is ever ready to face anydanger. Let us sing now, Bosephus, as we travel onward. "

And with a joyful scrape of the strings and a sweet burst of melody thefriends set their faces once more to the South. 

[Illustration: Music]

 "Oh, there was a little boy and his name was Bo, Went out into the woods when the moon was low. 

[Illustration: Music]

 And he met an Old Bear who was hungry for a snack, And the folks are still waiting for Bosephus to come back. 

[Illustration: Music]

 "For the boy became the teacher of this kind and gentle creature, Who was faithful in his friendship and was watchful in his care, [Illustration: Music]

 And they travelled on forever and they'll never, never sever, Bosephus and the fiddle and the Old--Black--Bear. "

[Illustration: "And they traveled on forever"]

 * * * * *

Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired. 

Page 20, "TO" changed to "BO" (BO was awake first)

Page 66, two lines of text were transposed. The original read:

 of them----" down here are mighty fond of bear meat, and there's such a lot