ing in camp was one to be remembered. An Thomas, the guide who
tended the reservoir, came over and sat beside our fire until bedtime.
He had spent years in the wilderness going out for nothing less
important than an annual spree at circus time. He eyed us over, each in
turn, as if he thought us all very rare and interesting.

'Many bears here?' Uncle Eb enquired.

'More plenty 'n human bein's,' he answered, puffing lazily at his pipe
with a dead calm in his voice and manner that I have never seen equalled
except in a tropic sea.

'See 'em often?' I asked.

He emptied his pipe, striking it on his palm until the bowl rang,
without answering. Then he blew into the stem with great violence.

'Three or four 'n a summer, mebbe,' he said at length.

'Ever git sassy?' Uncle Eb asked.

He whipped a coal out of the ashes then and lifted it in his fingers to
the bowl of his pipe.

'Never real sassy,' he said between vigourous puffs. 'One stole a ham
off my pyazz las' summer; Al Fifield brought 't in fer me one day--smelt
good too! I kep' savin' uv it thinkin' I'd enjoy it all the more when
I did hev it. One day I went off cuttin' timber an' stayed 'til mos'
night. Comin' home I got t' thinkin' o' thet ham, an' made up my mind
I'd hev some fer supper. The more I thought uv it the faster I hurried
an' when I got hum I was hungrier'n I'd been fer a year. When I see the
ol' bear's tracks an' the empty peg where the ham had hung I went t'
work an' got mad. Then I started after thet bear. Tracked 'im over
yender, up Cat Mountin'.'

Here Ab paused. He had a way of stopping always at the most interesting
point to puff at his pipe. It looked as if he were getting up steam for
another sentence and these delays had the effect of 'continued in our
next'.

'Kill 'im?' Uncle Eb asked.

'Licked him,' he said.

'Huh!' we remarked incredulously.

'Licked 'im,' he repeated chucking. 'Went into his cave with a sledge
stake an' whaled 'im--whaled 'im 'til he run fer his life.'

Whether it was true or not I have never been sure, even to this day, but
Ab's manner was at once modest and convincing.

'Should 'a thought he'd 'a rassled with ye,' Uncle Eb remarked.

'Didn't give 'im time,' said Ab, as he took out his knife and began
slowly to sharpen a stick.

'Don't never wan' t' rassle with no bear,' he added, 'but hams is too
scurce here 'n the woods t' hev 'em tuk away 'fore ye know the taste uv
'em. I ain't never been hard on bea