Then Partridge said maybe a couple of good dogs might whip him; and he borrowed a bulldog and a setter from Scott and pushed them through the front door.  They listened, and for half an hour they could hear a most terrific contest raging; and Scott said he’d bet a million dollars that bull-dog would eat up any two bears in the Rocky Mountains.  Then everything became still, and a few moments later they could hear the bear eating something and cracking bones with his teeth; and Bartholomew said that the Indian out in Colorado told him that the bear was particularly fond of dog-meat, and could relish a dog almost any time.

At last Bartholomew thought he would try strategy.  He procured a huge iron hook with a sharp point to it, tied it to a rope and put three or four pounds of fresh beef on the hook.  Then he went up the ladder, opened the trap-door in the roof and dropped in the bait.  In a few moments he got a bite, and all hands manned the rope and pulled, when out came Scott’s bull-dog, which had been hiding in the garret.  Bartholomew was disgusted; but he put on fresh bait and threw in again, and in about an hour the bear took hold, and they hauled him out and knocked him on the head.

Then they entered the house.  In the hall the carpet was covered with particles of dead setter, and in the parlor the carpet and the windows had been shot to pieces, while the furniture was full of bullet-holes.  The bear had smashed the mirror, torn up six or seven chairs, knocked over the lamp and demolished all the crockery in the pantry.  Bartholomew gritted his teeth as he surveyed the ruin, and Mrs. Bartholomew said she wished to patience he had stayed in Colorado.  However, they fixed things up as well as they could, and then Mrs. Bartholomew sent into Partridge’s for Charley and the youngest girl.  When Charley came, he rushed up to Bartholomew and said,

“Oh, pa! where’s my little baby-bear?”

Then Bartholomew gazed at him severely for a moment, looked around to see if Mrs. Bartholomew had left the room, and then gave Charley the most terrific spanking that he ever received.

The Bartholomew children have no pets at present but a Poland rooster which has moulted his tail.

CHAPTER XV.

LOVE, SUFFERING AND SUICIDE.

Peter Lamb, a young man who is employed in one of the village stores, some time ago conceived a very strong passion for a neighbor of his, Miss Julia Brown, the doctor’s daughter.  But the Fates seemed to be against the successful prosecution of his suit, for he managed to plunge into a series of catastrophes in the presence of the young lady, and to make himself so absurd that even his affection seemed ridiculous.  One summer evening, when he was just beginning to make advances, Miss Brown came over to see Peter’s sister, and the two girls sat out upon the front porch together in the darkness, talking.  Peter plays