n' was about to turn in early when--lo
an' behold!--the Archdeacon got up an' piled more wood upon the fire.
That made me mad; for unless he was huntin' for trouble he couldn't 'a'
done a thing more foolish, an' I says somethin' to that effect. He
comes back at me as though I was afraid o' me own shadder, an' says:
'Billy Brass, I'm s'prised that a man like you doesn't put more faith
in prayin' an' trustin' hisself in the hands o' the Almighty.'

"I was so hot over the foolishness of havin' such a big fire that I ups
an' says:

"'That may be all right for you, sir, but I prefer to use my wits
first, an' trust in Providence afterwards.'

"Nothin' more was said, an' we all turns in. I didn't like the idea of
every one goin' to sleep with a fire so big that it was showin' itself
for miles aroun', so I kep' myself awake. I wasn't exactly thinkin'
that somethin' really serious was goin' to happen, but I was just
wishin' it would, just to teach the Archdeacon a lesson. As time went
on I must 'a' done a little dozin'; for when I looks up at the Dipper
again, I learns from its angle with the North Star that it was already
after midnight. An'--would you believe it?--that fire was still
blazin' away nearly as big as ever. The heat seemed to make me drowsy,
for I began to doze once more. All at once I heard the dogs blowin' so
hard----"

"Blowing?"

"Yes, that's right; they were blowin'; for geddies don't bark like
other dogs when they're frightened. Well, as I was sayin', they were
blowin' so hard that my hair nearly stood on end. Like a shot I throws
off me blanket an' jumps to me feet, for I knowed what was comin'. The
Captain an' the Archdeacon heard them, too, an' we all grabbed at once
for the only gun, a single-barrelled muzzle-loader.

"As ill luck would have it, the Archdeacon was nearest to that gun an'
grabbed it, an' by the time we was straightened up we sees a great big
white bear rushin' at us. Quick as thought the Archdeacon points the
gun at the bear an' pulls the trigger, but the hammer only snaps upon
the bare nipple; for the cap had tumbled off in the scramble. There
was no time for re-cappin'; so, bein' the nearest to the chargin' bear,
the Archdeacon just drops the old gun an' runs for dear life around
that fire with me an' the Captin followin' close behind him.

"When I seen the way the Archdeacon an' the Captin went a sailin' round
that fire, it fairly took me breath away; for somehow I n