"Stop him!" commanded Grace sternly. "Stop him, I say! He will kill the
man."

"Serve the houn' right if the bear did. I'll larn 'em to mind their
business, the sarpints! Henry!" A sharp rap over the bear's shoulder
slowed the animal down. A second tap brought him to all fours, with his
mistress's hand fastened in the hair of his head.

"That'll do, Hen. These soft-hearted folk ain't goin' to let ye chaw the
gentleman up to-day, but, if ever I set eyes on either of the scum agin,
I'll give the varmints what's comin' to 'em, and I'll do it sudden-like,
and I'll do it so it stays done, and there won't be nobody to stop me
next time. If ye don't believe it, jest give me the chance. And to think
I had to waste a perfectly good pot of coffee on that timber-robber's
head. He's a skin and a tight-wad, and I'll bet my month's wage that he
robs the birds of their eggs to save the price of keepin' a hen of his
own."

"Please! Please," begged Grace laughingly. "Which one of the pair do you
mean?"

"Both of 'em. They ain't here for no good. Wait till I tell ye what they
did and ye'll see--"

"Just a moment. Tell it to all of us," urged Grace, leading the irate
woman and her tame bear up to her companions.

"Why did you stop them, Grace?" growled Hippy. "First fun we've had
since Emma discovered the animal under the table. What's the joke, old
dear?"

The forest woman was so angry over her recent experience that she forgot
to chide Hippy for his familiarity.

"Matter? Matter enough. As I was sayin' to Miss Gray, them varmints
ain't here for no good, and ye ain't heard the last of 'em by a long
shot. They'll be back. Take Joe Shafto's word for that, and they won't
be back alone, 'cause they're too big cowards. Yaller streaks in both of
'em. I'll bet the pair of 'em was trying to get this timber lot away
from ye. Don't ye have no dealin's with 'em. Don't want no truck with
them kind of cattle, and I'll tell ye right now that if they show their
yaller faces 'round here agin, I'll set my Henry on 'em for keeps." Mrs.
Shafto gasped for breath preparatory to entering on a fresh tirade, when
Tom Gray, embracing the opportunity, got in a question.

"Suppose you tell us what the row was about. What was it?" he asked.

"The varmints tried to bribe me, that's what."

"Bribe you!" exclaimed the Overlanders in chorus.

"That's what I said."

"Why didn't you take it?" demanded Hippy. "That was easy money."

"To do what?" que