Horatio Alger - Julius, The Street Boy

Following the direction in which he pointed, the boys were startled by seeing a large, clumsy animal walking deliberately down toward the place where they were about to land.

They paused in their progress, and Julius, after a careful examination of the stranger, announced, “I’ll tell you what it is, boys; it’s a bear!”

“A bear!” exclaimed Tom and Teddy, simultaneously.

“Yes; I’ve seed a picture of one in Frank Leslie’s. It’s a bear, sure.”

“What will we do?” said Teddy, alarmed. “They’ll bite, won’t they?”

“I guess they will,” said Julius. “They’d kill you just as easy as winkin’.”

“I didn’t know there was any wild animals around here,” said Teddy, nervously.

“Yes,” said Tom; “there’s bears, and wolves, and panthers. I’ve read about ’em in a dime novel called ‘Pathfinder Pete; or, The Wild Hunter of the West.’ You know we are in the West now.”

“How will we get back?” asked Teddy, rather anxiously. “He’s squattin’ down, waitin’ for us.”

The bear had come to a pause, and, squatting on its hind quarters, was steadily and seriously regarding the boys with an expression which, to their excited imaginations, seemed particularly savage and bloodthirsty.

“I wish’t I had a rifle like the one ‘Pathfinder Pete’ had,” ejaculated Tom.

“You wouldn’t dare to fire it if you had one,” said Julius.

“Yes, I would. I’d fire a bullet into his right eye and then I’d fire another right into his left eye, and then he couldn’t see to chase us.”

“That would be good enough if we had a rifle,” said Julius; “but we haven’t. S’pose we land on the other side of the pond, and run for the fence.”

“Don’t yer do it!” exclaimed Teddy, in terror. “He’d catch us before we got halfway there.”

“Do bears run fast, Tom?” asked Julius, deferring to the superior knowledge of his comrade, who had had the great privilege of reading the instructive story of “Pathfinder Pete.”

“Don’t they? They can go twenty miles an hour without hurtin’ ’em.”

“They don’t look like it,” said Julius, surveying the clumsy form of the bear. “I’ll bet that bear can’t keep up with me.”

“Maybe he don’t look it, but he can run like lightnin’. ‘Pathfinder Pete’ was chased by a bear, when his rifle wasn’t loaded, an’ the only way he got off was to hide behind a tree till he’d loaded his gun, an’ then he blazed away, and keeled him over on his back.”

“Then I wish ‘Pathfinder Pete’ would happen around this afternoon. Teddy, jist sing a bit. Maybe that’ll frighten him.”

“I don’t feel like singin’,” said Teddy. “Oh, boys, how will we get home?”

“I move,” said Julius, who was least disturbed of the three, “that we pitch out Teddy. While the bear’s eatin’ him, we’ll run away.”

“Don’t yer do it,” entreated Teddy, his teeth chattering with fright.

“We won’t jest yet. Wait an’ see if he won’t go away himself.”

“He’s goin’ to swim out to us,” screamed Teddy, in fright, as the bear arose to his feet, and put one foot in the water. But he quickly withdrew it, apparently not liking the feeling.

“Do you think we’ll have to stay here all night?” asked Tom, soberly.

“If the bear don’t get tired, and go away.”

“I wish I was back at the Lodgin’ House,” said Teddy, gloomily.

The bear arose to his feet, and walked slowly around the pond, looking from time to time at the boat and the three young navigators.

“What time is it now, Julius,” asked Tom, after a while.

“Wants five minutes ter six,” said Julius.

“What’ll Mr. O’Connor think?”

“He can’t blame us for not comin’. I say, boys, I’m gettin’ hungry,” said Tom.

“So is the bear,” said Julius, significantly.

At this suggestion, Teddy turned a shade paler.

So the boys watched and waited in vain for their unwelcome visitor to depart, keeping the little boat as near the middle of the pond as possible.

“I guess we’ll have to stay all night,” said Tom.

Just at that moment the attention of the three boys was drawn to a boy of about their own age, who was walking across the field toward the pond.

“Does he see the bear, I wonder?” said Teddy.

“The bear sees him,” said Tom. “He’s goin’ for him.”

“Hadn’t we better holler to him to look out for the bear?” suggested Teddy.

“He sees him, and is callin’ to him,” said Julius, directly afterward.

The three boys looked on in eager excitement, to see what would come of the meeting. Teddy fully expected that the bear would appropriate the newcomer for his supper, and was very much surprised at seeing him rubbing his head against the boy’s legs, as if they were fast friends.

“Look at that,” he cried. “I don’t believe he’s a bear.”

“Yes, he is,” said Tom, confidently. “Don’t you think I know a bear when I see him?”

“I’ll ask him,” said Julius.

“Hello, there, Johnny!” he called out from the boat.

The boy looked up, and for the first time noticed the three boys.

“How did you know my name?” he asked, in surprise, for it so happened that his name was really John.

“I guessed at it,” said Julius.

“Who are you?”

“We’re New York aldermen,” said Julius, “travelin’ for our health.”

“How came you in my boat?”

“Is the boat yours?”

“Yes.”

“We thought we’d give it a little exercise, seein’ it had nothin’ to do.”

“I know who you are. You came with the agent of the Children’s Aid Society.”

“That’s so; I’m the president of the society, and these gentlemen are directors.”

“You look like it,” said the other boy, smiling.

“Is that a bear?” asked Tom, who was anxious to have the question settled.

“Yes, it is.”

“Won’t he bite?”

“Oh, no; he’s a tame bear. Ain’t you, old Bruin?”

The bear rubbed his head against his legs as before.

“Won’t he do anything to us if we come on shore?” asked Teddy, nervously.

“Oh, no; he’s as good-natured as an old dog.”

“Then we’ll land,” said Julius. “We’ve been stayin’ out here an hour, ’cause Teddy here was afraid of him.”

“You were just as much afraid as I was,” said Teddy, indignantly.

“That’s a lie. Me and Tom ain’t afraid of anything; but we wouldn’t leave you here alone.”

“Don’t you believe him,” said Teddy.

“I don’t,” said the boy on shore, laughing.

“You see,” said Julius, “that my life is valuable to my country, and I couldn’t bear to lose it. Step out, Teddy. Now tie the boat. We’d better make tracks, or Mr. O’Connor’ll scold us.”

They joined the other boy and the bear, though Teddy took care to keep as far away from the latter as he could.

“Where did you get the bear?” asked Julius. “Do they live around here?”

“No; this was taken when a cub by an uncle of mine, and when it was half-grown he gave it to me.”

“How long have you had him?”

“About five years; ever since I was nine years old.”

“Is he quite tame?”

“Oh, yes; he’s as tame as a cat.”

“Do you let him go around loose?”

“Part of the time. In the night we tie him, and keep him in the barn.”

The bear, with the desire probably of getting acquainted with different members of the party, here walked around to the further side, where Teddy was walking.

“Oh, take him away!” said the frightened boy. “He’s goin’ for me.”