第2章
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  To-morrowyou\'llbebackamongyourtree-toadsandsunsets。And,letushope,\"hesighed,\"noonewilltrytostopyou!\"

  \"Whatworriesmeisthis,\"explainedHerrick。\"Ican\'thelpthinkingthat,ifonenightofthisartificiallifeissoharduponme,whatmustitbetothosebears!\"

  Kellyexclaimed,withexasperation:\"Confoundthebears!\"hecried。

  \"Ifyoumustspoilmysupperweepingoveranimals,weepovercart-horses。Theywork。Thosebearsareloafers。They\'reaswellfedaspetcanaries。They\'rearistocrats。\"

  \"Butit\'snotafreelife!\"protestedHerrick。\"It\'snotthelifetheylove。\"

  \"It\'sadarnedsightbetter,\"declaredKelly,thansleepinginadampwood,eatingrawblackberries——\"

  \"Themoreyousay,\"retortedHerrick,\"themoreyoushowyouknownothingwhatsoeverofnature\'schildrenandtheirhabits。\"

  \"Andallyouknowofthem,\"returnedKelly,isthatacathasninelives,andabarkingdogwon\'tbite。You\'reanaturefaker。\"

  Herrickrefusedtobediverted。

  \"Ithurtme,\"hesaid。\"Theyweresobig,andgood-natured,andhelpless。I\'llbetthatwomanbeatsthem!Ikeptthinkingofthemastheywereinthewoods,trampingoverthecleanpineneedles,eatingnuts,and——andhoney,and——\"

  \"Buns!\"suggestedJackson。

  \"Ican\'tforgetthem,\"saidHerrick。\"It\'sgoingtohauntme,to-morrow,whenI\'mbackinthewoods;I\'llthinkofthosepoorbeastscaperinginahottheatre,whentheyoughttobeoutintheopenasGodmeantthey——\"

  \"Well,then,\"protestedKelly,\"take\'emtotheopen。Andturn\'emloose!AndIhopetheybiteYOU!\"

  AtthisHerrickfrownedsodeeplythatKellyfearedhehadgonetoofar。Inwardly,hereprovedhimselffornotrememberingthathisfriendlackedasenseofhumor。ButHerrickundeceivedhim。

  \"Youareright!\"heexclaimed。\"To-morrowIwillbuythosebears,takethemtothefarm,andturnthemloose!\"

  Noobjectionshisfriendcouldoffercoulddiverthimfromhispurpose。Whentheyurgedthattospendsomuchmoneyinsuchamannerwascriminallywasteful,hepointedoutthathewassufficientlyrichtoindulgeanyextravagantfancy,whetherinpoloponiesorbears;whentheywarnedhimthatifhedidnotlookoutthebearswouldcatchhimaloneinthewoods,andeathim,heretortedthatthebearswerenoweducatedtoadifferentdiet;

  whentheysaidheshouldconsiderthepeaceofmindofhisneighbors,heassuredthemthefencearoundhisgamepreservewouldrestrainanelephant。

  \"Besides,\"protestedKelly,\"whatyouproposetodoisnotonlyimpracticable,butit\'scrueltytoanimals。Adomesticatedanimalcan\'treturntoastateofnature,andlive。\"

  \"Can\'tit?\"jeeredHerrick。\"Didyoueverread\'TheCalloftheWild\'?\"

  \"Didyoueverread,\"retortedKelly,\"whathappenedatthesiegeofLadysmithwhentheoatsranlowandtheydrovetheartilleryhorsesouttograss?Theystarved,that\'sall。Andifyoudon\'tfeedyourbearsonmilkoutofabottlethey\'llstarvetoo。\"

  \"That\'swhatwillhappen,\"criedJackson;thosebearshaveforgottenwhatapineforestsmellslike。Maybeit\'sapity,butit\'sthefact。I\'llbetifyoucouldaskthemwhetherthey\'drathersleepinacaveonyourfarmorbeheadlinersinvaudeville,they\'dtellyoutheywere\'devotedtotheirart。\'\"

  \"Why!\"exclaimedKelly,\"they\'resofarfromnaturethatiftheydidn\'thavethatcoloredboytocombandbrushthemtwiceadaythey\'dbeashamedtolookeachotherintheeyes。\"

  \"Andanotherthing,\"continuedJackson,\"trainedanimalsloveto\'showoff。\'They\'rechildren。ThosebearsENJOYdoingthosetricks。

  TheyENJOYtheapplause。Theyenjoydancingtothe\'MerryWidowWaltz。\'Andifyoulockthemupinyourjungle,they\'llgetsohomesickthatthey\'llgiveaperformancetwiceadaytothesquirrelsandwoodpeckers。\"

  \"It\'sjustashardtounlearnathingastolearnit,\"saidKellysententiously。\"Youcan\'tmakeamanwhohaslearnedtowearshoesenjoygoingaroundinhisbarefeet。\"

  \"Rot!\"criedHerrick。\"Lookatme。Didn\'tIloveNewYork?I

  loveditsoIneverwenttobedforfearI\'dmisssomething。ButwhenI

  went\'BacktotheLand,\'didittakemelongtofallinlovewiththeforestsandthegreenfields?Ittookmeaweek。IgotobednowthesamedayIgetup,andI\'vepassedonmyhighhatandfrockcoattoascarecrow。AndI\'llbetyouwhenthosebearsoncescentthewildwoodsthey\'llstampedeforthemlikeCrokergoingtoathirdalarm。\"

  \"AndIrepeat,\"criedKelly,\"youareanaturefaker。AndI\'llleaveittothebearstoproveit。\"

  \"Wehavedoneourbest,\"sighedJackson。\"Wehavetriedtosavehimmoneyandtrouble。Andnowallhecandoforusinreturnistogiveusseatsfortheopeningperformance。\"

  WhatthebearscostHerrickhenevertold。Butitwasaverylargesum。AstheCountessZichypointedout,bearsasbears,inastateofnature,arecheap。Ifitwerejustabearhewanted,hehimselfcouldgotoPikeCounty,Pennsylvania,andtrapone。Whathewaspayingfor,sheexplained,wasthetimeshehadspentineducatingtheBrunofamily,andaddedtothatthetimeduringwhichshemustnowremainidlewhilesheeducatedanotherfamily。

  Herrickknewforwhathewaspaying。Itwasthepleasureofrescuingunwillingslavesfrombondage。Astotheirexpensiveeducation,iftheyreturnedtoastateofignoranceasrapidlyasdidmostcollegegraduatesheknew,hewouldbesatisfied。Twodayslater,whenherengagementatthemusichallclosed,MadameZichyreluctantlyturnedoverherpetstotheirnewmanager。WithIkeyshewasespeciallyloathtopart。

  \"I\'llnevergetonelikehim,\"shewalledIkeyisthefunniestfour-leggedclowninAmerica。He\'sanatural-borncomedian。FolksthinkIlearnhimthosetricks,butit\'sallhisownstuff。OnlylastweekwewasplayingPaoli\'sinBridgeport,andwhenIwasputtingBrunothroughthehoops,Ikeyrunstothestage-boxandgrabsapoundofcaramelsoutofagirl\'slap-andswallowsthebox。

  AndinSt。Paul,ifthetrombonehadn\'twornawig,Ikeywouldhavescalpedhim。Say,itwasascream!Whentheaudienceseethetrombonesnatchedbald-headed,andhimtryingtogetbackhiswig,andIkeychewingit,theywentcrazy。Youcan\'tlearnabeartrickslikethat。It\'sjustgenius。SomefolksthinkItaughthimtoactlikehewasintoxicated,buthepickedthatup,too,allbyhimself,throughwatchingmyhusband。AndIkey\'sveryfondofbeeronhisownaccount。IfIdon\'tstopthem,thestagehandswouldbealwaysslippinghimdrinks。Ihopeyouwon\'tgivehimnone。\"

  \"Iwillnot!\"saidHerrick。

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