"Where are the other two?" cried Genevieve, who was darting from one
room to another; "the bear can't have swallowed them."
It was not long before Percy discovered the two missing sisters in the
cellar. They were seated on the ground with their aprons over their
heads.
It was some time before quiet was restored in that household. To the
paralyzing terror occasioned by the sudden advent of the bear
succeeded wild lamentations over the loss of property. I assured them
that I was perfectly willing to make good the loss, but Mr. Larramie
would not allow me to say anything on the subject.
"It is not your affair," said he. "The bear would have done no damage
whatever had it not been for the folly of Percy in bringing his gun--I
suppose the animal has been shot at some time or other--and my
weakness in allowing him to keep it. I will attend to these damages.
The amount is very little, I imagine, principally cheap crockery, and
the best thing you can do is to start off slowly with your bear. The
women will not be able to talk reasonably until it is off the
premises. I will catch up with you presently."
When the bear and I, with the rest of the party, were fairly out of
sight of the house, we stopped and waited for Mr. Larramie, and it was
not long before he joined us.
When we reached the hay-barn we were met by the rest of the Larramie
family, all anxious to see the bear. Even Miss Edith, who had had one
glimpse of the beast, was very glad indeed to assure me that she did
not wonder in the least that I had supposed there would be no harm in
leaving such a mild creature for a little while by the side of the
road, and I was sure from the exclamations of the rest of the family
that Orso would not suffer for want of care and attention during his
stay in the hay-barn.
I was immensely relieved to get rid of the bear and to leave him in
such good quarters, for it now appeared to me quite reasonable that I
might have had difficulty in lodging him anywhere on the premises of
the Cheltenham, and under any circumstances I very much preferred
appearing at that hotel without an ursine companion. As soon as we
reached the house I told Mr. Larramie that it was now necessary for me
to hurry on, and asked if there were not some way to the hotel which
would not make it necessary for me to go back to the main road.
The good gentleman fairly shouted at me. "You aren't going to any
hotel!" he declared. "Do you suppose we are heathens, to let you start
off at this late hour in the afternoon for a hotel? You have nothing
to do with hotels--you spend the night with us, sir! If you are
thinking about your clothes, pray dismiss the subject from your mind.
If it will make you feel better satisfied, we will all put on golf
suits. In the morning we will get your machine from the Holly Sprig,
and when you want to go on we will send you and it to Waterton in a
wagon. It is not a long drive, and it is much the pleasanter way to
manage your business."