"I'm er peaceable man," roared Siwash Charley, "but I ain't a-goin' ter be tromped on!"
"Who's been tramping on you?" inquired the officer soothingly.
"Fust off, it was er Chink. I was bringin' that tame b'ar inter town fer delivery ter Hank Bostwick, at the ginmill he runs, an' I sot down ter rest. I was ca'm, an' the b'ar was ca'm, but erlong comes the Chink an' sets off a big firecracker he had left over from the Fourth, I reckon. Anyways, the blasted thing went off like er cannon, an' I was blowed clean over the b'ar. When I got up an' looked around, the b'ar was goin' after the Chink, allymand-left an' all sashay. I took arter the b'ar. Seein' as how Bostwick is goin' ter gi'me twenty-five dollars for the brute, I wasn't wantin' him ter git loose. When I got hyer, that feller"—Siwash Charley nodded toward Matt—"pulled a stick I was kerryin' out from under me. I sailed inter him an' then that other feller"—he indicated McGlory—"let loose with a rock an' purty nigh busted my arm. I ain't goin' ter stand fer no sich doin's—that ain't Siwash Charley's stripe, not noways."
"Did the Chink throw the firecracker in the first place?" asked the officer.
"He must er done it. If he hadn't, the b'ar wouldn't have took arter him. I'll fix that Chink if I ever git hands on him; an' I'll fix you fellers, too," he added, scowling at Matt and McGlory.
"The Chinaman was trying to climb the telegraph pole and get away from the bear, officer," spoke up Matt, "but every now and then he'd slip down the pole, and the bear would slap at him with his claws. Siwash Charley, as you call him, stood by and never made a move to interfere. I grabbed the club and struck the bear, and the next thing I knew I was caught from behind and thrown on my back."
"I'd 'a' welted you good, too," snarled Siwash Charley, "if that rock hadn't landed on me."
The officer looked around. Three men had caught the bear by the chain and were holding the brute warily. The bear seemed to be recovering its good nature, the Chinaman had escaped, and little damage had been done.
"Let the matter drop, Charley," said the officer. "You haven't any proof that the Chink threw the cannon cracker, or——"
"B'ars hes got sense," blustered Siwash Charley, "an' this un wouldn't hev chased the Chink if he wasn't guilty."