by Darrell Bain
"Sammie says the bear will leave, but she wants everyone to promise not to harm him. Is that okay?"
A subdued muttering greeted his entreaty, but despite some dour faces, they all agreed not to hurt the bear if it would leave.
Jeff Wesley looked disgusted, but he nodded. Damn bear, coming right into town, threatening people. I see him again I'll take care of that problem right quick, no matter what that silly little Douglas girl thinks!
"Do they promise? They have to promise," Samantha said. She rubbed her face in Whoofluff's fur to wipe away the tears then looked back at the crowd.
Red-faced, and wondering what his friends and neighbors were thinking, Ronald relayed the request.
This time he heard a few nervous chuckles, but nods of heads and spoken answers indicated everyone agreed.
Promises to a bear! Next thing you know she'll be wanting us to stop catching salmon, Wesley thought, clutching his rifle. Damn foolishness is what it is.
"They all promise."
Samantha's face broke into a wide happy grin. She tugged affectionately at Whoofluff's pelt and said a few words to him, again too low to be heard.
The bear gobbled the remaining strawberries then walked away, not getting in a hurry but still covering the ground at a remarkably fast pace.
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas rushed forward and claimed their daughter.
***
All the time during the drive home, Samantha was unnaturally silent, where normally she was a chatterbox. For the first time since she discovered that animals could talk to her with their few sounds that she heard as abbreviated speech, she was wondering why no one else could understand them. The problem was absorbing all her attention. When she spoke to them she usually voiced whole words and sentences but she suddenly realized that at other times she spoke only a few words and sort of thought the rest, but that was with animals she knew well. Or maybe she was saying the words, but not audibly. It all occurred so naturally that she'd never really considered the mechanics of it. Now she did and knew that the reason Mom and Dad didn't believe her was just that simple. They didn't hear either her thoughts or the thoughts of animals talking to her but she did! No wonder they thought she was pretending! But after today she wondered how they could possibly doubt her. No one else in the whole town had dared face friendly old Whoofluff except her and that was because she and the bear could talk to each other. Now she knew, but what she didn't know was how to convince anyone else that she could talk to animals!
Once back home, Elaine took her daughter aside for a heart to heart talk, an encounter she had been unconsciously avoiding, hoping Samantha would grow out of her imaginary conversations with animals.
"Sammie, what has gotten into you with this animal business? You have to stop it, do you hear? You know good and well that animals can't talk. It's time for you to drop this nonsense and begin growing up. You're not going to be a little girl much longer. You'll be a young lady. Ladies do not go around imagining they can talk to animals. "
"But Mom... "
"No, I don't want to hear excuses or stories about how animals talk to you. It's time to put that aside. Besides, didn't you see how frightened your father and I were?"
"You didn't have to be scared, Mom. Whoofluff just wanted to play. Honest."
"I don't care if he wanted to dance a jig with you. Either you put a stop to fraternizing with animals or I'm going to take away your library card. Is that clear?"
Fraternizing. That meant hanging around with. Samantha couldn't bear the thought of not being able to borrow books from the general store's library to read, especially since the area still didn't have the internet. She sighed. Grownups just don't understand, she thought. Out loud, she said "Yes, ma'am. I won't play with Whoofluff anymore." She held her breath, hoping her mother wouldn't notice she wasn't promising not to talk to Whoofluff. That wasn't playing.
"All right then, that's the end of it. Now let's get the groceries put away and you can help me make us a pie for dinner."
While helping to prepare and cook of the pie Samantha's thoughts turned to the used encyclopedias her mother had ordered for her the previous year. She had already read them all and was going through them a second time but concentrating on the more interesting articles. She loved to read even more than she loved animals.
***
Jeff Wesley spent a lot of time in the forest. He didn't pay much attention to the game laws. When he needed meat for his family he took it. If an animal showed the least sign of threatening behavior, he shot it. Sometimes it didn't even have to be threatening him. He liked to kill animals. It gave him a feeling of superiority, a feeling of power.
Several days after Whoofluff appearance in town, Wesley was just completing the dressing of a young caribou that had become separated from its herd. It had wandered too close to his little house located on the road leading to Wikluk and naturally he had killed it. He was in a hurry to finish the job and get his meat inside and in the freezer. He didn't want to be caught with a caribou after the season was closed in this area.
At the same time Wesley was beginning to cut the caribou meat into sections, Whoofluff was headed in the general direction of Wikluk. He was driven by a vague yearning to see the little human cub again when he crossed the path of Jeff Wesley. He sniffed, scenting the smell of fresh meat. Bears are never adverse to a bite to eat during the summer. A tremendous amount of food was necessary to store up fat to sustain them while they hibernated during the extreme cold of northern Alaska. As he got closer to the meat smell, another odor told him that one of the humans from the herd the girl cub belonged to was present.
Whoofluff's memory was directed almost exclusively toward food and drink and where and how to find it, but his mind had made room for the human cub who could talk to him. He also retained a few other odd bits of lore about humans.
Ordinarily Whoofluff was wary of the species. One of his other morsels of knowledge was the memory of seeing how easily humans could take the life force from animals. They did it by making loud noises from the odd smelling sticks some of them carried. But the girl cub had told him no one from her herd would hurt him. And she had quieted the hubbub over him eating some of the tasty berries the last time he saw her. Maybe this male human would be willing to share some of its kill, too. Confidently, sure that he would come to no harm, he waddled through the underbrush toward the man.
Wesley smelled the bear at the same time he heard it-and it was very near. His rifle was leaning against a tree several yards away. He cursed under his breath for being so careless, but Wesley never went anywhere without his pistol too, just to be on the safe side. He drew it from its holster and scanned the nearby brush. His eyes widened as he saw the bear, only a few short steps away. It was much nearer than he had thought. Then he noticed the scarred notched ear. It's the same damned bear that crazy little Douglas brat kept me from killing in town!
Whoofluff rumbled a greeting to the human and came closer. Wesley would have been fine if he had ignored the bear and simply left the caribou for him, but giving his kill to a bear was simply unthinkable. Besides, he purposely interpreted Whoofluff's deep-throated greeting as a threat so he would have an excuse to shoot, despite that silly promise to the stupid Douglas girl.
Wesley was a knowledgeable woodsman and ordinarily wouldn't have dreamed of trying to kill a grizzly with a pistol, but this one was so close he couldn't miss, and the heavy .45 with the high powered loads made him overconfident. Remembering how he had been thwarted before, he raised his gun, aiming at a spot between its eyes.
Just as he fired, the bear dipped his head to sniff at some of the caribou offal he had discarded. The bullet plowed a furrow across the pelt and underlying fat of Whoofluff's shoulder. Startled and hurt, Whoofluff roared into action and reared up, faster than Wesley imagined possible. He slapped the gun away with one huge paw just as Wesley fired a second shot, causing him to miss completely. The blow flung the weapon into the brush.
Wesley screamed
and ran for his rifle, but he got no farther than a couple of steps before Whoofluff was on him.
***
The Douglas family lived a couple of miles from Wikluk. Ronald Douglas worked as an environmental specialist for the state of Alaska, exploring the possibility of both mining and recreation in the northern reaches of the state, but he had applied for several jobs in the lower forty eight. Samantha was nearing the age when she needed better schooling and an environment with more opportunities to stretch her mind. She was a very bright girl and loved to read. It was nearing noon and Ronald and his daughter were outside, waiting on the mail jeep. He was hoping for an offer on one of the new jobs. She was waiting on a book her mother had ordered for her. When the jeep arrived, the driver honked.
"Must be that book your mother ordered," he said, then had second thoughts when the honking became urgent and the jeep turned into their driveway. He and Samantha met it at the front gate.
"Ron, you better get Sammie inside, then come on into town. Bring your rifle," the mail carrier said with some urgency.
"Why? What's happened?"
"Jeff Wesley was found near his home. He was mauled to death by a bear."
"Good God! I didn't particularly like the man, but I hate to hear about anyone dying like that."
"Yeah. Well, just wanted to let you know. We'll get a hunt organized and take care of the brute before it gets a kid out berry picking or something."
"I'll get my rifle," Ronald said. "Sammie, get in the house and stay there until your mother gets home. Hear me?"
"Yes, sir."
The mailman waited until Mr. Douglas's daughter was walking away from them, then beckoned Douglas closer.
"I didn't want her to overhear, Ron, but judging from the footprints around the body, it was the same bear she made friends with in town. Thought you might want to know." He said nothing about the remains of the caribou at the site.
"Thanks, George. I appreciate it. I'll see you in town, soon as I fetch Elaine and send her home to watch Sammie."
***
As soon as her father was out of sight, Samantha left the house and raced into the woods, taking a short cut toward where Mr. Wesley lived. All the way, she was hoping desperately it wasn't one of the grizzlies she had made friends with, but she suspected it was. She remembered the disgusted look on Mr. Wesley's face when she made everyone promise not to hurt Whoofluff.
She arrived before the hunting party had even gotten organized. The body was gone, of course, but it was easy to tell where the event occurred. The little scavengers were already busy with parts of the caribou carcass that had been left lying. In the distance she heard the howl of a wolf, but she barely noticed. All her attention was concentrated on examining the area for bear footprints.
"Oh no," Samantha said to herself when she saw the distinctive impression, a paw print with two toes missing. "Whoofluff. It was Whoofluff! She began following the tracks, then as soon as she was certain of the direction, she began running through the woods again. A little later she arrived at the stream where Mom and Dad had first seen her playing with the big grizzly four years ago. She was panting from the long run.
"Whoofluff!" she called. "Whoofluff, it's me. Come out!"
There was a rustling in the brush and the bear walked up to her. It lowered its head so she could get her arms around its huge neck. It was then that she saw the streak of dried blood running down from his shoulder.
"You're hurt! Poor Whoofluff. How did it happen?"
The bear told her how he had ran across Mr. Wesley while he was cutting up the caribou. Recognizing him as one of the human herd the girl cub had said wouldn't hurt him, he uttered a greeting and came nearer, hoping the man would share some of his kill. Despite his politeness, the man inflicted a painful wound with the little stick that made a loud noise, and was going to hurt him some more with the big stick if he could. That was when Whoofluff became angry and knocked him to the ground and bit him. Hard.
"That mean old man, and after he promised, too!" Samantha said to Whoofluff. "It serves him right, but now you have to go away. Go 'way off, Whoofluff, or the men will hunt you down and kill you. Please?"
The huge grizzly bear nuzzled his little human friend and turned away. Bears can't cry, but if they could, Whoofluff would have shed some tears at the thought of never seeing the little girl cub again, the only human he knew who could talk to bears.
As she watched him go, Samantha was the one who cried. She let the tears flow freely as she trudged back home, no longer hurrying. She knew that the town people would never believe it if she told them what really happened. She would have to admit she could talk to bears in order for her to have learned the details of Mr. Wesley's death. Besides, even if she were believed she thought they would still hunt down poor Whoofluff and kill him. Somehow, I have to stop it, she thought and began to hurry again.
***
Samantha heard her Mom and Dad frantically calling her name and speeded up a little. If Dad was already back home she must have been gone longer than she thought. He would be angry, too, for her leaving the house after being ordered specifically not to.
"Sammie! Oh God, where have you been? Didn't I tell you to stay inside?" Her father was almost overwhelmed with relief at finding his daughter safe and sound. He had been frightened out of his wits when he returned from town and found her missing. He was so glad to find her safe that he forgot to be mad at her for disobeying his instructions.
Elaine was so distraught she couldn't even talk. She simply hugged her daughter close and whimpered. She had pictured her only child being killed by that enormous bear.
Eventually, the three were back in the house, and by this time Samantha's parents began demanding an explanation for her absence.
"I had to go warn Whoofluff so he wouldn't get shot," Samantha said, knowing the adults would be furious, but she wanted to explain.
"Do you mean to tell me you went and saw that... that man-eating bear after you said you wouldn't play with him again?" her mother asked, horrified at the thought.
"I wasn't playing with him. I was just talking to him, Mom. I told him to go way away from here so he wouldn't get shot."
"Well, he needs to be shot for killing and eating poor Mr. Wesley."
"Oh, Mom! He didn't eat anybody. He didn't even mean to kill Mr. Wesley. He just wanted to keep from being hurt any more. Mr. Wesley shot him, after he promised. People shouldn't break promises."
"Lord have mercy," Elaine Douglas said, looking to the heavens. "Ronald, what are we going to do with her?"
"Put her in a circus if this goes on," Ronald answered aloud. My God, I think she really can talk to animals he said to himself, very silently.
"Be serious, Ronald! She could have been killed!"
"Whoofluff wouldn't hurt me, Mom, any more than Loosmuff or her cubs would."
As soon as she saw her parents exchange startled glances, Samantha knew she had made a mistake. Whoops! I shouldn't have mentioned that, she thought. This was only going to make things worse.
"And just who might Loosmuff be, young lady? Another bear, I presume?"
Samantha hung her head. "Yes'm. A mother bear," she murmured, her voice barely audible.
"Did I hear you say 'cubs'," her father asked, aghast at the thought of his daughter going anywhere near a mother bear with cubs. They were notorious for the aggressiveness with which they defended their progeny. If she can get away with that, then she really must be able to talk to animals. Bears, anyway. Good Lord. Elaine is right. What are we going to do with her?
"Loosmuff didn't mind, Dad. She knew I wouldn't hurt them. In fact, she was glad to have me watch them for her while she took a nap."
She wouldn't hurt them? How about the bear hurting her? Obviously, the mother bear had been as friendly to her as the one in town. Amazing. Ronald nodded, finally convinced.
But Elaine was still angry and unbelieving. "You're never to go near a bear again!" she shouted at Samantha, fear of her child'
s safety making her voice sound furious.
Samantha was momentarily saved from further recriminations by the sound of honking outside. Two jeeps with armed men in them had stopped by to pick up Mr. Douglas. They were on their way toward Wesley's place to begin the hunt.
Mr. Douglas started toward the door, then hesitated. He turned back around. "Sammie, which direction did you tell the bear to go?"
She looked up at her father, a despondent expression on her face. Then her eyes widened. She started to smile as she saw the slow, careful wink her father gave her, out of sight of her mother's unsympathetic gaze. She raised her arm and pointed in the opposite direction that Whoofluff had taken. "That way, Dad."
"I'll be back later," he said.
The hunters never did find Whoofluff, and the bear never returned to the vicinity of Wikluk again.
Chapter Two
It was several weeks before Elaine would let Samantha out of her sight, but eventually she relaxed. As summer neared its end, the Douglas household was almost back to normal. So normal, in fact, that Mrs. Douglas agreed to host Samantha's eleventh birthday party at their home.
Wikluk and the area around it was so sparsely populated that there wouldn't be many children attending. Nevertheless, Samantha was looking forward to it eagerly. She would be starting fifth grade in another month.
The day dawned beautifully. An early cool front chased the mosquito swarms away. Elaine made a large beautiful Salmon Berry cake with white icing, and somehow managed to find a package of candles in the general store. The cake was graced with eleven candles and her name was spelled out with salmon berries.
A dozen of her friends were supposed to be there, some coming from miles away, with their parents making special trips to bring them to the party. Ronald had made certain that his duties with the Alaskan Environmental Assessment Office allowed him to be present as well. Sometimes his work kept him away from home for weeks on end.
