, 1889-07-04

the animal from reaching them. With
trembling hand he drew the box toward
him. What if it should be locked?
A cold sweat broke out upon him as it
resisted his efforts TO open it. No, he
was trying TO open it on the hinged side.
The otherl 1t opened readily, and o
little fumbling brought TO light four
long screws and a good sized screw
driver. A gimlet, also, rewarded his
further search. In two minutes the bed
was securely screwed to tho floor, and
not a moment too soon, for aroused by
the noise which this operation rendered
necessary, the Infatuated animal again
sprang 10 the attack. Time after time
he savagely thrust his head as far as he
could reach under the bed, the desperate
man, guided more by the sound of the
animals breathing than anything else,
thrusting iercely at the bristling muzzle
with the sharp screwdriver.
Suddenly, however, the huge cat
changed his tactics. Taking a rapid turn
around the room as If to reconnoiter,
with n furious bound it sprang upon the
bed, and with its sharp claws rapidly
stripped the two mattresses from its sur
face. A woven wire mattress and tho
Stats now alone i~nterposed an apparently
frail barrier between the enraged animal
and its helpless victims.
Maddened with rage, the huge man
eater tore fiercely at this fresh obstacle,
its sharp claws, however, failing to make
any impression upon the tempered spring
steel. But it bent dreadfully. Will it
hold? Yes, it bends, it is true, but even
those claws, terrible weapons though
they be, rebound harmless from the slip
perry and springy surface. Thank heavenl
1t forms a coat of mail through which
theh huge beast N penetrate.
After n few minutes of futile endeavor
the tiger, exhausted with its e~xertions,
lay crouched above them. The man,
white with terror, could see the saliva
dripping from its jaws and mark the fe-
rocious CLEAN in its yellow eyes as it
glared savagely down upon them. With
out covering, it was bitter cold. A deadly
chill crept over him. Would he and his
wife survive the horrible experience?
His wifel He reached out his hand and
touched her. He spoke to her, low at
first, then louder. There was no response.
Overcome with the horror of their
situation the unfortunate woman had
tainted. Each minute seemed an hour
as he lay there, the immense form of the
tiger above them, while his face was
turned away to escape the prurient odors
which its body emitted. In their expos
ed situation his wife would perish with
cold and fright. Something must be
done. He saw, too, that beneath the re-
peated o~nslaughts of their foe even the
steel mattress showed signs of yielding.
Suddenly the thought struck him, "That
box of tools again"
With the auger and saw it contained
why should he not cut his way through
the floor, drop into thep arlor below, and
summon assistance? No sooner had he
hit on this plan than he proceeded to put
1t into execution. Turning over on his
face, he bored with as little noise as pos
sible n series of holes through the soft
pine flooring, and inserted the edge of the
saw. 1t was new and sharp, and the soft
wood readily yielded to his efforts. Soon
he had cut u hole two feet in length in
one plank. The tiger had not moved.
Mrs. Hartley was lying face DOWN
ward, and groaned from time to time
uneasily. She had regained conscious
ness, but replied to all her husbands
questions in an incoherent manner, and
the poor man thought piteously that per-
haps her reason had given way under the
dreadful strain. The thought urged him
on to renewed efforts.
Thesecond plank was now cut through.
Breaking away the plaster beneath, he
thrust his legs into the hole thus made,
and hung suspended by his fingers.
Whilst in this position the thought in
voluntarily flashed through his mind
that perhaps the tiger might rush down
stairs and seize him, and he gripped the
rough boards tightly with his tired fin
gers. He would soon have to let go his
hold anyway. He felt his fingers grad
ually slipping from the boards. He
looked up, a prayer trembling on his
blanched lips. The animal had not
moved from its recumbent position on
the bed. Its eyes were half closed, and
it was apparently becoming drowsy.
He let go his hold and fell-down,
down, down-away into space. 1t seemed
that he would neve reach the floor.
AT this juncture the merchants wife
shook him violently by the shoulder and
exclaimed in n somewhat irritable tone:
For goodness sake, James, wake up
and cease dreaming about that wretched
tiger. 1believe you are more frightened
about it than 1 am"
And he was.-Austyn w. Granville in
Chicago Journal.
Learning Well.