The Red Cloud chief., 1889-05-17

~ SAaoON4AAACnS u GOOGO0C08 16SuKt0s u
bright tawny yellow, its body was besuti
fully marked with dark transverse hands
passing into pure white on the under parts
The tail Was long and full and undulated il
snake-llke movements. Its fang-l like teeth
barred by the dropping under jaw, shont
white and cruel in the moonlight. The ex
precision on its fac as it moved silently for
ward and raising its head shifted eagerly il
expression Of demon.
Mr.. Hartley does not know what pro
vented him from screaming aloud with
terror. Perhaps the thought Of the help
less woman sleeping in peaceful uncon
sc~iousness by his side; perhaps sheer in,
ability to utter a articulste sound, pre-
vented him. Fascinated by the beast, the
feeling grew upon him that II he should
once remove his eyes from the fierce and
glaring orbs which glistened with such q
baleful CLEAN as they met his own, that u
that moment the animal would spring upon
him. Rapidly, as he became by degrees q
little calmer, he resolved in his mind the
best thing to be lone. He1must wake his
wife, but how to do 50 without attracting
the attention of the animal and Fastening
the impending attack was q problem difficult
W ooAoSAoA VI tA1S - II
really brave men in the most trying situa-
tons, when face to face with danger, his
innate courage nerved him to the emer.
gency. Keeping his eyes steadily fixed
upon the tiger, he placed his left hand be-
hind hin and very slowly and with infinite
caution pressed it gently down over Mrs.
Hartley's mouth. 1t was a dreadful mo-
ment. II she should cry out the ferocious
beast, which had already begun to show
symptoms Of anger, and appeared to be
gathering itself for q spring, would I'm.
doubtedly leap upon them.
At that moment Mrs. Hartley half reused
herself from sleep. She murmured some
thing unintelligible.
'My DEAR" said the merchant, in q low
constrained voice. fare you awake!"
Eyes" came back the dreamy response;
and again he pressed his hand, this time
more decidedly, upon the face Of the half
conscious woman.
"What is it!" she asked.
"Hush! Do not stir, on your life. Look
e my shoulder. Quietly: be brave, lit
tie woman; remember, your life depends
upon your s~ilence!"
The unfortunate man felt his wife trem-
bic from head to foot, as in obedience to his
instructions, she glanced in the direction
indicated, where their awful foe confronted
them.
81 see it." the whispered. But beyond
this. and the involuntary tightening of her
grasp upon the husbands arm, he lucky
woman made no sign. Face to face with
danger, her courageous nature asserted it.
self, and the woman who would have run
shrieking from . mouse lay comparatively
calm and collected in the presence Of almost
certain death.
Having thus awakened his wife 70 the
dangers Of their situation, the merchant, .
OF much resource, was quick to act.
The bed upon which they lay was an old
fashioned and heavy one, solidly built Of
mahogany. Like most old-fashioned bed
steads, it stood close to the floor, so that .
man could but barely squeeze under it.
Their one chance Of escape lay in their be-
ing able to get beneath this shelter before
b animal should make the fatalleap, which
they were now every moment expecting.
With admirable GOODNESS, never for a mo-
ment removing his eyes from those Of the
tiger, he instructed his wife to creep out
softly on her side and get under the bed,
she being next the wall. In q few mo
ments, the words "An right" coming from
beneath, assured him that the plucky little
woman had successfully accomplished tho
feat Now to get there himself. Suddenly
selling all the bedcl0thcs in his hands, with
. loud cry the merchant sprang towards the
tiger, and ere the startled beast could ex-
tricate himself from the coverings thus
hurled upon him. Mr.. Hartley had also
squeezed his way in under the bed.
1.-THE corner! The corner! he shouted
n realizing the intentions of
her husband, Mrs. Hartley assisted him to
push the heavy bedstead up into the corner
Of the room, thus leaving only two sides Of
their ingeniously -contrived fortress open to
attack. 1t soon came. With a blood-curd-
ling yell, having disentangled himself from
clothes, the enraged animal sprang
Maddened at the escape Of his
prey, he thrust his huge paws again and
again beneath the bed, uttering deep
nOuthed cries and ~endeavoring to force his
head and shoulders beneath the
bcdstead. Realizing that their lives de-
pended upon keeping the bedstead upon the
dOor, the terror-stricken pair chung desper-
ately to the stats. Twice the animal sue
ceeded in forcing the forepart of his head
and twice he was compelled by
the weight ADORE him to abandon the advan-
tage thus gained. o, if the bedstead was
only an inch or two loweri 1.-THE casters,
James. " shouted Mrs. Hartley, remove the
Quick as q fash the merchant. dragging
to n corner, raised with his back
he heavy piece of furniture and withdrew
he casters; and this he did to the other
three corners in succession as the the oppor- |
occurred, thus bringing the bedstead
SO low that the animal could no more |
han get his nose under the sides. The |
merchant, however. was by this time SO |
much exhausted by his terrible exertions As /!
o be physically incapable of longer holding
he bed down upon the floor. Breathing |
the p~erspiration streaming from
pore, he awaited with Q feeling |
kin to despair the moment when the
luge man-eater, which, bafled for q mo-
ncnt, had drawn OF to q little distance,
hOuld renew his fierce attempts to reach
hen. Just then his foot struck against
hard substance. 1t was the sharp edge
4 Q small box Of tools which he had
nut q short time previously given to his son.
boy of twelve, then absent on . visit to q
in New York, and which the
title fellow had, no doubt, placed under his
arents' bed for greater security during his
bsence. Thank heavens! his own gener-
sity to his son now provided q mean Of
~eliverance. II the tiger would but remain
There he was for . minute longer he could
crew the bed down to the floor and thus |
Rocfu0llv nrovouf tina animal from Nooch l