The Red Cloud chief., 1889-05-17

Twas anger that made those words fall
Then take me yourself, dear, and dom let dealt
have me,
For don't want to die after all.
Toronto Globe.
A NIGHT OF TERROR.
Terrible Experience With q Man.
Eating Tiger.
Mr.. James Hartley, q well-to-do mercAan,
doing business in the city Of New York. re-
sides in one of the numerous suburban
towns of New Jersey. The train takes him
to his business in the morning, n returns
him safely to his home at night Last
Thursday evening q surprise awaited him
on his arrival home. The usually peaceful
suburb presented q scene of extraordinary
excitement. Substantial and staid citizens
were patrOling the streets armed with shot
guns and revOlvers, and the whole village
appeared to be IS If On the eve of q sanguin-
ary revolution. On inquiry Mr.. Hartley
learned that this unwOnted condition of
Affairs was occasioned by the escape Of a
large Bengal tiger. said to be of the man.
eating species and very fierce, which had
that afternoon made its escape from q trav-
cling circus which had been encamped Just
outside the village for the last two days.
Up to that time, six p. m, no trace Of the
animal had been discovered. The pro-
prietors of the circus thought that he had
taken to the woods. and knowing from ex-
perience that animals which nave been long
confined do not, rs a rule, wande far from
their cages, they c~heerfulfy predicted his
n0ov- nnt,r~ 80 a.. -n1~--- H1~,, -~.A
hooed the idea of any danger to any of
the inhabitants of the village, n INDUCED
In much merriment at the expense of the
hastily improvised patrol, the members of
which, in their opinion, were simply vast
ing so many good hours which could have
been more profitably devoted to sleep.
SO far from sharing the confidence Of the
shOwmen, the village people, on the
contrary, viewed the escape of the
ferociOus animal with feelings Of un-
disguised alarm, and not entirely without
good reason. Only the day previous the
vicious animal had made q desperate and
u~nprovoked attack upon one of the keepers
who happened to be standing near its cage.
With one blow through the bars, it had
stripped the mans arm Of the flesh from the
shoulder to the elbow. Public feeling had
been much aroused by this CHASTITY accident.
and under the circumstances the good people
OF the village were not to be blamed for
feeling a little nervous. On reaching his
house. the merchant, in lieu of the warm
welcome which usually awaited him, found
all the doors and windows tightly closed.
For the first time in their married life Mrs.
Hartley was not at the front door to meet
him. Instead, he found her with spectral
face peeping timidly through the parlor
window.
20, my dear, such an awful thing has
happened
I've heard all about it." interrupted the
husband. "YOu needn't be at all frightened.
The beast is miles OF by this time, deep into
the woods"
When the time for retiring had arrived
h merchant had succeeded in laughing
away his wife's fears, and by dint of much
verbal soothing syrup had restored her
b~adly-shaken nerves to something like their
normal tranquility. Thus treasured, Mrs.
Hartley soon sank into a sound slumber: but,
try as he would, the merchants attempts to
follow his good lady's example that night
proved singularly abortive.
Hour after hour passed, which he had
vainly occupied in going through all the
well known formula for producing sleep,
such as counting droves of pigs, sheep. jump
ing by myrisds over impossible fences, and
running the gamut of those curious devices
popularity supposed to induce lumber, when
he suddenly became aware, by that peculiar
instinct which man shares in common with
the lower animals, and which, in times of
danger, sometimes become intensely and alb
normally acute, Of an unseen presence in the
apartment
Another minute crept slowly by, during
Nrhich tho vnovS.bont l., IN q cfoto nf ~r-o
apprehension, vainly endeavoring to shake
oil the inde1inable feeling of dread which
had taken possession of him. 1t was while
he thus lay listening intently that he became |
for the first time conscious of q low, deep,
ominOus whisper, which seemed to issue
from the further corner of the room, into
the remoter parts Of which the rays of the !
young moon, but then hardly arisen above
the neighboring tree-tops. hardly penetrated. |
He listened to this peculiar noise for some
moments, III sound increasing in volume !
and seeming to move from place to place, |
and gradually deepening into . hoarse and
cat-like purr, . sound which sent . cold !
thrill of horror through his whole frame, As
ut the same instant there flashed through |
his mind the words: The tiger! the tiger"
Hardly daring to breathe, he slowly raised
himself on his right elbow and peered eau
tiously in the direction from which the
sound proceeded. As he thus raised himself, |
the moon, which had been for . few seconds
obscured by . passing cloud, broke forth
from its feecy covering and shot . pale
CLEAN Of light into the interior Of the apart
ment. The hoarse purring sound still con-
tinued, and IS the merchant concentrated
his gaze in the direction from which it came, |
with cat like and noiseless tread there slowly |
emerged into the strip of moonlight an OBJ
ject which held him motionless in . sudden
-paroxysm of terror, Is with straining eye
balls he saw, brought out in full relief
against b further wall, the head md
shoulders Of full-grown Bengal tiger.
Even in the extremity of his terror he
could not help noticing it infinitely. It Wa
m enormous beast. Without . trace Of
mane, its smooth and sinuous form uphold ]