The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-07-05


believe had been mistaken by Pratt for his
quadruped.
st was now best that we should return
homeward and get to the camp a little early,
to prepare our game for supper; but TO satisfy
my friend curiosity we eventually proceeded
up little further into the field, be staring
ahead i'll persistent lookout.
Il was lazly kicking the weeds, when sud-
denly saw something that made ME stagger.
Stop! cried to my companion.
What Is it?' he asked, with start.
Il did not know myself yet, but something
In the nature OF the grass had attracted my
eyes, which now ran over the ground at my
feet.
All around, something had evidently
tIaiDpled down the grass, or rolled about.
The presence of huge body ON that very
spot just recently became strongly felt by all
my senses and filed me with awe.
Look herev | said to Pratt; and as he
grasped my meaning, l saw him fairly tremble
with terror. looking all around, then fear
fully upward.
"'Look at this footprint cried stepping
forward 1t is horrible!' replied Pratt.
In patch of soil, an impression of four
large, soft balls as ii the reality still fingered
before u.s. was clearly seen.
1t was not necessary to have the eyes of
an Indian to follow the trail IN spite of the
grass, the soil here and there showed itself.
and in each bare patch was that footprint.
follow that trail? That it Was lions, l had
no doubt would it be safe or wise to meet
such game with nothing but revolvers and a
shotgun even though charged with buck
Like horses we could smell the danger; like
sheep we were tremendously scared we
looked all around on the peaceful field.
Pratt had advanced little. when all of
sudden he became petrifed, his head pried
10 one side. Next moment he turned to me,
motioning to come quickly. | went forward,
and us went, he went further, and soon we
were both looking down into black hole in
the ground.
it, so we moved instinctiyely off to one side,
where an old oak stood near. Then il would
have been evident, by the expression ON our
faces, that our minds were deep in cogtation.
"'Well, we have got him in there said l..
81 don't know about the "got him.;
am little afraid of his setting upon u.s.
'Fiddlesticks come, who is to be the man
to fire into the hole, while the other -
"Climbs the tree, If you mean me. | say
we go back for rifles'-symptoms of a desire
to sneak off, in which must confess | also
partook, and with difficulty tried to conceal.
Neither OF us felt prepared to have lion
come out of the hole. We would have taken
safer distance on the least pretense; but
then, again, to let such a chance go by. How
we longed to pot lion!
''In spite of ourselves we remained, fer
wildly casting about for some expedent to
secure the animal.
.From the situation of objects before us it
will Immediately be seen what eventually
occurred to us both, at almost the same mo-
ment. At the mouth of the hole was large
stone; the hole was dug under the stone,
half undermining it; the stone hung poised
above the mouth of the hole; all presented a
hint too broad not to be soon grasped.
when my companion looked at me, with
his hands making a motion of showing,
I'm m A fac.
ing OF deyiltry now overcame our previous
fear, and quickly stepping up to the stone we
put our hands against it,
There was moment of suspense. One
push, and we would wake the fury of the
beast. We would have him bottled, to be
sure, but this was not quite sufficient to in
duce us to action. We felt like whalers
about to plunge the harpoon into Sleeping
whale, trusting to Providence for deliver
ance.
at is terribly RISKY, our eyes said to one
another But our guns and pistols were out
of our hands, and every moment now had to
be promptly acted on. Shove and then run
was the idea. Come now: one! twol and
looking quickly round to make sure of bear
ings we leaped against the stone, our heels
digging into the ground; She moved. but
wild, for all the time, in Imagination, the
lion was running out.
"'Get down to it, Bill! Run at hern
fiercely Kissed my companion, and / saw his
eyes nearly popping out of his head. | saw
instant scrambling on his elbows and knees,
while the stone rolled over with thump
that fixed it squarely in the entrance of the
hole
Christianity the air was filled with an omi-
nous rumbling that sounded like distant
thunder. 1t filed the air family but heavily,
rather stopping our ears then opening them
seeming to reverberate in our chests. When
it was ended, we thought 1t was going yet
and when ii commenced again, it scared US
to faintness.
1--WE found ourselves way off, carried
thither by a kind of involuntary tluttering of
our legs, of which we still had lingering
recollection. We looked back as soon as
possible at the lingering dust, which maIlteJ
the situation of the hole. Our guns and
pistols were there, lying on the~Sground al
cooked and loaded; we must go back and gel
them.
This we did some minutes afterward
when growing, trembling and everything
had subsidized into quie5t and peacefulness
again. We approached the hole and blocking
from all around which operation however
ELECTED no more of the savage growing
both OF us sat down upon the grass to COM
pose ourselves and deliberate on what
further to do.
..>ssA lengthy discussion was held, which. il
/ suffices to say. ended in Pratt going back for
help and rifles from camp, while / was to
stay and watch how things went on at the
hole.
"The gun had been left with me, and pro,
ceeded to double the charges of buckshot
then, with my revolver again at my hip, and
all responsibility and management in my
own hands, must say felt quite heroic and
safe.
1.-The sun was getting yellow, with only an
hour or two holding him up, but l was con-
uyal inrr hn 1inp
hunters would be on the field and finish up
the business before dark / could lust
Imagine Pratt bringing the news into camp
the excitement 1t would there produce; the
thought Of me sitting out here alone; the
force and spirit at the sortie, the final grand
sport.
but imagining and sitting alone got ex
ceedingly tiresome. | felt lump growing
10 my throat where silence seemed to press
hardest
ut would have become unbearable had not
all my feelings been suddenly replaced by a
lively fear. The lion was exceedingly quiet
in his hole, suppoSing he was all this time
digging out somewhere! Young and easily
worked on, this idea Immediately put me at
my wits ends and overwhelmed me with
terror. What a moment before had con-
Sidered as safely sealed under ground, l now
Imagined to be sneaking round me or ready
to burst, at any moment. out of the earth.
~ jumped up and walked about like one
who feels the ground hot under his feet,
The sun at the same time plunged behind q
bank of clouds, and with chilly wind came
a dismal gloom. These changes outside ha d
a deep influence on my inward feelings and
worked me in an awful state of foreb0ding.
ITO occupy myself | commenced gathering
wood, for we would smoke the lion out when
the boys arrived. / reached to the lowest
branches of the tree; every time broke one
off seemed to get scared remembrance of
that low growl The tree seemed to
grumbe at me, and soon could not touch it
without q dread entering my fnger-tips L
considered the thing | was doing there was
something terrible In it. felt too guilty to
be safe. without the gun in my had. and at
last, with back against the tree-trunk, sat
again awaiting the passing away Of time.
" do not believe it was really cold, but all
at once ] found myself shiverng. Then
thought 1t would be best to get up and meet
the boys; then again thought it best not to
move.
Then strange thing occurred At the
time there was not breath OF wind stirring
yet, all of sudden, every leaf in the dew
ilish tree began to rustic and culver as If ii
were going into life. Rain said to my
jumping heart, but l knew well the sky
above was clear. l began to be afraid Of
that tree. looked up. In the dark net.
work of branches my eyes followed two
little moving bodies that chased each other
along -chipmunks The act of lift
ing my head made my gills cold. Something
else moved in the tree. Something else made
me dizzy: branch moved from its place and