The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1892-09-16

plan for securing the wildcat and all
that it implied. He traced out a vine
that had thrown itself through the
trees for fifteen or twenty yards from
its parent cane. lie climbed the trees
in succession, cutting the vine loose
from the branch vines and tendrils
that held il, and at last had IL free, a
long. strong natural rope, fully fifty
feet in length. The two boys tested its
strength by both putting their weight
on il At once, and hanging from 1t. 1t
held stanch and safe to its native tree.
Joe lowered the vine TO the bottom OF
the Devils Rut, and went down into
the ravine, hand over hand upon it,
His intention was 10 fasten the Wild
eats carcass TO the vine and haul il up.
But while sam was waiting for the
signal To pull away he heard Joe shout
ing something else.
Hello. sam Joe's voice came up
from the Rut. Drop down here with
the guns, Tha's hole full O. more
Wildcats
Sam couldn't drop down with the
guns. 50 he tied them to a long grap--
vine and lowered them to the bottom.
Then he dropped himself down Joe's
grapevine and joined Joe in the Rut
Look in yonder," said Joe, pointing
10 a big hote in the rocks Sam looked.
and saw four balls Of fire, all in a row.
Each pair o them balls q fire" said
Joe. is two dollars fer bounty an two
dollars fer hide That's tootems four
is eight and this feller layin over here
l. tootems two i four maxim twelve.
'cordin Ia Duboll. You take the two
balls on the nigh side, Sam, an I'll
take the two on the off side. When |
say three. let her bim,''
1t seemed good while to Sam before
Joe said three, but when the word
came he let her bim. according to di-
rections. Both guns went off At once,
and the four balls Of fire disappeared,
but something else came in sight Two
wildcats bounded out Of the hole IN the
rocks, over the bodies OF the two Joe
and Sam had shot, and while the re-
port OF the guns was still bowling
along the narrow passage in booming
echoes, and before the boys had time TO
be surprised they found themselves
mixed mp on the rocky bottom Of the
Devils Rut with wildcats, grapevines.
guns and stones in such a way that the
impress of il on their minds will be
fresh ana vivid long after the impress
sions it made on their bodies have
Fsaled mp and disappeared.
Neither Joe nor Sam can recall Just
now they managed to bring the end
about, but the appearance of the two
wildcats heads conveyed the impress
sion that il was accomplished princi-
pallv IL the butts Of guns. At any
rate when the rush and whirl and yell
ing was all over the boys found them
selves sitting on the bottom Of the Rut
without much clothing on to speak of.
and with scarcely a spot four inches
square from their shoulders down that
didn't have the marks of wildcats
claw imprinted on IL. AS they sat
there wiping blood with such bits of
shirt and things as still hung TO them
Joe wae the first TO break the silence.
That hole" said he. was a leetle
fuller % wildcat than l calkilated on.
But them last ones makes tootens four
is eight more, Sam"
Sam said he 'llnow'd it," but made
the apt suggestion that they had better
be digging ont of there and making for
home To get patched up. so they agreed
that they had done their share, and
would go home and send their paps
back after the guns and the wildcats
They hauled themselves ont Of the Rut
by the grapevines and limped home
ward.
II happened that not long after Sam
pomeroy had abandoned operations Ill
the potato field and joined Joe Crane in
the wildcat hunt, his father strolled
over To the field to see how he was get
ting along. Finding the hoe there
alone, Farmer Pomeroy hurried home
To see what had become OF sam. Not
finding Sam, but noticing that the gun
was gone, he started for the woods. In
the course OF his accommodating he at
last came upon sam and Joe as they were
making the best time they could home
ward, tattered and disabled.
.'Jist what l ben a 'spectin'," ex-
claimed Farmer Pomeroy. That gun
has gone and busted on you al last!
Sarves you right. an I'll give yer hide
a tannin' when | git ye home
Don't know about that, pap" said
Sam. You won't find much hide left
on me to tan, I'm thinkin'."
Then the boys told the wildcat story,
and Farmer Pomeroy helped then home
on the double quick, turned them over
To their mothers, sent for the doctor.
and he and Joe's father went TO the
Devils Rut and brought in the wildcats
and their guns. After Doc. Barnes had
patched Joe and Sam up, he said:
Potato planting will all be over,
Sam, when You get around again"
80 | s'pose," said Sam. But then
comes the grass and the rye. Them
wildcats seen me through the plantin'
all right. l only wisht that me an Joe
could find another hole full o. more OF
'em. That'd help me over hayin' an
harvest. too. Ed Mott, in y. Y. sun.