The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-12-05
AN ADVENTURE.

looking young fellow-a New Yorker, be-
lieve--who was out of money and in dis
tress, and put him on my little ranch 10
Crockett County. l became attached 10 the
boy; he WAS good one, | am sure-oniy
down on his luck. left him there, getting
along very well, and saw nothing more of
him. Last week | went down to the
ranch TO see how everything was. and the
first thing / heard was that DOnnelly, the
new man, had disappeared. He had gone
out three days before. the men said, TO look
up pony that had strayed, and nothing
had been seen or heard Of him since. l was
sure that something terrible had happened
TO him, and l determined to find out what it
was If it took all the rest of the year.
l called one Of the men. Mike O'Leary,
and we took guns and plenty of ammuni-
tlon, besides huning-knives, and set out
on our search. We tramped about through
the mountains all that first day without
finding the slightest trace of him. Ga the
morning of the second day we took a new
direction, aud after awhile Mike gave a
shout OF delight at finding a small, Jagged
piece of clothing hanging to thornbush
beside a narrow trail 1t was like the
flannel shirt that DOnnelly had on the
morning he went away. Then Mike and
| parted company, Nike taking the lower
road around the foot of the mountains,
while i followed the trail over the noun
tain itself. l had not walked Ealf an hour
before all trace of the trail had disap-
peared. In searching for it / got hope
leSSly lost, and couldn't even get my bear
ings from the sun, because the sun had
turned around and was coming up in the
west. / tramped around over that noun
tain for / don't know how many hours. At
last / came to the edge of a cliff ten or fif-
teen feet high. the wall of which sloped
back out Of sight. L seized some vines
and bushes to swing myself down, and
they pulled out by the roots and | fell.
The worst of il was that instead of
merely falling to the ledge below l struck it
and rolled down slant and fell again-iDto
the very center OF the earth, /. seemed TO
me. You understand that cave was back
under that Sian ting wall. and l had rolled
into il. When ! fell my gun flew from my
hand, and there was no telling where IL
was. l was bruised all over, but managed
TO scramble to my feet.
Everything was dark around me, but the
opening through which l had come threw
some light upon the roof and showed that
the cave ran back under the mountain so
far that 1t was swallowed up in
shadow. As for getting out, / might
as easily have tried to climb out of a we'll
There was the sheer. rocky wall towering
above ME. with not the slightest chance at
hand or foot hold. Yes, admit that |
didn't feel very pleasant. While l was
trying to think what would be best to do,
Il tOOElDR
round saw pair of large eyes shining cut
Of the darkness toward the other end OF
the cave. j could not see tho creatures
form, but | knew one thing-I had fallen
Into the den Of some wild animal, and
probably q savage one; and there | was
with no weapon but bunting-knife! Now,
anybody that wants may fight savage anil
mails with knife, but that is not in nv line
A man has to get into mighty close quarters
with a q enemy 10 use knife, and 10 tell the
= H.
owner Of that growl. ! commenced sliding
slowly around the cave, keeping close 10 tie
wall, and holding my knife ready in case
Of emergencies. The fiery eyes turned with
me. and l had not moved many PAGES be-
fore, to my horror, a second pair of fiery
eyes appeared beside the first, and another
growl broke upon the stiffness. After that
/ gave myself up for lost. AS ! went slid
ing along the wall the animals suddenly
changed their position. 30 that their eyes
were no longer visible. If anything could
have made my position more unpleasant,
that was what ii did.
Every moment ] expected item to spring
upon me. l had gone about half around
the cave, should think-at least, was
nearly opposite the opening through which
had falen-when found a narrow clef,
In the rocky wall, and l plunged into it
with the energy of despair. IL was not
more than three feet wide-it might lead
me mo unknown depths TO perish mis-
this den. Instantly a loud, ominous
grow arose behind me and | knew that |
was being pursued. | stumbled along as
hastily as L could, always with that deepen
Ing groWl following me, and directly came
upon sharp turn to the right. To nv
ahead Of me- Myi How ! did runi / don't
think better time was ever made than | made
the rest OF the way out OF that cave A
glance over my shoulder a i went helped
TWO enormous Mexican lions. There were
two or three abrupt turns before / reached
the outer air. / was Just about to plunge
into the warm sunshine when the foremost
Hon hurried Itself against me. / was thrown
headlong, but the lion rolled twenty feet
down the slope, so violent had been its
spring. And right here occurred one OF the
most wonderful things that ever knew /
pad fallen right across my gun, and as
threw out my hand it touched the barrel.
WAS on my feet In an instant, ready for
whatever might come. The second lion
was crouching for his leap when took him
between the eyes, and with a scream of
pain he rolled down the nil. The other
beast came springlng uD the slope more
furious than ever, and so rapid were her
motions that | barely had time to shoot be-
iore sne was upon me. She almost knocked
me down again as she fell, and my cloth
ing was completely covered with her
blood. Mike came running at the
eouuu VI LUG SINUS, ana Wa mace tOrcnes
and went into the cave. Not three feet from
the opening l had found, and which led me
to the light, was another cleft in the rock,
which ran by tortuous ways some thirty or
forty feet and then closed. at the farther
end Of this we found the remains of poor
DonDeliy. BY such a mere chance he had
lost the way to life. and the savage beasts
had followed him into that gloomy crevice.
from which there was no escape, and had
torn b i'm TO places there.