Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1892-08-08

plan for securing The wildcat and all
that it implied He traced out vine
that had thrown itself through the
trees for fifteen or twenty yards from
its parent cane. He climbed the trees
In succession, cutting the vine loose
from the branch vines and tendrils
that held it, and at last had it free, q
long, strong natural rope, fully fifty
feet in length. The two boys tested its
strength by both putting their weight
on it at once, and hanging from 1t. It
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 to fasten the wild
cats carcass to the vine and haul it up.
But while Sam was waiting for the
signal to pull away he heard joe shout
ing something else
"Hello. SamI' Joe's voice came up
from the Rut. drop down here with
the guns! Tha's a hole full O. more
wildcatsl''
Sam couldn't drop down with the
guns, so he tied them to long grape
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
to a big hole in the rocks Sam looked.
and saw four balls of fire, all in row.
Each pair O. them balls o. fire." said
Joe, sis two dollars fer bounty an two
dollars fer hide. That's tootems four
is eight, and this Teller layin' over here
is tootems two is 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 bimr'
It seemed good while to Sam before
Joe said three, but when the word
came he '1et her bin" 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 up on the rocky bottom of the
DEVILS Rut with wildcats, grapevines,
guns and stones in such a way that the
impress of it on their minds will be
fresh and vivid long after the impress
| sions it made on their bodies have
healed up and disappeared
Neither Joe nor Sam can recall just
how they managed to bring the end
| about, but the appearance of the two
| wildcats heads conveyed the impress
sion that it was accomplished princi-
pally by 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 spot four inches
| square from their shoulders down that
didn't have the marks of wildcats
/ claw imprinted on it. AS they sat
! there wiping blood with such bits OF
shirt and things as still hung to them
Joe was the first to break the silence.
"That hole" said he, twas a 1eetle
| fuller O. wildcat than / calkilated on.
But them last ones makes tootems -four
is eight more, Sam"
Sam said he ''know'd it," but made
the apt suggestion that they had better
be digging out 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 out of the Rut
by the grapevines and limped home
| ward.
| 1t happened that not long after San
| Pomeroy had abandoned operations il
the potato field and joined Joe Crane il
the wildcat hunt, his father strolleC
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. No
finding Sam, but noticing. that the gul
was gone, he started for the woods II
the course of his accommodating he n
last came upon Sam and Joe as they wer'
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 at last
Sarves you right, an I'll give yer hid
tannin' when git We home"
Don't know about that, pap" SAT-
Sam. "You won't find much hide lef
on me to tan, I'm thiukin'."
Then the boys told the wildcat story
and Farmer Pomeroy helped them hom
on the double quick, turned them owe
to their mothers, sent for the doctor
and he and Joe's father went to tn
Devils Rut and brought in the wildcat
and their guns. After Doc. Barnes ha
patched Joe and Sam up, he said:
"Potato planting will all be over
Sam, when you get around again"
$50 s'pose," said Sam. "But the
comes the grass and the rye. Their
wildcats seen me through the plantir
all right l only wisht that me an 10
could find another hole full O. more c
'em. That'd help me over hayin' al
harvest, too. Ed Mott, in N. Y. Sun.
A Famous Carriage.