Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1893-06-02

front. II not, | was doubtless rs well
off there rs anywhere, so I decided to
lie still and see what would come of it.
Slowly it grew lighter, and little by
little vague, huge outline appeared,
gradually assuming shape and color
till it developed into nothing less than
a royal Bengal tiger, lying stretched
upon the floor Of the. cave, with two
great paws not six feet from my head,
whiskered chin resting contentedly
upon them, and two bright eyes. sunk
deep in soft, thick fur. fixed steadily
on mine.
AS an ounce of prevention | drew my
revolver very cautiously, under the
blanket, and cooked it, that it might
be ready for an emergency. The click
of the trigger startled her. / saw
sudden flash in the yellow eyes that
were growing darker in the light, and
with a subtle and silent insinuation,
long, cleaning claws, as bright as
polished horn, protruded from the
massive paws under her chin.
"Aha you treacherous beauty" !
said to myself, then suddenly paused
to think of the revolver under the
blanket, and wonder if, after all, she
were not quite as honorable about it
as l.
1t was long time before she moved
at all. Then very deliberately, and
with the most evident satisfaction, she
began to lick her bewhiskered lips and
those two great paws With shud
der of horror | noticed that they were
covered with blood; but second
thought brought certain amount of
relief. That blood indicated that she
had recently eaten hearty meal, and
accounted for any lack of appetite. SO
far as l was concerned-a state of
things which l earnestly prayed might
continue for some time to come.
Slowly and sedately she accomplished
limited toilet, then, with long,
deep sigh she pushed her fore paws out
at least foot nearer to me, lifted her
launches from the ground, and in
dulged in one grand stretch. gouging
her claws deep into the hard bed of the
cave, precisely as l had seen cats do
the same thing over and over again.
She closed the operation by sitting
erect, and felt justified in doing the
same.
A comical look of surprise crept over
her face Us she watched me. She hung
her head ON one side, partially closing
one eye, then hung it on the other
side in scrutiny that under some cir
cumstances would have been ludicrously
amusing.
Her curiosity was evidently aroused.
Cautiously she came little nearer,
making my blood run cold. She shifted
the blanket, poking it gently with her
paw. Another step and the handsome
head was within reach of my hand.
Evidently she was not hungry, but
from pure curiosity bent upon inveSti-
CATION, and if could only have in
duced myself to let the morrow take
thought for the things of itself | could
have enjoyed the most remarkable OPP
portunity ever offered to mortal man.
But the nose WAS shifting the saddle.
The Jaws were within six inches of my
ribs. My heart WAS banging away
furiously. What would she do next?
dared not fire, for if / did and failed
to kill her should certainly be much
worse off than at present. 1t was an
excellent opportunity, however, to test
the thickness of that fur upon her head,
and without moving my hand more
than three inches touched it.
For an instant every muscle tight
ened and she stood stock still, evidently
in doubt. /, too, was very seriously
in doubt, but the next moment she
seemed to realize that the sensation
was agreeable, and she began to purr
in a gigantic way that sounded like the
first thunder of an August afternoon.
Seeing that she enjoyed it rubbed
A little harder, and when l ceased she
rolled her head under my hand, Just
after the fashion of large cat-a most
amiable companion of my boyhood.
began to scratch in right good earnest,
and in less than ten minutes had almost
forgotten my fear, while the revolver
lay upon the ground and with both
hands was giving that huge head vlg'
orous dry shampoo. The fur was beauti'
full, thick and soft, and as clean af
though she had come from Turkish
bath.
Her ewes were soft and brown now
a real velvet brown, The heavy lids
began to droop over them, and she
looked up at me in the most gentle,
loving way imaginable.
Slowly she sank upon the ground
beside me, and lower and lower the
shaggy head fell till it actually rested
upon my knee. For an instant cold
chill crept over me as l realized the
situation, and my hands Involuntary
drew back. The great eyes opened
The purring ceased, and, giving me
gentle poke with her nose, she warned
me to begin again.
At last she was sound asleep, and by
the slowest degrees / ceased the man
ipulation, and leaning back upon the
saddle watching that sleeping beauty
with her head resting upon my knee
Oh, she was magnificent She wa'
simply superb forgot that she wa:
tiger. j saw only royal Benga
beauty, and with strange thrill o.
triumph realized that she had fallen II
love with me. She began to dream o.
the forest. There was danger at hand
A shiver shook her handsome coat
Her tail swayed from side to side. a
deep, low growl sounded in her throat
and from the paws that almost touched
me those cleaning claws protrnded
Ayei she was tiger aftES all IL sAs