The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1893-12-08
SCARED TO DEATH.
a Thrilling Incident of Life in lndin-Ad.
venture WITH "a Tlgor.

- AhilllllB Au1lueHt OF Aslio III lnull-Aus
venture With Tiger.
Bof'op Giotz
IN tea planters bungalow in Assam
three men sat smoking and talking
The oppressive heat OF an Indian night
made conversation something OF n
trouble, and in the intervals OF silence
each refreshed himself from the rapidly
enptyinG glass which stood within
easy reach.
One was man Of thirty, alert, active,
with keen blue eyes, the type Of the
hardy Scot, who makes the best planter
Tie man upon his right hand was It
planter also, but though still young,
1t was evident that the enervatlng eli
mate had wrought dire havoc with his
nerves and constitution.
Opposite sat aSeen-eyed doctSr whose
wiry frame and resolute face inspired Il
confidence thatIwas not misplaced. Here
was man ready with nelYe and hand
10 face any emergency.
When do you expect the brute to
come out, Gordon% inquired DR..
Bryant.
We'll, hope he does not appear IN.
III The moon is well up. fancy the kid
viii bring him when we tic it up; he is
sure TO be prowling near"
Hard on The kid,P murmurcd ST.
Clair, tho young planter. y
"lta sCapegoat sacrificed for tho
good of others. 1t is high time the
tiger was disposed OF. The servants are
SO frightened THAI really get no proper
service at all"
when are you starting, st. Clair?"
inquired Dr. Bryant You don't look
lit to stay much longer here"
81 20 in about six weeks. do feel
bit down, but summer at home will
set me up all right"
The guns wero got ready, and by 10
o'clock all was silence in the bungalow.
The three men keeping vigil were seat
ed In the shadow at the back OF the low
veranda. Gordon sat somewhat further
out than the others; 81. Clair was near
est to him, the doctor behind.
The time went by with tardy steps.
Nothing broke the stiffness save the
pitiiul bleating OF the bound kid, and
once the hateful yell Of the jackai dis
turbed the night.
The languor OF the HEAVIER air fell upon
the senses and brought pleasant visions
OF happy bygone days to the exiles.
Gordon saw again breezy moor COW
cred with purple heather. st. Clair
dreamed of the rose in an English gar
den, and looked once more in loving
eyes, blue as the sky above. Ii DR..
Bryant dreamed ut all his dreams were
OF cases." his busy life had killed any
taste for day dreaming he had ever pos
sessed,.
Suddenly, without sound or warning,
before the hapless men could realize
what awful thing was upon them, n
huge, dark mass hurled itself on the
veranda With horrid growls the crea-
ture seized Gordon in his powerful jaws,
and, ieapinG down, carrying him US it
might dog, made for the bushes.
With a wild shrek 81. Clair flung
down the loaded gun and flew into the
recesses OF the bungalow.
Though startled beyond measure, DR..
Bryant kept his presence OF mind, and,
calling out to arouse the servants,
leaped down the steps, and. gun in
hand, ran alter the tiger and its prey.
The moonlight enabled him TO make
out that the tiger lay across Gordon's
body, with one great paw upon his
breast, as il to hold him down.
Bryant cre2t nearer, aud then stood
irresolute. He knew the tremendous
risk in attempting to shoot the tiger
while it lay over the man, but there
was no help for it; his friend might
now be dying before his eyes.
With an involuntary cry to heaven
for aid be raised his gun and fired. sick
with dread as TO the result. The aim
was true; the huge beast, with roar OF
pain, rolled over and lay still.
Bryant rushed 10 the side OF the pros
trate man and gazed auXiously into the
white, still face. The scared servants
camo hurrying out with lamps and
torches, but were wary to keep at some
distance from the dead monster, as il
they feared it still.
G ,rdon was unconscious, and when
tho flow OF blood had been stanched he
was gently lifted and carried into the
bungalow. His wOundswere seen to be
most serious-one side was terribly
mangled-the arm ripped by the terri
bic claws and the shoulder torn by the
teeth.
Bryant had spent several hours in I'M
RENTING attention TO the injured man
when, witha sudden flash OF recollection.
lie missed st. Clair. He now recalled
that the young fellow had not been seen
since the tiger leaped upon them in the
veranda. Where could he DO in the
midst OF the connection?
Now that his surgical skill had done
all that was possible for Gordon, Bryant
turned TO seek his other friend. They
had not far to go. They found him
stretched on the floor in the furthest
corner OF the bungalow, lying prone
upon his face, his hands covering his
ewes rs il to keep out some horrid sight,
and from his lips came strange sounds
OF pain and terror.
The poor young mans nerves had
given way. The doctor saw at once
what had happened and that Tor the
time he was mad.
With two such patients Bryant had
his hands full. Both were very near
the fatal verge; but IN the end it was
the man that had been physically hurt
who recovered; the one mentally ln-
jured sank lower every day, until Il
week after the tigers leap he died, the
victim OF sheer fright.
As soon as he was fit for the journey
Gordon went home, and after many
months regained health and strength,
though his lett arm hung powerless.
He carries claw OF the tiger always
with him wherever he is, and some
times looking at it he can see again the
moonlit compound and feel the hidden
horror of the brute'a hot breath upon