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

off there as anywhere, so | decided [
lie still and see what would come of i
Slow y it grew lighter, and little b
little vague, huge outline appeared
gradually assuming shape and colo
till it developed into nothing less tina
q royal Bengal tiger, lying stretche
upon the floor of the cave, with tw
great paws not six feet from my head,
whiskered chin resting contentedl,
upon them, and two bright eyes, sun
deep in soft, thick fur. fixed steadil,
on mine.
As an ounce ofprevention l drew m,
revolver very cautiously, under tn
blanket, and cooked it, that it Nigh
be ready for an emergency. The clicl
of the trigger startled her. / saw
sudden flash in the yellow eyes tina
were growing darker in the light, anC
with subtle and silent insinuation
long, cleaning claws, as bright n,
polished horn, protruded from tn,
massive paws under her chin.
"Aha! you treacherous beauty"
said to myself, then suddenly paused
to think of the revolver under tn,
blanket, and wonder if, after all, she
were not quite as honorable about il
as |.
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 | was concerncd-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 rs | 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 as 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
would have been ludicrouslv
amusing.
Her curiosity WAS evidently aroused.
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
Iuriously. What would she do next?
l dared not fire, for if did and failed
10 kill her | should certainly be much
worse off than at present. 1t was an
excellent opportunity, however, to test
he thickness of that fur upon her head,
md without moving my hand more
han three inches I touched it.
For an instant every muscle tight
med and she stood stock still, evidently
n doubt. !, too, was very seriously
n doubt, but the next moment she |
eemed to realize that the sensation
vas agreeable, and she began to purr
n gigantic way that sounded like the
irst thunder of an August afternoon.
Seeing that she enjoyed it l rubbed
little harder, and when l ceased she
oiled her head under my hand, just
fter the fashion of large cat-a most
companion of my boyhood. |
egan to scratch in right good earnest,
nd IN less than ten minutes had almost
orgotten my fear, while the revolver
~ upon the ground and l with both
ands was giving that huge head a Wig
rous dry shampoo. The fur was beauti-
ii, thick and soft, and as clean as
hough she had come from a Turkish
ath.
Her eyes were soft and brown now
real velvet brown, The heavy lids
egan to droop over them, and she
'oked up at me in the most gentle,
wing way imaginable.
Slowly she sank upon the ground
eside me, and lower and lower the
laggy head fell till it actually rested
pom my knee. For an instant a cold
all crept over me as | realized the
tuation, and my hands involuntarily
rev back. The great eyes opened.
he purring ceased, and, giving me
emile poke with her nose, she warned
o to begin again. ,
AT last she was sound asleep, and by {
lie slowest degrees | ceased the man
'ulation, and leaning back upon the
ddle watching that sleeping beauty t
18th her head r&ting upon my knee. d
Oh, she was magnificent She was '
IMPLY superb forgot that she was c
tiger. L saw only royal Bengal i
,auty, and with strange thrill of G
iumph realized that she had fallen in |
We with me. She began to dream of a
% forest. There was danger at hand. V
shlver shook her handsome coat. A
er tail swayed from side to side. A O
'ep, low growl sounded in her throat. v
I'd from the paws that almost touched o
those cleaning claws protruded. i
rel she was tiger afte< all. II axe T.