Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1893-12-20
SCARED T0sDEI

In a tea planters bungalow In Assam
three men sat smoking and talking. The
oppressive heat Of an Indian night made
conversation something Of trouble, and
In the intervals OF silence each refreshed
himself from the rapidly emptying glass
which stood within easy reach.
One was a man OF 80, alert, active, with
keen blue eyes, the type Of the hardy Scot,
who makes the best planter. The man
upon his right hand was planter also, but
though still young IL was evident that
the enervating climate had wrought dire
havoc with his nerves and constitution.
Opposite sat a keen eyed doctor, whose
wiry frame and resolute face Inspired "A
confidence that was not misplaced. Here
was a man ready with nerve and hand 10
face any emergency.
"When do you expect the brute to come
out, Gordoni" inquired DIR. Bryant
swell, hope he does not appear until
the moon Is well mp. / fancy the kid will
bring him when we tie 1t up. lie is sure
TO be prowling near"
"Hard on the kid, murmured st. Clair
the young planter.
"It's a scapegoat sacrificed for the good
Of others. II is high time the tiger was
disposed Of. The servants are so frightcn-
ALL"
"when are you starting, St. Clair" in
quired DIR. Bryant. "You don't look tit
10 stay much longer here"
~ go In about six weeks. ! do feel a bit
down, but summer at home will set Inc
up all right"
The guns were got ready, and by 10
o'clock all was silence In the bungalow.
Three men keeping vigil were seated in
the shadow at the back Of the low yeranda.
Gordon sat somewhat farther out than
the others; st. Clair was nearest To him.
the doctor behind.
The time went by with tardy steps.
Nothing broke the stiffness save the pitiful
bleating of the bound kid, and once the
hateful yell Of the jackal disturbed the
night.
The languor Of the heavy air fell upon
the senses and brought pleasant visions Of
happy bygone days to the exiles. Gordon
saw again a breezy moor covered with
purple heather. St. Clair dreamed Of the
roses In an English garden, and looked
once more into loving eyes, blue as the
sky above. II DIR. Bryant dreamed at ALL
his dreams were Of "cases." His busy
life had killed any taste for day dreaming
he had ever possessed.
Suddenly, without sound or warning,
before the hapless men could realize what
awful thing was upon them, a huge, dark
mass hurled itself on the veranda. With
horrid growls, the creature seized Gordon
IN its powerful jaws, and leaping down,
carrying him as it might a dog, made for
the bushes.
With wild shrek st. Clair flung down
his loaded gun and dew into the recesses
of the bungalow.
Though startled beyond measure, DR..
Bryant kept his presence Of mind. and call
ing out TO arouse the servants leaped
down the steps, and gun In hand ran after
the tiger and it's prey.
The moonlight enabled him TO make out
that the tiger lay half across Gordon's
body, with one great paw upon his breast,
az If to hold him down.
Bryant crept nearer and then stood ir,
resolute. He knew the tremendous risk
In attempting to shoot the tiger while il
lay over the man, but there was no help
for It; his friend might now be dying be
fore his eyes.
With an involuntary cry to heaven for
aid, he raised his gun and fired, sick with
dread AZ to the result. The aim was true
The huge beast, with roar Of pain, rolled
Ov0 ano Ay bIllL
Bryant rushed to the side of the pros
trate man and gaxed anxiously into the
white, still face. The scared servants
came hurrying out with lamps and torches,
but were wary to keep at some distance
from the dead monster an II they feared II
still
dow Of blood had been stanched he was
suA - N,~~ 49,
low. His wounds were seen TO be most
serious-one side was ~terrtbly mangled-
the arm ripped by the cruel claws and
the shoulder torn BY the teeth.
Bryant had spent several hours In un-
romitting attention TO the injured man
when, with q sudden fash Of recollection,
he 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 bs In the midst of the com.
motioni
Now that his surgical skill had done all
that was possible for Gordon, Bryant turn
ID to seek his other friend. They had not
Gar to 60. They found him stretched on
the floor in the farthest corner of the
bungalow, lying prone upon his face, his
hands covering his eyes as II 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 for 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 II was the man that
had been physically hurt who recovered.
The one mentally injured sank lower every
day, until 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 left arm hung powerless.
lie carries a claw Of the tiger always
with him wherever he Is, and sometimes
looking at 1t he can see again the moon
lit compound and feel the hidden horror
Of the brute's hot breath upon his face
Exchange.