The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1894-04-13
SCARED TO DEATH.

III q z pidutCf . III ftSSdLi
three men sat smoking and talking. The
oppressive heat Of IN Indian night made
conversation something of a trouble, and
In the intervals of silence each refreshed
himself from the rapidly e%mptying 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 a planter also, but
though still young it 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 to
face any emergency.
when do you expect the brute to come
out, Gordon?" inquired DR.. Bryant.
swell, | hope he does not appear until
the moon is well up fancy the kid will
bring him when we tie it up. He is sure
to be providing near"
"Hard ON the kid, "murmured st. Clair,
the young planter.
"It's a scapegoat sacrificed for the good
of others. 1t is high time the tiger was
disposed of. The servants are so brighten
ed that I really get no proper service at
ALL"
"When are you starting, St. Clair" in
quired DR.. Bryant. "You don't look fit
to stay much longer here."
81 go in about six weeks. l do feel a bit
down, but a summer at home will set me
up all right"
The guns were got ready, and by 10
o'clock all wa silence in the bungalow.
Three men keeping vigil were seated in
the shadow at the back of the low veranda.
Gordon sat somewhat farther out than
the others; St. Clair was nearest to him,
the doctor behind.
The time went by with tar6y steps
Nothing broke the stiffness save the pitiful
beating of the bound kid, and once she
hateful yell of the jackal disturbed tbs
night.
The languor of the heavy air fell upoE
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. If DR.. Bryant dreamed at all
his dreams were of Ceases" 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 growis, the creature seized Gordon
in its powerful jaws, and Ieaping down,
carrying him as it might a dog, made foI
the bushes.
With a wild shrek st. Clair flung down
his loaded gun and flew into the recesses
of the bungalow.
Though startled beyond measure, DR..
Bryant kept his presence of mind, and call
ing u to % the servants leaped
down the steps, and gun in hand ran after
the tiger and its prey.
The moonlight enabled him tt make out
that the tiger lay half across Gordon's
body, with one great paw upon his breast,
as if to hold him down.
Bryant crept nearer and then stood If
resolute. 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 be-
fore his eyes.
With an Involuntary cry to heaven fol
aid, he raised his gun and fired, sick with
dread as to the result. The aim was true.
The huge beast, with a roar of pain, rolled
over and lay still.
Bryant rushed to the side of the pros
trate man n gazed 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 as if they feared ii
still.
Gordon was unconscious, and when the
flow of blood had been stanched he was
gently lifted and carried into the bunga-
low. His wounds were seen to be most
serious-One side was terribly mangled-
the arm ripped by the cruel claws and
the shoulder torn by the teeth.
Bryant had spent several hours in IN
remitting attention to the injured man
when, with a 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 be in the midst of the com
motion?
Now that his surgical skill had done al,
that was possible for Gordon, Bryant turn.
ed to seek his other friend. They had not
far to go. 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 if 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 it was the man that
had been physically hurt who recovered.
The one mentally injured sank lower every
day, until a 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.
He carries a claw of the tiger always
with him wherever he is, and sometimes
looking at it he can see again the moon
lit compound and feel the hidden horror
of the brute's hot breath upon his face
Exchange.
An Ingenious Clock.
Wynn Wordsworth has invented and
constructed a very ingenious celestial
clock - which ua ayhibitaJ Of tho Gp,f