The Penn's Grove record., 1894-10-26

revolver very cautiously, under Che
blanket, and cooked it, that it might
be ready for an emergency. The click
of the trigger startled her. / saw q
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.
"Ahai you treacherous beauty" I
said to myself, then suddenly paused
to think of the revolver Under the
blanket. and wonder il, after all, she
we're not quite as honorable about it
as ].
1t was a long time before abe moved
at all. Then very deliberately, and
with the most evident satisfaction, she
began to lick her bewhiskered bps and
those two great paws. With q shud-
der of horror I noticed that they
covered with blood; but second
thought brought a certain amount Of
relief. That blood indicated that she
had recently eaten q hearty meal, and
accounted for any lack Of sppetite. so
far as / was concerned-s state of
things which I earnestly prayed might
continue for some time to come
Slowly and sedately she accomplished
4 limited toilet, then, with q long,
deep sigh she pushed her fore paws out
at least o 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
save, precisely as I had seen cats do
the same thing over and over again.
She closed the operation by sitting
erect, and T felt justified in doing the
same.
A comical look Of surprise crept over
her face ss she watched me. She hung
her head on one side, partially closing
one eye, then hung it on the other
,ide in a scrutiny that under some cir
,umstances would have been ludicrously
amusing.
Her curiosity was evidently aroused.
Cautiously she came q little nearer,
making my blood III cold. 6he shifted
the blanket, poking il 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 emitting the saddle.
The jaws were within six inches of my
ribs. My heart wal banging away
furiously. What would she do nextf
/ dared not fire, for i'll 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 nor
than three inches I touched it.
For an instant every muscle tight
aned and she stood stock still, evidently
In doubt. I, 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 I rubbed
\ little harder, and when I ceased she
rolled her head under my hand, Just
after the fashion Of a large cat--a most
amiable companion of my boyhood. I
began to scratch in right good earnest,
and in less than ten minutes had almost
forgotten my fear, while the revolver
!ay upon the ground and ! with both
hands was giving that huge head . Wig
,rous dry shzfnfAa TbAfur was beauti-
hui, thick and % ttss Waltz
though she had COZ most,hsa -
bath. avhaid obn year ?
Her eyes were sd nS 80 a p,
l real velvet brown ~.
began to droop oi faySars anu she
looked up at me inEsSnse 1 gave her
loving way imaginalp wasy <
Slowly she sank upha the ground
beside me, and lower nd lower the
shaggy head fell till it ctually rested
upon my knee. For a1vv pstant o cold
chill crept over me as ss realized the
situation, and my handAS nvoluntarily
drew back. The great $yeH opened.
The purring ceased, and, giving ins Q
gentle poke with her nose, she warned
to begin again.
At last she was sound asleep, and by
the slowest degrees I 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 va
simply superbi ] forgot that she was
o tiger. l saw only . royal Bengal
beauty, and with a strange thrill Of
triumph realized that she had fallen in
love with me. She began to dream Of
the forest. There was danger at hand.
A shiyer shook her handsome coat.
Her tail swayed from side to side. A
deep, low growl sounded In her throat,
nd from the paws that Gmost touched
me those cleaning claws protruded
Ayei she was a tiger after all. II she
was hungry when she swoke / should
be her lunch. took my revolver in
my right hand and put my left upon
her head to quiet her till ] could fire.
Drowsily she opened her eyes, looked
into mine, and with 9 sigh Of relief
fell asleep again.
It was too much. I%aid the pistol
down and in horror confessed to my
self that I could not do it; for ], too,
had fallen in love with the tiger.
Again she dreamed. She moved un-
opened her eyes, pricked up her
ears, and showed her teeth in a way
that made me wish that / had fired the
pistol when I could.
Suddenly she rose, sank back on her
launches, turned half about, and with
one sharp yell and bound disappeared
in the shadows far down the cave. A
moment later / saw the two balls Of
fire flashing there, and while I
wondering what was coming
next, l caught he tramp Of the Brit
troops who were TO pass that way,
and bidding farewell to the beautiful
tiger. I left her M saddle, my blan-
raf 81 -N M-.-A Tta