The Coconino weekly sun., 1894-08-30

7eoon was-waiting patiently at the mouth of the cave; he started forward as Bud'sshaggy head appeared around the corner.
 Air hit there?' he gasped, breath lessly.
 Not yit," Bud responded. 'Thet war why called ye. Hit come over me, II hit warn't a human, hit thought come outen hole no bigger'n the smudge hole. But kin git a-holt of hit eff hit does, reckon" with grlm courage. He crept back to his fire.
 The smoke had penetrated the fur thest recesses of the Assure, and was now beginning to issue from the open ing which Coon was guarding. He coughed now and then, but manfully stood his ground, hoping every minute Tor the appearance of the ghost. He wanted the matter settled His gun, was leveled at the center of the ifs. sure, f'h' 3".
 Ss-ss-ss!' scratch, scratch, and an- other such unearthly yowl, as had greeted them once before It came from the larger mouth of the hole. Bud scrambled around the corner just In time to see Coon drop his gun and desperately clutch at something which looked like the grayish ghost they had seen before. Then ha'nt and boy had rolled over and over, locked in death like grip, over the ledge and down into the rushing, roaring waters. of Lost creek. n,
 The creek was almost a whirlpool here, for not far away it swept in a cirS cling flood down into its grave under the mountain, It was a dangerous place at any time. Coon was in the wildcats death-grip now, and could not have freed himself, even had he dared to loose his hold on the crea- ture's throat. vs
 But Bud was no coward. Much, ss he feared ha'nts he could be absolutely fearless in ordinary circumstances; and in that moment on the brink of the ledge he had recognized the ghost. The instant the combatants rose to surface, Bud was kneeling on the ledge, with his old gun aimed unerr. ingly. In that instant he fired. Then, dropping swiftly down hand over hand; by the bushes and the trees, he reached the bank and plunged in to rescue the almost exhausted Coon. When Bud had finally drawn him to the shore, Coon was still grasping the dead wild- cat. The boys face was covered with blood, and both face and hands were badly scratched, but there was no se- rious injury. Bud pulled the dripping hero up on the bank silently, and washed away the blood-stains
 Hit come mighty nigh klllin' ye, Coon,r he said at last, vainly striving to keep the tones of his voice even.
 The boys had been friends all their lives and loved each other with ? love as strong as was David's and Iona- than's of old. But mountain bc;'B say even less of what lies nearest their hearts than boys elsewhere.
 Although both hearts on the bank of Lost creek that day were full of the thought that they had faced death to- gether but moment before, Coon made no answer. In his heart, how, eyer,, be registered a silent VOW that he would never forget how Bud had saved him at the risk of his own life, and Bud was proudly thinking how brave his 'comrade always was, and mentally determining always to stick by him. --
 Lost creek rushed on. A buz2ard was circling far above the pine trees on the opposite cliff. Coon shivered' slig htly; if he had gone down in those waters. And that buzzard! He was glad it could never pick his bones. That lame little sister, Mary Ann, down in the cove, would have watched in vain for his coming, but for Bud. He turned the dead wildcat over. It was an unusually large one. The creatures had seldom been known to coineso far down on the mountain in these later years. ..aas ij2r
 s'Ef ha'nt air human dead a'ready,a gun couldn't make hit no deader,"js Coon argued, rehectiwely. But smudgin' an, a. gun war all we uns he'd ter fight with. l How that the only way ter do in this worlds jest ter. make use CT what body does know, tell he runs up ag'in the thing what he kin use. We-uns done the best thing, I low" he concluded, philosophically, "fur we-uns. ."-Jean Halifax, in N. Y. Independent