The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser., 1894-07-06

was about one mile and a halt from the
four starting points TO this eminence
Deputo Ray, who is man of spIen
did nerve, chose the toughest route
and the one by which he was mos
likely to meet the object of the search
He had not proceeded far, on horseback,
until he was compelled to dismouut
1t was impossible for the horse to &C
further over such a rough country, and
besides, it was safer as his life proba-
bly, depended on his seeing DAVIS be-
fore Davis saw him; so after lettering
his horse, he proceeded on foot.
AS he approached deep. dark hol-
low, dense with timber and under
growth, he was sure he heard some
thing not far ahead of him. He hid
behind a tree and waited for sometime,
but, as he could hear nothing more, he
was soon slipping ahead again. The
idea of wild animal never had oc-
CURED to HIM, and he fully expected
to meet the old moonshiner every min
ute. Across the bottom of the hollow
was a fallen tree, which res s'ed about
ten or fifteen feet from the glound.-
The marshal started to walk across
this log to the other side This was
about the last act in the sea ch of which
he has anything like a distinct recol-
lection. When he was about midway
of this accidental footing he heard a
noise in the trees overhead. His hand
dropped instincively to his shooter,
as he looked in the direction from
whence came the sound. He was al
most paralyzed with sudden and terri
BILE fear. Crouching upon an extended
limb of tree, ten feet from his head,
was huge panther. His courage re-
turned as quickly as 1t had gone, but
he had only time to draw the weapon
from his belt when the monster plung-
ed at HIM. He dolged It's leap, but
his foot slipped on the log and he fell
SO heavily that he was rendered uncon-
seious when he struck the stony bot
tom of the gulch.
Just how long be remained in this
condition the marshal COULD not te!l.-
|
1t seemed to him only moment, but,
in fact, it was quite an hour, during
which time this powerful beast and its
mate dragged him to their den, more
than hundred yards up the gorge. AS
consciousness began to return, the first
idea that occoured to him was that wa
ter had been dashed in his face. Next
he remembered the ferocious beast and
and his Iall. The whole terrible pic
ture foated before his dazed senses like
a dream. But he was rescued and sur
rounded by my: terry. He struggled up
to sitting posture and tried to speak,
but he was too faint to utter sound,
and seemed to be partially blind. The
strange, damp atmosphere and semi
darkness puzzled him for few mo-
ments, but his efforts to restore his vis-
ion soon revealed to him the astounding
fact that he was not blind, but IN u
cave. This discovery brought with it
the startling realization thai he was in
the pan hers den, and that he was ex-
pected to furnish that animal its next
meal His hand hun.ed for his revol-
yer again. 1t was gone! 1t had fallen
from his hand and was lying at the
bottom Of the rocky gulch, where the
panther had made its spring.
His apparently hopeless condition
dawned upon him with such peculiar
force that he was just about to loose
consciousness again when he heard Il
noise as if made by something approach
ing the mouth of the cavern. Was it
man or beast, rescuer or captor, life or
death? Such thoughts as these flashed
! through the mind of the marshal, who
was almost ready to give up in despair;
but the impression that some one had
thrown water into his face furnished Il
slender thread to sustain his hope.
In a moment, which seemed almost
like an hour, he saw en- er the grotto a
tall muscular man, carrying in his hands
Il broad -brimmed SLOUGH hat full of wa
ter. 1t was Rabe Davis, the terror OF
| the mountains. But the officer had no
fear of him now, since 1t must have
been he who threw the water into his
face and was returning again on his
mission of mercy. His opinion of the
moonshiner quickly rose above par
This fluctuation, it seemed, was not
mutual, for when Davis came near enouh
to See that his patient was sitting up
and apparently convaescent the
! mOllntllneer dashed the water upon
the floor and fled from the cave. The
marshal tried to detain him long enough
to express his gratitude for his deliver
ance, but he was too weak to make
himself heard, and Rabe passed out of
sight leaving the dazed marshal to solve
the mystery of his remarkable rescue
aone.
When he nal sufficiently recovered
to regain his feet he struck match
and on looking around was shocked to
behold lying, almost at his feet, the
dead bodies of two panthers, either OF
which was nearly as large as himself
B 9TH had been shot through the head