The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1894-09-01

Coon was waiting patiently at the
mouth of the cave; he started forward
as Buds shaggy head appeared around
the corner.
Air hit there?r he gasped, breath.
lessly.
Not yit." Bud responded. Tibet
war why l called We. Hit come over
NE, if hit warn't a human, hit mought
come outen a hole no bigger'n the
smudge hole. But l kin git a-holt OF
hit EFF hit does, 1 reckon" with grim
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 vas guarding. He
coughed now and tnen, but manfully
stood his ground, hoping every minute
for the appearance of the ghost. He
wanted the matter settled. His gun
was leveled al the center of the ifs
sure.
"Ss-ss-ss,' scratch, scratch, and an
other such unearthly yowl, as bad
greeted them once before. 1t 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.
The creek was almost a whirlpool
here, for not far away it swept in a cir.
cling food down into its grave under
the mountain. 1t 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-
tnre's throat.
But Bud was no coward. Much as
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-
iHgly. 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
eat. The boys face was covered with
blood, and both face and hands were
badly scratched, but there was no Sc
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" he said at last, vainly striving
to keep the tones Of his voice even.
The boys had been friends all theil
lives and loved each other with a love
as strong as was David's and iona.
than's of old. But mountain boys say
even less of what lies nearest their
hearts tia boys elsewhere.
Although both hearts on the bank OF
Lost creek hat day were full of the
thought hal they had faced death to-
gether but a moment before, Coon
made no answer In his heart, how.
ever, he registered a silent VOW thai
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 buzzarG
was circling far above the pine trees
on the opposite cliff. Coo 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. 1t
was an unusually farge one. The
creatures had seldom been known to
come so far down on he mountain In
these later years.
"Ef a ha'nt air a human dead
already, a gun couldn't make hit no
deader," Coon argued, reflectively.
But smudgin' an a gun war all We
uns he'd ter fight with. L low that the
only way ter do in this worlds jest ter
make use er what a body does know.
tell he runs up ag'in the thing what he
kin use. We-uns done the best thing.
L 'low," he concluded, philosophically,
fur we-uns."-Jean Halifax, in n. Y.
Independent.