The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1894-08-31

Coon was waiting patiently ut thu
| mouth ~ the cave, he started forward
a. Buds shaggy head appeared around
the corner
Air hit thrre?- he gasped. breath
lessly.
Not yit.~ Bud responded. Tibet
war why | called ye. Hit come over
me. il hit wsrn't human. hit rnought
come outen = hole no bigger'n the
>mudge hole. But kin git a-holt oi
hi, IF hit does. reckon" with grim
courage lie crep, back 10 his fire.
The smoke had penetrated the fur
fhe,t 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
for the appearance Of the ghost He
wanted the matter settled Ills guh
was leyeied at the center OF the rs
sure.
'->s-ss-ss.' scratch. scratch. and an
other such nnearthly yowl, a. bad
greeted them once before IL 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 il swept in cir
cling Hood down into its grave under
the mountain. IL was a dangerous
place at any time. Coon was in the
wildcats dea,h-grip now. and could
not have freed himself. even had he
dared to loose his hold on the crea-
lures throat
But Bud was no coward Much -
he feared ha'nts he could be absolutely
fearless in ordinary circumstances;
and in that nome mt on the brink OF the
ledge he had recognized the ghost.
The instant the combatants rose to
surface. bud was kneellng 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 10 rescue the
almost exhausted Coon. When Bud
had finally drawn him TO the shore
Coon was still gra>plng the dead wild
cat 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. anC
washed away the blooi-stains-
--iIit come mighty nigh KILN We
Coon" he said At last vainly striving
70 keep the tones Of his voice even.
The boys had been friends all thei
lives and loved each other with lov'
a. strong as was David's and iona
ihans OF old. But mountain boys sa,
even less Of what lies nearest thei
hearts tia boys elsewhere
Although both hearts on the bank o
Lost creek that day We're full of tn
thought that they had faced death 70
? gether but a moment before. Cool
made no answer. In his heart, how
: ever. he registered silent VOW tina
he would never forget how Bud ha
5 saved him at the risk Of his own life
/ and Bud was proudly thinking ho'
, brave his comrade always was, an
{ mentally determining always TO site
by him
Lost creek rushed on A buzzar
I was circling far above the pine tree
: on the opposite cliff Coon shivere
slig htly; il he had gone down in thos
: waters, And that buzzsrd' lie wa
glad il could never pick his bones
' That lame little sister. Mary AnI
7 down in he cove. would have watche
; in vain for his coming. but for Bue
/ lie turned the dead wildcat over.
!. was an unusually arge one Tn
' creatures had seldom been known
{: come 80 far down on he mountain l
: these later years
--Ef ha'nt air human dea
: Already. a gun couldn't make hit n
deader." Coon argued. rehectivel,
: -But smudgin' an gun war all W.
{ un> he'd ter night with | low that III
only way ter do in this worlds jest IL
! max. use er what body doe. know
c tell he runs mp az in the thing what h
r kin use. Ne-un> done the best thing
low he concluded. philosophical,
e fur we-uns Jean Halifax. in y. \
: Independent