The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1894-10-18
the clothing of the bed to shreds, as
the animal, finding her gone, still
Scnn ntnd hor ronont ,,roconno

only whisper out an appeal for her
friends sleeping only few yards
from her, but as unconscious of her
peril as if thousand miles away.
Fortunately the bed was of English
manufacture, and reached within a
foot and half of the floor, just ad-
mitting of her lying beneath it, and
as the tigress, finding that her foe
had not disappeared into the mat
tress, gave it up and began to sniff
about the room in search of the miss
ing enemy, and approaching the bed
again, and discovering the trembling
girl beneath, attempted to crawl
under, she found that this was not to
be done. Crouching, then, close to
the floor, she ran her long arms un-
der the bed in the endeavor to draw
the victim out from her hiding place.
Repeatedly the claws would catch
portions of the girls dress and the
cloth would yield and rend from the
sharp touch, and Imogene would
clasp her hands tightly about the legs
of the bed to keep from being drawn
forth.
Once she received terrible scratch
from one of the greedy paws on her
arm and was obliged to tear her
dress for u bandage with which to
bind the artery, which came so near
being severed. The smell of this
blood seemed to render the tigress
furious, and she again and again
would fling herself upon the bed,
until the girl under it feared that the
animal would bring the whole struc-
ture down upon her, when she would
die of suffocation. At this point she
was seized with an insane desire to
laugh, and lay for minutes shaking
with a CHASTITY sort of merriment,
which she was only able to control
by thinking, "Am l going mad ?"
and vision of her friends coming in
the morning to find her raving or
imbecile, even if in her lunacy she did
not rise and venture out into the
room.
Leonard Nugent awoke from
dream in which tiger seated, in a.
priests garments, on the steps OF
temple engaged in performing the
marriage ceremony of himself and
Imogene, was mingled with vision
of seeing the walls of the Price bum
galow falling down, and lay for a
moment or two trying to resume his
slumbers when he became conscious
that there was something shaking
the house. He sat up, wondering if
an earthquake could be producing
the trembling, but presently the
sound of low, unnatural laugh in a
woman's voice broke on his ear.
Springing from his bed he dressed
himself hastily, listening as he did
so for any further intimation of what
was going on, and then as the growl
of a tiger like the rumble of faint
thunder reached him he caught up
his rifle and pistol, and ran out OF
his room. Whence had come the
noise? From Imogene's apartment,
which was next his own? AS he flew
to the door behind which his beloved
Law in danger he struck his hosts
with loud fist, crying to him to arm
himself and to follow.
"What? What?" cried the Colonel
after him, but there was no reply,
for after cry to Imogene to know
how things were with her, and re-
ceiving no reply, Nugent put his
shoulder to the door and broke it in.
There was sudden spring at him,
howl of captive wild creature, and
the report of gun. The tigress fell
wounded unto death, but still able to
roll towards her foe, snarling and
game to the last. With one mighty
failing effort she reared upon her hind
limbs and would have Ieaped at his
throat, but pistol in hand, Nugent dis
charged the weapon in her face and
she fell backward, when he finished
her by ball through the base OF her
skull.
But where is Imogene A hasty
search failed to reveal her mangled
body, as her lover, sick at heart,
feared to come upon, but no answer
came to his agonized calls for her
and the mystery grew profound un-
til Mrs. Price, wise in her knowledge
of her sex, suggested from the door
Look under the bed, " and the next
moment Nugent for all his wounded
left arm, which was all he had at his
service, the right being still in the
sling, had dragged the bed from the
wall and caught his unconscious
sweetheart to his breast. When she
opened her eyes Mrs. Price slipped
away and dragged with her the Colo
mel, who had arrived on the scene
sputtering sleepily: What is 1t !
What is it? Can'tanybody answer
and to utter shrill shrek as he
stumbled over the dead tigress, ana
there in the dark Imogene gave her
lover the answer he wanted, and
I've heard her say since that he
could do a great deal of execution
with one arm.
The cub was shot the next day,
and the Colonel glanced slyly at I'M
ogene and said: "Well, lmogene,
YOU don't fancy tiger kitten as
much as you did, eh?" But Nugent,