Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1894-11-21

| pieces.
Had little Thomas been drowned, or
had he contrived to get out Of the beat
and reach the sandy beach a few feet
| distant?
A cry of Joy escaped the vigilant
| mother.
She pointed to the sand, where the
Impressions of little shoes, not yet
washed away, were visible.
Leaving two men in charge of the
boat, the captain, followed by his wife
and the rest of the crew, and armed
with loaded rifle which he had
brought with him from the ship, made
his way inland. There was thicket
short distance beyond the beach, and
this the party entered.
The ground WAS marshy in soma
places, and the tracks of the lost boy
were occasionally seen.
Following these traces carefully, the
party at length beheld, ahead of them,
a small opening, and there, not q hun,
dred yards of, apparently asleep, on
the bank of shallow stream, they be-
held little Thomas!
He lay upon his side, his cheek rest
ing upon one arm, his long curls
streaming ON the ground.
The rosy, healthy color upon his
| face at once convinced his mother that
| he was unharmed as well.
| At first tlS happy woman coald not
! utter word for joy.
Then, with q cry of gledness, with
outstretched arms, she ran toward the
| slumberer.
But she had not taken ten steps when
her cheeks blanched, and an exclama-
ton of disnay escaped the whole party.
An enormous crocodile had slowly
! lifted its hideous proportion from
amongst the long reeds fringing the
lower part of the bank, and was now
! crawling toward the sleeper.
The animal, half covered with mud
and green slime, presented an appear
ance at once uncouth and horrible.
1t was full twenty feet in length, its
body covered with rough, irregular
scales, its legs spotted, its claws sharp
and crooked.
The jaw wide open, revealed rows of
sharp teeth which were not close
together, but little apart. Each OF
its eyes, of an oval shape, and OF a fiery,
blood red hue, looked as if separated
by dark line, which gave to it an
aspect OF indescrible ferocity and vora-
ciousness.
The terrible jaw was already within
few feet of the child's head.
Before the most active of the sailors
could reach it, the teeth would close
over that bright face; those golden
curls would disappear in that ugly
mouth forever.
The captain stopped and quickly
raised his rifle.
'.Fire, fire, for God S sake /" screamed
his wife.
But Bertram's hand shook. Even
had it been steady, he would not have
dared to fire, lest his bullet should
strike his boy instead of the croco-
die
He was good shot, but SO near was
the fierce animal to the sleeper that |
the chances were ten to one that he
would hit the child.
Lily understood the cause of her
husbands hesitation.
Meanwhile the frightful teeth of the !
crocodile were now within few feet |
Of the boy the bloodshot eyes snapped
with greed and ferocity. :.
In a few seconds more the little one |
must become the monsters victim.
And now over the mothers face |
there came an expression of iron firm
ness /
From the quaking hands of her ex-
cited husband. who. still fearful of
hitting the child, could not bring him.
self to fire, she snatched the rifle, |
raised it and took aim at the crocodile's |
eye. b.
Like statue she stood for an in
slant; then the sharp report of the rife |
smote upon the air, the teeth of the |
crocodile closed with click, its head |
dropped to the earth, it smote the
bank few moments with its hard tail
and then fell on its side-deadl
The mothers aim had been true the |
bullet had struck the target, had pena-
trated the monsters eye and lodged in
Its brain. Il
Such a.cheer as then went up to the
sky was never heard before.
But Mrs. Bertram thought of moth
ing just then but her child.
The report of the ride had walked
him, and he was soon in his insther's
arms. -,
His story was to this effects After
ae got into the boat, he had commenced
20 pull on the warp-rope, which, sud.
lenly parting, he fell backward, stRik-
ing his head against thwart.
He was stunned, and for some time
after he was SO confused that he hardly
realized what had taken place, but lay
with dizzy brain, perfectly still.
When at last he realized his situe-
ton, he was too far off to make his
feeble voice heard. When the boat
struck the rocks, he got out on the
sand.
After vainly shouting, he thought he
would try to get nearer the ship. He
left the beach, wandered about for
awhile; then he became very drowsy
near the close, marshy thicket, and so
lay down and fell asleep.
"Aye, aye, my boy" said the cap
tain, and you may thank your mother
for saving your life. Lily" he con-
tinued, turning to her, after they ar
rived aboard ship. "God bless you
You have proved yourself noble
creature. The other day thought and
expressed the thought. that one 50 frail