The evening times., 1895-08-27
In ths Lions" Den.

Come, hurry up, Joe, /" said Tom BentIy
to his younger brother. The suns most an
hour high and we've got to go over the di-
vide before we'l find any game It's all
been scared away from this side"
IAN right. Tom, I'm just putting up some
lunch. Wen likely want it before we get
back" replied joe
The two boys, aged respectively Il and
10, were the soDs OF John Bently, the work
ing boss" of my gang OF miners, whose
boarding cabin was situated well up in the
Rocky Mountains, about three miles above
Georgetown, Col They Were going ont for
days hunting, and as both We're fairly
good shots they expected to bag an elk or
biack-tailed deer, or perhaps better still,
one of those exceedingly wary creatures,
the mountain sheep.
For hours the hardy young fellows toiled
steadily on and up, over OF around rocky
bluffs and through intervening guIches,
until at last. far above the timber line, they
reached the summit of the divide" and be-
gan to tread the ravines and climb over
the billowy hills of the Pacific SLOPE but as
yet without seeing a sign of game.
BY noon they had got once more below
the region OF eternal snow and among
scattered, but gradually thickening
growth of pine, spruce, hemlock, and
poplar, while on every sheltered spot
between the giant bowiders were -Iuxu-
riant patches of grass and blooming
flowers.
wed better take dinner now" OBJ
served Tom. as they seated themselves by
"a hItl ,ltt,sr -, I-..u
fore long and We won't want to stop
them
Each of the boys carried a good Win
chester rifle and hunting-k knife. They
were terribly expert in the use of both and,
with the daring impetuosity OF youth.
neither would have hesitated to attack any
thing in the shape of wild beast
Now Que who nows nothing ofmountaias
Is apt TO think that the sides or such are
continuous ascents or descents but this is
far from being the case; the traveller.
whether going up or down, is at one moment
winding through a ravine and the next
climbing a corresponding activity, or,
perhaps. walking over a stretch of level
tableland. being at times, except from
the nature OF the ever changing flora, quite
unable TO tell whether he is ascending or
descending.
As our young hunters were silently eat
ing Joe happened TO glance at perpendicu-
lar cliff, which arose abruptly from the
little valley to a height of 800 feet or so,
its base being at least $50 yards from where
the boys sat.
At this moment a mountain sheep, a
big male. with prodigioUs pair Of curling
horns, showed out against the sky on the
very edge of the cliff and stood surveying
the country below, as is the habit of this
animal. Doubtless he plainly saw the
two youths, but considered himself per-
fectly safe. Lets take a crack at
him. whispered joe Hes got the
biggest pair of horns / ever saw"
In that wonderfully clear air the keen
eyed boy could. he said, almost count the
wrinkles on the horns
Its mighty long shot, well ON to 300
yards, counting the RISE replied Tom;
''but put up your back sight TO that notch
and well try our luck Fire at the word
three. -
Each boy now kuelt behind a sapiing, by
the side of which his out stretched left hand
firmly held the rifle, while his eye ranged
along the sights. lone, two, threei" softly
cried Tom, and the two reports rang out as
one.
''Hooray. Hnoray. We've got himl''
Joe yelled, as, after reeling for an in
stant the great ram pitched headlong
I'm afraid he's smashed all TO smither-
eens,'' said Tom. But wen get what's
left of him, anyhow. Come on.'' and the
excited marksmen dashed through the in
tervenng thicket TO inspect their prize.
why, he's hardly smashed Bit My
amt those bully horns, thought" ex-
claimed Joe. But it'll be a tough job to
gel them and the hindquarters back to
camp
(Tbe writer once killed mountain sheep
whose head and horns. without a particle
of adhering flesh, weighed sixty-nine
poundsD
well, we've got to do it, responded
Tom, "for don't believe even father him
self has ever seen such head as this. But,