San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-11-28


first glance brought despair to his heart.
Overhead were steep and barren rocks,
rising many feet in air, and here and
there a stunted pine tree.
To ascend this place was impossible,
for the rocky lodges jutted out from the
face of the cliff.
He turned and ran at full speed,
searching vainly for some nook to hide
in or break in the rugged precipice
that would allow him to ascend. He
tore through thorn bushes and bruised
his feet ON sharp stones, but these mis-
haps were unheeded, for he imagined
constantly that the Cossacks were on
his track.
The path now became blocked with
loose powders, and in his haste among
these he tripped and came heavily to
the ground.
He rose painfully to his feet-rose to
find himself face to face with mon
strous tiger-a huge tawny beast that
lay supine on the ground.
The disturbed brute lifted his head
sleepily and surveyed the intruder with
glittering eyes. His long, spotted tail
twitched, and from his throat issued
deep growl.
The tiger made no attempt to rise.
He looked at Maurice, and Maurice
looked at him, and in this position they
remained for full minute. Maurice
slid his hand cautiously toward his belt,
and the revolver was already in his
grasp when he suddenly remembered
that even should he succeed in shooting
the tiger, which was improbable, the
shot would at once draw the Cossaoks
to the spot, and he would be in worse
plight than ever.
The tiger solved the difficulty by
slowly rising, and that broke the spell.
Wheeling around. Maurice darted at
the top of his speed back along the
cliff. A hoarse growl warned him that
the tiger was coming in pursuit, and in
desperation he cast his eyes about for a
refuge.
Such place met his sight instantly,
deep crack in the very edge of the
hill, running parallel with the ground.
1t was possibly wide enough for him to
crawl in, and without stopping TO
weigh the chances he threw himself fiat
and ran his head and shoulders into the
crevice. 1t was tight squeeze, but
with prodigious effort he managed to
drag his whole body inside and crawl
back few feet from the opening. This
he had barely accomplished when the
pursuing tiger pounced angrily upon the
spot and thrust his great jaws into the
! hole, growing horribly all the while.
Maurice seizing a loose fragment of
stone, dealt the brute violent blow on
the nose.
He drew back instantly. screaming
with rage, and Maurice took advantage
of this interval to squeeze still deeper
into the crack. The floor was of soft,
sticky clay. The roof, which pressed
down ON his head and body, was cover
ed with stalactites, and from these fell
water with constant drip.
His situation was decidedly uncom-
Portable. He could scarcely move his
legs, and he had the restricted use of
one arm only, while the icy water chill
ed him to the bone.
Meanwhile the tiger, squatted outside
ON the ground, WIS working himself in
to terrible rage. Presently he sprang
to the mouth of the crevice, and, rolling
half over ON his side, made a vicious
dig at Maurice with his fore paw,
catching the lad s arm and ripping open
the heavy sleeve from the elbow down.
I The sharp claws tore the flesh, and the
smell of blood rendered the beast furi-
Gus. With eyes that shone like fire and
snarling ferociously he tried again and
again to reach his victim, jamming his
head against the stalactites and stretch
ing his great claws like india rubber.
Maurice drew himself as far back as
possible, expecting each moment that
the great paws would seize him and
drag him out
He made no further attempt to strike
| the brute with the stone he still held in
his hand, fearing it would only inoite
| him to greater efforts.
AL this time the loaded pistol was
still in his belt, but he dared not hre'
He could easily reach it, and no doubt
he could kill the tiger without difficult
ty, but the report would surely bring
the Cossacks to the spot. If his life was
| in actual danger, he determined he
would use the weapon, not before. He
little thought how soon the alternative
would be presented.
For five minutes or more the tiger
thrust his claws repeatedly into the
crevice. Then he drew off yard or so
and sat on his launches, liz king his
| bloody nose and whining angrily.
Hope sprang up amen in Maurlce's
breast, ard he began to think that the
brute would leave him in peace. But
suddenly, with a hoarse growl. the Il
ger bounded forward again, and with