Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1897-07-24
FIELDS OF ADVENTURE,
THRILLING INCIDENTS AND DARING
DEEDS ON LAND AND SEA,

/ Locked Up in . Dark Warehouse with
Savage Bear-Lively Encounter with
wild Bull in Asia-A Cyclist Chased b,
aHerd of fCattie-saved by His Dog, Etc
Seldom does one find more thrill
ing scene than that in Gilbert Parker.
"Pomp of the Lavilettes," in which
Tom Ferrol is locked up in darl
warehouse with a murderous bear:
"He ran suddenly to the center o.
the room, the candle still in his hand
and turned to meet his foe. 1t came
savagely at him. He lodged it, ran
past it, turned, doubled on it and
lodged again. A half dozen times
this was repeated, the candle still tiar.
ing. 1t could not last long. The
bear was enraged. It's movements be.
came swifter. Its vicious teeth and
lips were covered with froth which
dripped to the floor and sometimes
spattered Ferrol's clothes as he ran
past.
"Ferrol suddenly remembered the
broken bayonet upon the ledge against
the wall. If he could reach it there
might be chance to strike one blow
for life. As his eye glanced toward the
wall he saw the steel flash in the light
of the candle.
"The bear was between him and it.
He made feint toward the left, then
as quickly to the right. But in doing
SO he slipped and fell. The candle
dropped to the floor and went out.
With lightning like instinct of sell
preservation he swung over upon his
face just as the bear in q wild rush
passed over his head. He remembered
afterward the odor of the hot, rank
body and the sprawling, huge feet and
claws. Scrambling to his feet swiftly,
he ran to the wall. Fortune was with
him. His hand almost instantly
clutched the broken bayonet. He
whipped out his handkerchief, tore
the scarf from his neck and wound
them around his hand that the broken
bayonet should not tear the flesh as he
fought for his life. Then, seizing it,
he waited for the bear to come on, his
body bent forward, his eyes straining
into the dark, his face dripping-drip-
ping-sweat, his breath coming hard
and labored from his throat.
"For a minute there was absolute
silence save for the breathing of the
man and the savage painting OF the
beast. Presently he felt exactly where
the bear was and listened intently
He knew that it was now but question
of minutes, perhaps seconds.
'"Two things happened at that mo-
ment-the sound of knocking ON door
somewhere and the roaring rush of the
bear upon him. He sprang to one
side, striking at the beast as he did so.
The bayonet went in and out again.
Then came voices from the outside.
Evidently somebody was trying to get
in. The bear roared again and came
OH. 1t was all blind mans game.
Suddenly every particle OF strength
had gone out OF him. He shivered
and swayed. God! Would they
never get that window open! His
heart seemed to give . leap, then
slowly to roll over with thud, and he
fell to the floor as the bear plunged
forward upon him."
Vanue Castine and Mic Lavilette
break in just in time to drive the saw
age beast from the fallen victim, and
Ferrol is nursed back to life by Chris
tine.
Lively Encounter With a Wild Bull.
Adventures of all sorts enliven the
pages of S. j. Stones "In and Beyond
the Himalayas." There is one lively
encounter with a wild yak bull that
contains a spice of humor as we'll as
adventure. Mr.. Stone had wounded
the animal, and he and his native
assistant, or shikari, ran to intercept
it as it bolted up the steep and stony
hillside.
II slackened my pace" said the
author, "but Paljour, not noticing
this, went on and got above me. He
was thus between the bull and my
self. As the bull turned the swell in
the hillside he suddenly came in sight
OF Paljour, and, instantly changing
his course, charged furiously at the
old man straight down the hill.
"Paljour retreated toward me, best
pace, shouting to me to fire. But at
first I could not see the bull, and
when he did come in sight the shikari
was directly in line with him. I
shouted to him to get ont of the way,
but he was too hustered to under
stand.
Fortunately above me, and about
ten yards off, small rock jutted out
of the hillside, and Paljour screwed
himself under it into the smallest
space. The infuriated bull stood
above the rock, only few feet from
the man, evidently at loss. He
could hear his enemy distinctly, for
Paljour was shouting continuously at
the top of his voice for me to come
and hide under the rock beside him.
1t was clear that both man aud animal
were unconscious Of each others
proximity. One was mad with rage
and the other was off his head with
funk.
"There was no time, however, to
admire the tableau, for the monster
above me was bent on mischief. l
put 500 express bullet into his chest
and down he came straight for me. I
backed few yards to get out of his
course and fell into stony hole, cut.
ting my legs very severely. The
hand Of Providence again! In the
hole I was out Of sight Of the furious
auimal, which thundered past me
about three yards off.
''I had just time to twist myself into
a sitting position and deliver my Sec
ond barrel into his shoulder as he
rushed by. That finished him. He
fell twenty yards below me, sprawling
on his belly, with legs spread out,
thus checking the otherwise inevitable
roll down hill.
The scene, though it lasted only a
few moments, has left an indelible i'm
preston on my memory. Our re-
spective positions in this transaction
were, I should say, unique. The
blazing sun behind this bull, as he