Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1897-06-17

huu Wv UJhu SAhS* 8N4w eyes W
the crevicc IN the log
There must be som6 thing else ia
the bushes, said Jim sWe'll wait
and see what is going = happen.
| We we're not kept IN suspense
long. AS the crouching animal MT
tered another angry snarl, some-
thing stepped boldly from the shad
ow of the bushes-souathing with
two legs and two arms. ard ! head
covered with matted growth Of
hair and beard.
Jim it's man i, whispered, /,
excitedly.
a wild man. too, NV grrcious,
added Jim, in a voice that filled
me with fear, lust look ut his long
hair y
AS the strange being advanced
into the moonlight. glance showed
me that Jim was right.
He wore a single garment, made
of some untanned skin, reaching to
his knees; leggings of the same ma
terial, and on his feet he wore rude
mocassins. His head was entirely
bare so also were his long, muscu-
lar arms.
Brief time was allowed us for OBJ
servation. The wildcat sprang for
ward with an ugly screech, and was
quickly tumbled over on the snow
by a blow from a club that we had
not noticed before.
The determined animal was on
its feet instantly, and this time
landed on the wild mans breast.
The struggle that ensued was very
brief. The two combatants fell to
the ground together and rolled over
in the shadow of the trees, where
we could see imperfectly what was
going on.
The wildcat made u deafening
outcry that was suddenly hushed,
and then we heard two or three
heavy blows from the club. A
mist came before my eyes at this
point, and when looked again the
wildcat was lying utotionless on the
snow and its strange assailant had
vanished.
For some minutes we continued
to watch the open space in front of
the cabin, actually trembling with
fear; then, from far in the distance,
came faint shout that seemed to
have savage, triumphant ring.
He's gone back TO the mainland
said Jim, huskily. Get your gun,
Ned, and we'll 60 out
We unbarred the cabin door-not
without a shiver of fear-and crept
out on the snow. Jim walked over
and pulled the wildcat into the
moonlight. 1t was quite dead, but
whether it had been killed by the
club or strangled in the grip of its
powerful assailant, we were not
able to discover.
We hastily searched the island,
but the strange visitor had gone,
and evidently at a hurried gait, for
no trace of him was visible on the
glistening surface of the lake.
As we turned back to the cabin,
we heard the same weird cry again.
1t seemed to come from the forest
across the lake.
We went inside and barred the
door securely behind US. Jim tossed
some wood on the lingering en-
bers OK the fire. and when il blazed
up, the light showed our pale,
frightened faces.
Without u word, Jim began to
roll his blankets up. and strap them
together.
'Pm going to pull for home right
| straight. Ned. he said, finally. Il
won't spend another hour in this
locality if | can help it. That man
may return any moment and serve
us as he did the wildcat. It's some
escaped lunatic, perhaps, who has
been running wild for months. and
is more like a Wild beast than a hu-
man being. III he comes back to
attack us, we might shoot him, of
course, but / don't like the idea of
doing such thing, and our best
plan is to avoid trouble by cutting
for home right away. Our folks
will laugh at us and won't believe
our story, until they come over
here and see for themselves. But
don't delay, Ned. Pack up soon
as You can, and we'll go home BY
moonlight
To confess the truth, was quite