The Portland daily press., 1898-03-11
MRS. AMES AND THE LIONS.
Also Three Little Pigs, Baby, and
the Owner of the Pigs.

The Story of an Exciting Evening for the
Young Wife of a Woodsman Who Was
prises.
(From the Youths Companion.)
There had been for days great fire in
the forest up toward Onion Peak, and a
strong wind was driving it so far toward
the settlement on the Upper Nehalem
that some of the people watched it with
fear. But to Jered Anes it was bringing
a small harvest of silver, for he was a
guide as well as freighter on the river,
and fire on the Oregon heights meant
game on the lower, accessible levels.
Jered had taken two parties of hunters
up the river already. Today he was away
with the third, and on his return he must
deliver three pigs sent to him for settler
named Keegan.
Usually Jered's young wife did not fret
at being left alone with the year-old baby
but now the heat and smoke oppressed her
Imagination, and made her think of the
end of the world, and set her wishing for
some neighbor to talk with. The baby,
too, was ill at ease in the sultry, smoke
scented air, and cried frettully as she
tried to rock it to sleep after her early
supper.
From her seat, which was under pine
behind the cabin, the little woman could
see long stretch of the path on which
her husband must return from his boat
but she could not see his boathouse nor
the river. 1t was possible that he might
come home that evening, and her heart
was sore with longing to see his tall form
striding toward her. 1t was possible, too,
that somebody, some messenger or hunter
might come up the path to engage him as
guide or freighter, and she watched the
path lest some stranger should take her
by surprise.
While she, rocked the little one and sang
to it letting it lie unhugged on her lap
that it might be the cooler, it's crying
ceased, and it seemed about to sleep with
its face turned from her. But suddenly
it shrieked as if from some instructive
alarm, and turned to her, clutching with
it's feeble little hands anc burying its
face in her lap. The mother, wondering
what had affrighted the child, stared
down the path, and there saw moving
thing which instantly disappeared.
ga dog,' she thought. Somebody's
dog-its owner is coming for Jered.
Whoever it Is will have TO stay all night,
for it's too late now to go back to the
settlement. l must hurry in-the man
will want supper"
She clutched the baby and at her grasp
1T screamed as If in the widest terror
a note which made her again wonder
what allied it. Into the kitchen she ran,
put the kettle again on the stove and
thrust in some kindling. Then she went
into her bedroom, just off the kitchen,
and tried to brush her hair and ''tidy"
herself with one hand while she held the
crying baby with she other.
1t struck her, after little while. that
she ought to have heard the footstep or
voice or knock of the stranger, and she
turned from her tiny looking glass toward
the door of the bedroom, beyond which
was the open door of the kitchen. There
stood full-grown cougar, or mountain
lionl
She recognized the beast at the first
glance, although she had never seen one
before, and in that one dazed glance she
wondered If all wild beasts were so gaunt
and rusty looking.
In the next instant the wild shrek of
her baby reused her to action and she
threw her shoulder against the door just
as the rusty, tawny, long body crouched.
The latch snapped down; then the door
shook as if from one. blow of heavy,
wadded mallet, and the thin partition of
upright boards ratified and creaked. The
little woman stood In mortal terror and
the baby. which had instinotively ceased
to cry, pressed it's head to her bosom and
clutched with trembling hands.
For an instant the partition seemed
likely to be pushed down; then the moth
er heard the fierce sweep of wild claws
across the boards, and then there was q
great crash in the kitchen. Nothing but
q fall of crockery could account for such
noise and Mrs. Ames knew that her
plates and cups and saucers, her preserve
dishes, her admired glass pitcher, and
her treasured syrup jug, with
the German silver top, had all tum bled.at
once from the shelves fastened to tho par
tit1on. In an instant she was as angry
as if Jered had upset her cherished things;
her courage came back in full force, and
she pulled open the door recklessly to
scold at the cougar.
He had been frightened badly already;
he had leaped like a frightened cat out
of the kitchen at q bound, but he had
not leaped out of the house. he had gone
the other way. His head had been
toward an open interior door when the
crockery fell, and his leap had
sent him into the ''front room," where
he stood surprised, alarmed, awaiting
dreadful.
As angry Mrs. Ames, her baby fright.
aned into silence by the noise, opened The
bedroom door, she saw in the kitchen
glass the reflection of the cougar
in the front room cycling her, and she
at it with such shrillness that
The scared beast shrank into the dark
space between the "chest of drawers"
and the north corner. The small woman
understood instantly that the cougar was
and in the same instant,
Slipping forward boldly, she shut the door
Of the front room with slam.
The other door and the windows of that
room were all closed, and now Mrs. Ames
felt that she was mistress of the situa-
ton. The cougar seemed to feel SO, too;
while she listened and .peeped at the key
hole the wild creature shuff1ed around I'M
easily inside.
ayes you can snoop in there, knocking
my things over" said Mrs. Ames, aloud
and vengefully, ''but when Jered comes
home he will teach you to snoopl'
She gazed about at the relics of her be-