River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1898-05-12

Mrs. hm6S and the Lions
Also Three Little Pigs, Their Owner
and Baby.

watched it with fear. But to Jered
Amc4 il was bringing small harvest of
silver, for he was guide as well as a
freighter on the river, and fire on the
Oregon heights meant game on the low
er, accessible levels. Jered had taken
two parties Of hunters up the river al
ready To-day he was away with the
third, and on his return he must de-
liver three pigs sent 10 him for settler
named keegan.
Usually Jered's young wife did not
fret al 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 tc
talk with. The baby, too, was i'll at ease
in the sultry, smoke-scented air, and
cried fretfully as she tried to rock it to
sleep after her early supper.
From her seat, which was under a
pine behind the cabin, the little woman
could see long stretch up the path on
which he 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 pos
ebe, too. that somebody, some messen-
ger or hunter, might come up the path
TO engage him as guide or freighter, and
she watched the path lest some stran-
ger should take her by surprise.
While She rocked the little one and
sangtoit. Observation-Disclosures her
Tap that it might be the cooler, its cry
ing ceased, and it seemed about to sleep
with It's face turned from her. But sud
denly il shriekeI as if from some in
stinctive alarm, and turned to her
cIutching with its feeble little hands
and buryirg its face in her lap. The
mother, wondering what had atfrighted
the child, stared down the path, and
there saw moving thing which in
stantly disappeared.
"a 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 ] must hurry in-the man
will want supper"
She clutched the baby and at her
grasp il 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
the other.
1t struck her, after a little while. that
she ought to have heard the footstep Of
voice or knock Of the stranger, and She
turned from her tiny looking glass to-
ward the door of the bedroom, beyond
which was the open door of the kitchen.
There stood a fuII-grown cougar, OF
mountain lion!
She recognized the beast at the first
glance, although She had never seen one
before. and in that one dazed glance she
wondered il all Wild beasts were so
gaunt and rusty looking.
In the next instant the wild shrek
She threw her shoulder against the
door lust as the rusty, tawny, long
body crouched. The latch snapped
down: theuthe door shookas if from one
blow of a 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 instinctiyely ceased to cry,
pressed its head to her bosom and
clItched with trembling hands.
For an instant the partition seemed
likely to be pushed down; then the
mother heard the fierce sweep of wild
claws across the boards and then
there was a great crash in the
kitchen. Nothing but a fall OF
crockery could account for such
noises, and Mrs. Ames knew that her
plates and cups and saucers, her pre-
serve dishes. her admired glass pitcher,
and probably her treasured sirup jug
with the German silver top, had all tum-
bled at once from the shelves fastened
to the partition In an instant she was
as angry as if Tered had upset her cher
iShed things; her courage came back in
full force. aud she pulled open the door
reclllessly to scold at the cougar.
He had been frightened badly al
ready; he had leaped like a frightened
cat out of the kitchen Mt a bound, but
he had not leaped out Of the house
lie had gone the other way. His head
had been toward an open interior door
when the precious crockery fell, and his
leap had sent him into the front room, :
where he stood surprised, alarmed
awaiting something dreadful.
As angry Mrs. Ames, her baby fright
eued into silence by the noise. opened
the bedroom door she saw in the llitch-
en- looking glass the reflection Of the
cougar in the front room eyeing her,
and She screamed at il with such shrill-
ness 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 frightened. and i'm the
same instant, slipping forward boldly,
She shut the door OF the front room
with n slam.
The other door and the windows of
that room were all closed, and now Mrs.
Nmcs felt that She was mistress Of the
situation. The cougar seemed to feel
So. too: while she listened and peeped ut
the keyhole the wild creature shuffled
around uneasily inside.
YES. YOU can suoop around in there,
knocking my things over" said Mrs.
Ames aloud, and veugefully, hut when
Jered comes home he will teach You To
snoop."
She gazed about at the relics Of her
beloved crockery. That awful spectacle
made her angrier than ever, and then
she remembered a knothole in the par
tition through which, by standing on a
chair, She could watch her foe and taunt
him.
Mrs. Ames had one foot on the chair
when Il fearful scream came from the
cougar in the front room, which was in
stantly answered by just such another
from a spot ten feet behind her She
turned her head. Well, inside the open
back door crouched a second cougar,
not so large as the first. but rather more
evil looking. This was the female. She
had stolen fearfuliy Tn TO look for her
mate. She was a cougar suspecting a
trap.