The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1898-08-06

| SASAAASAASs
i've on land. IT,. 80
'"ren to one-the animal approaching
was tiger?
when the knowledge-for it wasn't a
surmise-took hold of me, the upper part
OF my body and the organs in it con-
tracted convulsively. I could scarcely
breathe and felt as If was choking. NV
brain was capable Of only one perception.
There, within thirty feet OF you stands
| the prince Of ferocious beast, the terror
OF the entire brute creation. And you are
| In his grasp! @s-s&T
= 'The thought lowered before my mental
vision wlll-o'-the-wisp fashion, now I felt
it's terrible significance, now I didn't
Then became aware that the wind was
gA my leavOr. 1n.re Was, tilvl, d poSs.-
i bil1ty of escape. ~rsas s.-s. I'D
+ When the tiger-I was willing to swear
mat II was the man-eater of Nieuwen-
nuys-reached the clearing he stood still
He the Nieuwenhuyser was said to
measure at least seventeen feet from his
nose to the tip Of his tail this tiger didn't
measure much less, l was convinced of it.
he must have been three feet ten inches
nlsh. His coat tawny yellow fringed
loy white, was most beautifully marked
by dark transverse bands. His head was
o!g and round and majestic. AS I was
hldden from view by some overhanging
branches l took In the whole situation
| before my eyes wandered to my wheel, so
near dnU. yet so Tar.
IF I had wings, 1t would have been i'm
possible for me to rise and approach the
bicycle without attracting the tigers at
tentlon. He could have reached mo by
one leap.
"Reminiscences Of the racetrack chase
through my brain-x. Y. beating the VIC
TOR OF the Grand Prix on his bicycle; A
g., the amateur, making mile a minute
on ffteen-Inile stretch. Hopeful signs
-put these men were not chased BIZ an
lron-jawed tornado, by a lcaping, stretch
ing, bloodthirsty ton-weight, winged by
hunger and passion! b..
"Confound it! My last hope, the six
shooter had left behind in the shed.
An! there was no use trying to escape.
MY heart beat like sledgehammer and
J my mouth was as hot as a furnace !,
Another line of thought! Maybe the
| tiger had already gorged himself and was
| merely coming to the water for a drink.
ne made step or two, and, indeed,
| buried his head in the pool, but raised It
almost instantly, shifting in the direction
| where l sat, with the water running from
MS cheeks. No, he had, not dined i
felt 1t, and a single movement on my
part and-my body served for his meal
The luminous eyes Of the beast, shin
ing like topaz, wandered from tree to
tree, from bush to bush; he seemed to
be half-villing to re-enter the forest; he
had already turned to go when the cry
Of q bird attracted his attention. Now
his heck stretched in every direction and
his eyes danced like balls of rhospor
turned on q spindle. Only the wind that
blew me veil ste cd between his appetite
and me. Possibly he knew that 1 was
there yet was unable to locate me. At
any rate, for half 4 minute or so, he
seemed undecided what to do. heard my
heart and also my brain hammer. Was
he returning to the water? He made a
step and again hesitlted. When he
raised a foot second time terror grabbed
me with his iron fist and pushed me ir-
resistilly forward. I lesped twice, I be-
!ieve, and these two giant strides enabled
me to put my hand on my wheel.
''Wker mounting, task which occupied
a secc nd, I distinctly heard the tiger
crouch down; then there came whizz
as if a great body was propelling through
bush and low-hanging branches-alid my
wheel was moving.
Though in a fever, my movements
were correct, swift and sure. 1 felt It in
the muscles of my legs and congratulated
myself on it. I seemed to have become
instinct all over; I person1fied the instinct
Of self-preservation, that power which
carries one through dangers with far
greater measure of security than the
clearest intellect.
"After working the pedals up and down
a few dozen times attained wonderful
velocity; in short space of time that
ensued between the first and the second
leap of the tiger HAD become fighter
a fighter Tor life. 1t was all clear to me
now: If gained start of say 200 feet
might escaped A tiger is a great rum
ner, but when on chase he does not run.
He contents himself with leaping. More
time gained!
II raced along the smooth path-no deer
ever covered the ground half as quickly.
A~,l 1871 ,o~:~ .>E y,
sand, the whizzing of the giant FORM
II kept my distance between the Sec
ond and third leaps; the fourth leap re-
duced. the start 1 had to about twenty
feet; the fifth to an arms length. At the
seventh I felt the touch of the tigers
paw on my hind wheel-that is, think
did.
"A voice Of my innermost man said:
You are lost; give it up. Another cried:
NO, no; the pursuer is the disappointed
party If unable to reach his victims,
the tiger gets disguised with himself.
"And this latter surmisal proved true,
for I left the leaper behind some ten
PAGES at jump No g. At that moment l
became aware for the first time that, the
road was skirted by big trees. Instinc-
lively led my wheel into their shadow.
The protruding branches would hinder
the tiger from jumping with that unfail-
ing directness for which he is noted. by
un1S time mao attained INo tOpNloSt
speed, and my calculation with respect
to the interference of the trees proved
correct. The pursuer missed the wheel
| by SECOND or two on his next two leaps
Nov I was on the narrow, raiiingless
| bridge leading over the canal. Still
raced along with unerring surety and un-
diminished swiftness. The tiger stopped
a moment before the water, so I gained
| twenty PAGES. These gains I could not
| see, of course, but OWNED. I. was wildly
! elated at my victory, and joy spurred me
| to ever-increasing efforts. Whether / ran
swifter than before don't know, but i
| Go know that my powers, never faltered;
| that my nerves remained steady. .. ..e
"Now there was a little hill to CLIMB. I
climbed it like a conquerer and rolled
down on the other side sike a ball.
| feeling of triumph sWelled my bosom.
shouted, cried Yet kept my eyes on
| the ground. And there, d thirty pacSE
ahead, way lying the, thing that meant
death to me! The branch Of a tree cross
| ing the entire roadway.
'fWhy had not removed it on going to
| the forest? @ss. =. -.s-~~ E.4s.. -g
"There was no use calculate ting. had to
| take this obstacle, and take it I did. God
| only knows how. But my heretofore per-
| feet balance was momentarily shaken,
and I came near losing my head as this
/ new fright cvercame me. Yet a moment
later was myself again. There, 100 feet
away, were the trees OF the park! A. last
| ef'crt; then. BE man. Rosnen'
IT raced ard raced; and still I raced. I
| heard my pursuer for thirty seconds
longer. Had he now abandoned the chase
or was it merely r,lse? Perhaps he
was gathering strength for 2 last SUI
preme leap. Never mind on on on! And
went straight ahead until my front
wheel struck the porch of Villa Ouive-
landt, by which concussion was thrown
/ 49, ~ r 80