The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-04-04

to look for her mate. She was a cou-
gar suspecting a-trap.
Mrs. Ames stared one second at the
creature, then, desperately unfolding
her baby as if to hide it, she stepped
forward, uttering terrified and terrify-
ing screams, and seized in her free
hand the kettle of boiling water that
had just begun to hiss over the fresh
kindling Whether the screams or the
threat of the kettle, or the forward mo-
ton Of Mrs. Ames scared the female
cougar to flight, no one can be sure, but
the creature turned tail and dashed
out of the kitchen door.
Then the little woman shut that door
and bolted it and Rugged her baby and
kissed it and began to laugh hysterl-
cally. Frightened as she was, she had
a certain sense that it was all very
funny, and that cougars were as easy
to deal with as cats or hens. Her anx-
iety for the babys life had quite gone
she felt that she could defeat a cougar
with her broomstick, not to mention
her formidable kettle of hot water.
But Mrs. Ames was not out of her
troubles yet. She heard a great claw
ing in the front room, then silence, and
she suspected the truth. Rising on the
chair and looking through the knot
hole, she saw no cougar-he had
climbed out by way of the big fireplace
and up the enormous chimney. AS she
stepped down to the floor she heard
the muffled fall of the cougars leap
from the top of the chimney to the big
shingles of the roof.
There were two of them outside now
and she dared not open the door of the
kitchen or any outer door The sun
was nearly down. She suspected the
beasts would be courageous after dark.
What were they doing? Suddenly she
saw both of them peering down at her
and the baby through a small, incur
tanned window which was between the
roof of the shed and the caves of the
house.
Staring at her-both of them crouch
ing on the roof-not fifteen feet away
from the baby! No wonder the nerves
of poor little Mrs. Ames gave way
again and she sank down on a kitchen
chair almost in a faint.
Still she was conscious Of those hun
cry, staring eyes; and she could not
move-she could barely keep the baby
from falling out of her arms! Tha1
stared so deliberately, so Sloatingly,
that it seemed that the next moment
they would crash through the glass
and down at her. Now one of them
put it's claw forward and felt the glass,
and then began to claw 1t softly, as if
puzzled at the invisible obstacle. Sud
denly both rose; they had heard pigs
iy,c+ hot nj
Among the last freight sent up to
Tered Ames with directions to deliver
it to a settler named Keegan, up the
Nehalem river, We're those three boun-
cling little pigs. He was to deliver
them at his convenience. Now it had
been more convenient to go off with the
hunting party that day, and so Jered
had put the pigs in the covered shed,
or storehouse, in which there was moth
ing which they could harm
The pigs, perhaps seeming the cou-
CARS, had begun to squeal loudly. The
cougars found these sounds interesting.
Leaping to the ground they stared into
the storehouse through the chinks in
it's log walls. then enlarged some of
these chinks by clawing out chips and
hay and earth, then thrust in their
sharp claws and tried to sieze the pigs.
But the pigs, all the time squealing
loudly, kept out of the way.
The cougars soon began looking i'm
patiently about for an entrance. They
sprang to the roof of the shed, but
found no opening there. They peered
down from the edges at the sides.
Now board that finished the top of
Al. -
roof aed been long loosened and hung
down. Looking through the chink, the
cougars saw the appetizing pigs; they
clawed vigorously at the board; it gave
way, and in two seconds both the sim
uous beasts had squirmed through the
hole and dropped into the shed.
In vain did Mrs. Ames put her hands
to her ears-nothing could shut out the
shrieks and squeals and horrid growls.
The baby screamed so that she feared
it would go into commissions; and the
night was falling fast.
Then came blessed Interruptions
loud knock combined with a distinctly
human kick at the back door. Mrs.
Ames rose and opened it. There stood
Keegan, the settler who owned the
pigs. He had come down the river and
up the path to inquire for them, and
he had already peered into the shed
through the chinks. There the cougars
were too happily engaged to worry
themselves because of any man. Kee-
gan had dimly seen them by the little
light through the hole they had made
in the gable.
did Jered take his gun up the river
with him? asked Keegan.
''No. Well, now to thing I never
thought of the gun!" cried Mrs Ames.
ST guess I'll just borrow it a minute"
said Keegan. care there any cart
ridges? Good! Now if you've got the
spunk to hold a light for me, we'll
fetch those cougars He explained
his plan. Mrs. Ames put the baby
down on the floor in her bedroom and
came out and shut the door, and, trem-
bling with excitement and fear and
eagerness, bravely helped Keegan.
She tied a bunch of paper loosely
about a broom handle and sprinkled
kerosene over the torch. She stood on
opening the cougars had made in the
shed. They did not dare to spring at
the fire. In fact, they had not five sec
onds to decide on any proceeding, for
Keegan, putting the muzzle of the dou-
BILE barrelled gun through a chink in
the wall of the shed, shot both neatly,
from a distance of six feet. The
charges of shot passed solidly, like
great bullets, through the lank bodies.
And then Mrs AmeS s,1rDrised and