The Winslow mail., 1898-12-17

Mrs. Ames scared the female cougar .
flight no one can be sure, bat the crea-
ture turned tail and dashed out Of the
kitchen door.
Then the little woman shut The door
and bclted it and hugged her baby and
kissed it and began to laugh hysteric-
ally. 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 CT hens. Her anxiety for
the baby's life had quite gone-she felt
that she could defeat a cougar with her
broomstick, not to mention her formid-
able kettle of hot water.
But Mrs. Ames was not out of her
troubles yet. She heard 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
raufled fall of the cougars leap from
the top OF the chimney to the big shin
giles of the roof.
There were two of them outside now
and she dared not open the door Of the
kitchen CT 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 small, uncurtained
window which was between the. roof
If the shed and the caves of the house.
Staring at her-bOth of them crouch
I ing On the roof-not Is feet away from
/ the baby! No wonder the nerves CT
poor little Mrs. Anes gave way again
and she sank down on kitchen -hair
almost in faint,
Still she was conscious of those hun
move-she could barely keep the baby
from falling out of her arms! They
stared so deliberately, SO gloatingly,
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 Of the glass, and
then began TO claw it softly, as if puz-
zled at the invisible obstacle. Sudden
ly both rose; they had heard pigs and
on the instant both vanished.
| Among the last freight sent up to
Jered Ames with directions to deliver it
to a settler named Keegan, up the Ne
! holen river, were those three bouncing
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 store
house in which there was nothing which
they could harm.
The pigs, perhaps scenting the coug-
ars, had begun to squeal loudly. The
cougars found these sounds interest
ing. 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 seize 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 q
board that finished the top of the slant
just under one edge of the roof had
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 sinuous
j beasts had squiTmed through the hole
and dropped into the shed.
Then came a blessed Interruption
loud knock combined with 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 ko had a.
ready peered into the shed through the
chinks. There the cougars were too
happily engaged toworry themselves be-
cause Of the man. Keegan had dirlly
seen them by the little light they had
made through the hole in the gable.
"Dd Jered take his gun up the river
with him?" asked Keegan.
mo. Well, now, to think I never
thought Of the gum" cried Mrs. Ames.
81 guess I'll just borrow it a minute" :"
said Keegan. "Are there any cart
tridges? Good. Now, if you've got the
spunk to hold light for me, we'Il fetch
those cougars" He explained his plan
Mrs. Ames put the baby down on the
foor in her bedroom and came ont and
shut the door, and, trembling with OK
citement and fear and eagerness, brave
ly helped Keegan.
She tied bunch Of paper loosely
about a broom handle and sPrinliled
kerosene over the torch. She stood on
a barrel and held this light up to the
opening the cougars had made in the
shed. They did not dare to spring at the
fire. In fact, they had not five seconds
to decide on any proceeding, for Kee-
gan, putting the muzzle CT the double
barreled gun through chink in the
wall of the shed, shot both neatly from
q distance of six feet. The charges Of
shot passed solidly, like great bullets,
through the lank bodies.
And then Mrs. Ames surprised and
alarmed the settler as never cougars
could. She went into Mysteries and was
still wildly laughing and crying at once,
when her husband came up the path
and held her In his strong arms, and
soothed the brave little mother to quic t
while the tired baby went contentedly
to sleep.-Youth's Companion.
ORCHARD WISDOM.