The Florence daily tribune., 1899-01-27

back door crouched second couG5-.
not 50 large as me GrS;, bu, rather more
evil looking. This was the female. She
had stolen fearfully in TO look for her
mate. She was a cougar suspecting
trap.
Mrs. Ames stared one second at the
creature, then desperately enfoldins
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 jus;
begun to hiss over the fresh kiudlinr.
Whether the screams or the threat e.
the kettle or the forward motion cf
Mrs. Ames scared the female cougar 10
flight no one can be sure. but the cren-
ture turned tail and dashed out Of the
kitchen door.
Then the little woman shut the door
and bolted it and hugged her baby and
kissed it and began TO laugh hysteric
ally. Frightened as she WIS. she had
certain sense that il was al very funny.
and that cougars were as easy 10 denl
with as cats or hens. Her anxiety for
the baby's life had quite gone-she felt
that she could defeat cougar with her
broomstick, not to mention her forInid-
able 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 cou-ar-he had
climbed out by way of the big fireplace
and up the enormous chimney. As she
stepred down TO tha floor s. hCcrd the
mufled fall Of the cougar leap from
the top OF the chimney to the big shin
giles of the roof.
There were two Of them outside now
ard she dared not open the d Ar u the
kitchen or any outer door. "' yta was
| nearly down. She suspcct,G the beasts
would be courageous after Gs.i.. N,nat
were they doing? Suddenly she saw
both of them peering down at her and
the baby through a small, uncugtuined
window which was between Tic roof
of the shed and the caves of the house.
Staring AT hcr-both of them crouch
ing on the roof-not 10 feet away from
the babyi No wonder the nerves of
poor little Mrs. Ames gave way arain
and she sank down on n kitchei -lair
almost in 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 armsl They
stared so deliberately, so gloatingly.
that il seemed that the next moment
they would crash through the glass and
down at her. Now one of them put its
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 chinl<s
in its 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 pcered down
| from the edges at the sides. Now a
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 cougafs
saw the appetihing pigs; they clawcd
| vigorously at the board; it gave way,
| and in two seconds both the sinuous
beasts had squirmed through the hole
and dropped into the shed
Then came n blessed interruption-a
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 ID M the
path to inquire for them, ald he ga al
ready peered into the shed tlir.ugli the
chinks. There the couGass were too
happily engaged to worry themselves be-
cause OF the man. Keerln hcd Gimly
seen them by the little liGht they had
made through the hole in he gable.
Did Jered tn,ie his gun up the river
with him?" asked Kcegan.
NO. Well, now. to trirk never
thought of the gun," cried Mrs tmcs
81 guess I'll Just borrow il minnie" ="
said keegan. "Are there any ca~t-
tridges? Good! Now. il you'vr got the
spunk to hold light for rle w"''l fetch
those cougars He explained hi. plan.
Mrs. Amcs put the baby down on the
| floor in her lictlroum and ,.rt,,c ont and