The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1899-05-12

re
bring any powder; 30. cursing, he
started down the passage to get some
from the sheet-iron powder house in the
draw. Hardly was he out Of sight be-
fore Mccain, chuckling softly to him-
self, pulled from under 9 shelving bit
of rock the missing powder. With this,
he loaded the hole; he arranged the
fuse, and then dropped down the ledge
to get brand from the fire. Itswas
nearly out, so it took few moments to
start a torch. However, he was in no
hurry, as it was some little distance to-
the powder house, and Bob could not
possibly return inside of half an hour.
At last he coaxed a bit Of pine into 9
glow, and turned to climb back. A
startling sight met his eyes.
When Bob went to get the powder
he stopped at the forge for the water
pail. AS he stopped 70 pick it UP, some
thing struck him sudden blow in the
thigh that knocked him over and set
the blood flowing said afterward he
thought the bone was broken. When
he could see, he looked about to find
what had hit him, and discovered not
ten feet away the long, tawny body Of
a puma. .~'~ 4
The great cat lay watching him
through half-shut eyes, lazily switch-
ing it's tail back and forth. From the
depths of its throat came deep rumb-
ling purr. He tried to rise, but could
not. Then he turned over on his lett
side and started to crawl painfully
through the passageway of the rocks.
The beast opened it's eyes and followed
stealthily, step after step, still switch
ing it's tail, and still purring. It was in
sportive mood, and played with it's
prey as cat plays with mouse. Inch
by inch the man pulled himself along,
leaving trail of blood. At last, within
few feet of the ledge, he stopped; he
could 60 no further. The puma, too,
paused. 80
At this moment Pat Mccain, blaz-
ing pine brand in his hand, looked over
the ledge. Bob saw him and family
warned him back. The puma saw him
too. The purring ceased, and the 1.-the
muscles frightened under the skin. The
game was over. The animal was pre-
pairing to make its spring.
1t did not occur to the little Irish
mans fighting soul to retreat. His
comical features stiffened; his little
blue eyes fairly snapped. Slowly he
drew himself up on the ledge, keeping
his eye fixed on the puma, until he
stood erect, then he shifted his brand
mechanically into his left hand, and
drew his sheath-knife. He did not
know that the fire was his best weapon,
and Bob was too weak to tell him. The
brand, held point downward, began to
blaze. The puma's great eyes shifted
uneasily at this, and it's muscles re-
Taxed. It was evidently discomposed.
Pat did not await the attack, but
stepped forward, holding his knife
firmly.
When within a few feet of the animal
Pat hesitated and stopped. His nerve
was still mistaken, but he did not know
how to begin. The puma still shifted
uneasily at the blaze, but had recovered
from it's first fear, and was again gath
ering it's powers for a spring. For a
moment there was absolute silence, and
Patheard through the still air the sharp
chatter of a squirrel and the clank of
the ore-team's whifletrees from the
ore road far below. While he stood thus
uncertain, the fire from the pine, hav-
ing run up along the torch, began to
burn Pats fingers. Without moving his
head or shifting his eyes, he dropped it
gently-plumb upon the fuse he had
so carefully arranged few moments
before. Then he took step backward
to avoid the smoke. There was splut-
ter and a flash, then sudden roar. The
man and the beast were hurled Violent
ly in opposite directions, and vol
cano of rock shot high in the air and
showered down again.
The ax-gang found the puma very
dead and Pat very hard to revive. The
whisky-and-water method brought him
around at last. He looked hazily about
him in evident bewilderment until his
eye caught sight of the dead animal,
but then his face lighted up with eager
joy.
'Glory to God, Ohm a miner!' he
shouted. solve shot at last!"-San
Francisco Argonaut.