The Florence daily tribune., 1899-01-27

Peak and a strong wind was driving it
so far toward the settlement on the Up
per Nehalem that some of the people
watched il with fear. But to Jered
Ames ii was bringing a small harvest of
silver, for he was a guide us well as a
freighter on the river, and fire on the
Oregon heights meant game on the low
er, accessible levels. Jered had taken
two parties OF hunters up the river al
ready. To-day be was away with the
third, and on his return he must de
liver three pigs sent to him for u settler
named Hcegan.
Usually Jered's Young wife did not
fret at being left alone with the year
old baby, but now the heat and smoke
oppressed her Imagination, and made
her think of the end of the world, and
set her wishing for some neighbor to
talk with. The baby. too, was i'll at ease
in the sultry, smoke-scented air. and
cried fretfully as she tried to rock it to
sleep after her early supper.
From her seat. which was under a
pine behind the cabin. the little woman
could see long stretch up the path on
which he must return from his boat,
but she could not see his boathouse nor
the river. 1t was possible that he might
come home that evening, and her heart
was sore with longing to see his tall
form striding toward her 1t was pos
sible, too, that somebody, some messen-
ger or hunter, might come up the path
TO engage him us guide or freighter, and
she watched the pUth lest some stran-
ger should take her by surprise.
While she rocked the little one and
sangtoit, lettinCi lie ieunhugged onher
lap that il micht be the cooler, its cry
ing ceased. and it seemed about to sleep
with its face turned from her. But sud
denly il sh' icliel as if from some in
1tinctive alarm, and turned to her.
clutching with its feeble little hands
and burying It's face in her lap, The
mother, wondering what had affrighted
the child, stared down the path, and
there saw moving thing which in
stantly disappeared.
"A dog" she thought. Somebody's
dog-its owner is coming for Jered.
Whoever il is will have to stay all night,
for it's too late now to go back 10 the
settlement. l must hurry in-the man
viii want supper"
II struck hcr. after little while, that
she ought to have heard the footstep or
voice or knock of the stranger, and she
turned from her tiny looking glass to-
ward the door of the bedroom, beyond
which was the open door of the kitchen.
There stood full-grown cougar, or
mountain lion!
She recognized the beast at the first
glance, although she had never seen one
before. and in thar one dazed glance she
wondered IL al wild beasts were so
gaunt ard rusty looking
In the next instant the wild shrek
of her baby reused her to action and
She threw her shoulder against the
door just as he rusty, tawny, long
body crouched The latch snapped
down; then the door shook as if from one
blow of n hcCvy. wadded mallct, and
the thin partition of upright boards
ratified and orcaked. The little woman
stood in mortal terror and the baby,
which had irs,iuctively ceased to cry,
pressed Its fcrd to her losom and
clutched with trembling hands.
For an instant the partition. seemed
likely to be pushed down; then the
mother heard the fierce sweep of wild
claws across the boards and then
there was a great crash in the
Kitchen. Nothing but fall of
crockery could account for such
noises. and Mrs. Ames knew that her
plates and cups and saucers. her pre-
serve dishes. her admired glass pitcher,
md probably her treasured sirun Jug
with the German silver top. had all tum-
bled at once from the shelves fastened
to the partition. In an instant she was
as angry ns Il Jered had upset her cher
ished things; her courage came back in
full force and she pulled open the door
recklessly to scold at the cougar
He had been frightened badly al
ready; he had leaped like a frightened
aat out OF the kitchen at bound, but
he had not lcaped ont Of the house.
lie had gone the other way. His head
had been toward an open interior door
when the precious crockcry fell, and his
leap had sent him into the front room, =
where he stood surprised. alarmed.
awaiting something dreadful.
NS dHSrI Mrs. Ames, her baby fright
encd into silence by the noise. opened
the bedroom 9oor, she saw in the lliich-
en- looking glass the reflection of the
cougar in the front room eyeiug her,
and she screamed al it with such shrilI-
ness that the scared beast shraulk into
the dark space between the chest OF
drawers" and the north correr The
small woman understood instantly that
the cougar was frightened. and in the
same instant- slipping forward boldly.
she shut the door of the front room
with Il slam.
The other door and the windows of
that room were all closed. and now Mrs
Aines felt that she was mistress of the
sitCation. The cougar seemed tn feel
SO. too; while she listened and peeped n
The keyholc the wild creature shufflcd