Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1904-12-22

wise and rolled bottom up. My roos-
ter was badly flung. about, and began
growing and Tapping as the basket
settled. When l opened it he flew
out, running for his life, as if finally
resolved to quit us. Fortunately, we
were all walking, and nobody was
hurt. My father and D'ri were busy
half day "righting up" as they
called 1t. mending the tongue and
cover, and getting the cart on it's
wheels and down the steep pitch.
After two days of trail travel we
came out on the Chateaugay road,
stopping awhile to bait our sheep and
cattle on the tame grass and tender
briars. 1t was great joy to see the
clear road, with here and there set
tiers cabin, it's yard aglow with the
marigold, the hollyhock and the fra
grant honeysuckle. We got to the tav-
ern at Chateaugay about dusk and put
up for the night, as becomes a Chris
tian.
Next afternoon we came to rough
roads again, camping at sundown along
the shore of a noisy brook. The dog
began to bark fiercely while supper
was making, and scurried off into a
thicket.
D'ri was STOPPING over, cooking the
meat. He rose and listened.
"Thet air dogs a leetle scairt," said
he. Guess We better go n see whut
s the matter"
He took his rife and l my sword
l never thought of another weapon
making off through the brush. The
dog came whining to D'ri and rushing
on, eager for us to follow. We hur-
ried after him, and in a moment D'ri
and the dog, who were ahead of me,
halted suddenly.
ITS painter" said Dri, as I came
up. "See i'm in thet air tree-top. I'll
larrup i'm with OF Beeswax, then jes'
like es not he'll mex some music. Bet
ter grab holt o. the dog. IT won't dew
fer i'm to git tew rambunctious, er the
fust thing he knows he won't hev no
insides in i'm"
| could see the big cat clinging
high in the top boughs of birch and
looking calmly down at us. The tree
top swayed, quivering, as it held the
great dun beast. My heart was like
to smother me when D'ri raised his
rifle and took aim. The dog broke
away at the crack of it. The painter
reeled and Spat; then he came crash
ing through the branches, striking
right and left with his fore paws to
save himself. He hit the ground heav-
Lo Tho
painter lay as if dead. Before | could
get near, Rover began shaking him
by the neck. He came to suddenly, and
struck the dog with a front claw, drag
ging him down. A loud yelp followed
the blow. Quick as flash D'ri caught
the painter by the tail and one hind
leg. With quick surge of his great,
slouching shoulders, he flung him at
s-length The 1.-the body doubled
on tree trunk, quiyered, and sank
down. as the dog came free. In a
jiffy | had run my sword through the
cats belly and made an end of him.
knew f he got them hind hooks
on thet air dog he'd rake his ribs right
off" said D'ri, as he lifted his hat to
scratch his head. would mt "a left
nothin' but the backbone-nut
thing-an' thet would mt "a been a
real fust-class one, nuther."
When D'ri was very positive, his
words were well braced with negatives.
We took the painter by the hind legs
and dragged him through the bushes
to our camp. The dog had great rip
across his shoulder, where the claws
had struck and made burrows; but he
felt mighty pride in our capture, and
never had better appetite for a meal.
ITO Be Continued