Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1905-04-13
A Midnight Peril

q half wit. He had neither home nor
friends, and no one knew where he
came from, but he was allowed to hang
around the place and assist the keepers
Tor his board. He had been there about
, month when l saw him. He was a
butt OF ridtcule, and some Of the keep
ers were treating him harshly. He had
been severely cuffed by one of them
Just before being sent to me and was
crying over it like a girl. l sympa-
thized with him and braced him up by
giving him the first coin he had had
n a year, and we two soon got on good
terms.
About six weeks after my first meet
Ing with Binks I was sent for to pre-
serve the carcass Of a buffalo, and the
lad vas ordered to assist me. It was In
winter time and the weather very cold.
The buffalo had been ailing for a week
pr two and bad died at night in g. shed
and his body fEoze as hard as iron.
Binks and I had to thaw it out before
we could start at the real work, and so
It occurred that we worked until a late
evening hour before I was ready to go.
1t was after 10 o'clock when 1 began to
wash up, and I looked around to find
the boy curled up on som blankets and
evidently asleep. AS it was a room
heated with steam pipes, 1 decided not
to disturb him.
There was a door of communication
between the dissecting room and the
animal house, but it was never closed.
I had briefly examined it IN two or
three occasions to find it locked. In
the animal house the keepers made
their rounds every three hours, begin
o'clock l had worked mostly alone,
while Binks was in and out Of the
place four Or five times. I had no rec
objection Of seeing him near the lock-
ed door, however. He was seemingly
asleep, as I said, and I was washing
my hands preparatory to taking my
departure when a low growl behind
me made my hair stand up. I turned
to find a male Bengal tiger on the far
side Of the carcass Of the buffalo and
between me and the animal house
door. The door, as I afterward found
out, was a swing door and opened with
out noise after being unlocked and shut
itself with a spring. No n but Binks
could have unlocked it.
The tiger was looking me full in the
eyes as I turned, and it seemed as If 1
turned to stone. I must have breathed,
but l was not conscious Of it The
beast had somehow escaped from its
cage in the animal house, and the scent
Of blood had drawn him to my room.
He did not have the reputation Of be-
ing particularly f%erocious, but one
hasn't got to be connected with a o
to know that the tiger is always a dan
gerous animal, particularly when he
has the scent Of blood under his nose.
The beast growled menacingly and
switched his tail as I stood there look
ing at him, and when the blood began
to run in my veins again I knew that
the chances against me were ten to one
aye, a hundred! There was a fresh
carcass under his nose to tempt him,
but a wild beast does not sink down
and begin to feed off a carcass when
there is a living man twenty feet be-
yond.
I had read, as everybody else has,
that one should look a dangerous beast
in the eye. No one ever gave more
foolish advice. The tiger not only star
ed me out of confidence, but the fact
that I was staring at him seemed to
anger him. I believe the result would
be the same in any case. His tail con-
tinued to switch, his eyes to fatten, and
his lip dropped down to show his hor-
rible fangs. 1 realized that in another
minute he would spring on me, but to
save my life I could not nov a foot.
The idea Of fighting him never occur
red to me. If it had I should have had to
abandon it the next instant, as there
was no weapon at hand. 1 had forgot
ten the presence of Binks when a low,
menacing growl from the tiger awoke
the boy.
"I-I thought it was morning." said
the half wit, as he got to his feet and
rubbed his eyes.
Then he noticed me staring fxedly at
the tiger anu IuIutu liz ldCC Ill Ludt
direction.
Hello, Nero! 1 knew you would
comet" he cried to the beast, and, leap
ing over the carcass Of the buffalo, he
put his arms around the neck Of the
king Of the jungle. The beast whined
and licked his face.
"We are great friends, you know"
explained Binks as he turned to me. Il
have been in his cage night after night
when nobody knew anything about 1t. l
unlocked that door and the door OF his
cage and told him if he would come In
after you were gone we would have a
romp. Stop your growing. That gentle
man has been very good to me. Come
over and pat him on the head, Mr..
Hastings. Nero won't hurt anybody
unless 1 tell him to-"
I was thoroughly frightened, and how
I carried things off as we'll as l did has
always been a puzzle to me. All the
money in the world could not have In
duced me to approach the beast. He
was quiet now, and his eyes no longer
hlozed ont. but what I wanted was to