Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-23
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where we were, the trunk would bend more
Luckily there was no method in the poor
creatures madness, or our fate would have
been settled at once. He would leap up, in
deed, , but not as if aiming at us in particu-
lar. There was simply an irresistible impulse
to tear all things within his reach.
He kept dashing himself against the tree,
which was all the while getting weaker and
taking more the form of a rainbow.
My head got lower than my heels, and /
could almost have touched the mad steers
horns, as he ragged about on the ground be.
Meath.
Get back little" said Ed; make yourself
Just as short as YOU can. I'll try to make
But he could not make more room. The
truth was that the sapling was overburdened
and could not sustain us.
The situation was one of the most des-
perate imaginable. We were so close to the
rab1d animal that 1T seemed as if we could
feel his very breath; and the frail and yield
ing saplng was slowly letting us down upon
him.
At first we had not thought of shouting for
help, but now we did SO with all our
might,
Help! help! help!" we cried, with the
frenzy of terror and despair.
What was our astonishment to hear an
answer, and that from only few yards off!
1t was single, short, loud Bowl" such as
big dog will sometimes give when he is i'm.
patient or excited.
We raised our heads and looked.
ph, Ed" L cried. 1T is Caesar! He's
coming! he's coming!"
There, not ten rods from our tree was the
great, powerful mastif, bounding straight to.
ward the mad steer.
Caesar, Caesar" cried Ed, "oh, our good
Caesar!"
The. noble dog rushed toward the frantic
animal as if to seize him by the throat: but
and
charged upon him, the foam flying upon ali
sides. 1t seemed as if the rabid creature
wanted to bite more than to hook.
Take care, Caesar!" cried Ed, just as if
he were talking to a human being; "don't
let him bite you-oh, don't let him bite
you!"
Although at times almost under the mad
steers feet, ne still avoided both teeth and
horns, but all the while contrived to draw his
raging enemy further and further from the
tree on which we were.
We waited till the two were eight or ten
rods off, then leaped down and ran for our.
lives.
Looking back, we saw Caesar still enpoOed
with the steer, leaping nimbly about him and
constantly attracting his attention
by the time we reached the nearest fence.
they were almost at the opposite side of the
ed to our noble dog
Seeming to know that we were now safe,
he took wide sweep away from his grim
antagonist, and in few moments our arms
were about his stout neck, while two or three
short "bow-wows' upon his own part testi-
he'd to an affection that he must express in
his own dog way.
But why had he come to look for us?
Upon reaching home, we learned the cause.
pretty girl cousin Of ours had that after
noon. arrived at our home on a visit, and to
crafty the young lady's curiosity mother
had spoken to Caesar as she might have
done to child, telling him that he might
go and meet the boys. 1t was a little late
when he started, and that was why we
On that evening, Mr.. Gray had the mad
steer shot. The animal had no doubt been
slightly bitten by the strange dog we had
seen in the nastnre