The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1906-04-04
hoped, for the water was bitterly cold

nOpeu, Ior tne water was Ditterly cOIu
and he was rapidly growing numb.
After time there was silence. Lis
tening breathlessly, he could not hear
the slightest sound. He waited for
fully fifteen minutes ore, however,
to make sure. and then ventured to
thrust out his head and shoulders. 1t
was too dark TO see anything. but
after listening again, he proceeded to
crawl through the opening.
He was half-out when something
came rushing through the water. The
cunning animal had waited silently
for his temperance, and blow, for
tunately half-deadened by the water,
reached his arm. He snuirmed back
into his shelter again quickly enough
to escape further injury. A hoOf-stroke
that made the whole lodge tremble
came crashing upon the roof. 4 rain
Of blows followed that seemed as II
they must knock the whole structure
to pieces, but the tough walls held
nobly. Finally, at particularly heavy
blo,.', sharp hoof burst L.. followed
by the whole fore leg.
Ellis lodged, knocking his h ,ad vi0-
lently against the sharp sticks in the
wall. Directly over him the bull
roared frightfully. Ellis could hear
the long leg scraping about close TO
him; then he realized that the bull
was no longer trying to reach him. II
was merely trying to withdraw its leg,
and was not succeeding. The leg was
firmly wedged into the hole, almost 10
the shoulder.
At this reassuring discovery Ellis re.
covered from his panic. He might,
in fact, have easily killed the animal
by piercing the imprisoned leg with his
knife, but he respected the truce OF the
park. The bull was now plunging
about in the widest terror, and seemed
likely 10 break its leg if he failed 10
extricate 1t; but Ellis was not dis.
posed to assist him to escape.
As soon as he was quite convinced
that the animal was hard and fast,
he stopped again, carefully avoiding
the kicking leg. and once more wrig.
gled out of the hole, leaving several
strips of clothing on the projecting
sticks about the entrance. The air
seemed indescribably fresh as he
emerged, and after the pitchy dark.
ness of the beavers den it seemed al.
most light upon the pond. He could
make out the vast black bulk OF the
bull standing over the lodge, and il
beloved terrlfyingly and enveloped it.
self in spray at the photographers ap.
pearance. But Ellis did not stop to
make observations. He was afraid the
bull might break loose, and he did not
even look for his escape or camera.
He waded ashore, and started. drip
ping, toward camp, which was three or
four miles distant.
The next morning. however. he re.
turned with his guide and a smaller
snapshot camera which he had al
camp. The moose was still there,
standing with its fore leg buried in
the beaver-house. But its spirit was
Bohc' II ctOou Nllh III lOODihR 'utdu,
exhausted and utterly cowed. AS the
men approached, it eyed them apathet.
ically, while Ellis took several photo
graphs of it; and it was so clearly
harmless that guide waded in and
chopped 1t free with an ak. During
this operation it only shifted wearily,
and when released it splashed slowly
toward shore and disappeared among
the alders with a detected air. Its
leg was caked with dark blood, where
it had worn off about a foot Of the
hide in its struggles to escape.
OF the other moose engaged in the
nights duel there was no trace be-
yOnd a maze of tracks and wisps of
bloody hair on the torn-up earth. Un-
doubtedly it had gladly taken advant-
age Of the diversion caused by Ellis TO
beat a retreat. The canoe, with a
great hole in the bottom, had drifted
down against the dam, and the camera
with it-not very much injured. e.
lis chief regret was for the plate
which it had contained bearing the
photograph of that duel in the dark
Youths Companion.