New-York tribune., 1910-08-21


ly twisting cord about the neck
OF the sack, he wiped his bleeding
hands upon his sleeve with grin,
slung the sack over his left shoul-
der and hurried away. Having captured the prize, he
was quite willing avoid if possible, any immediate
reckoning with the old panthers
TILL he reached the grass patch by the stream he took
no pains to 60 silently; but made all possible haste
crashing through the branches and sending shower of
small stones Gathering down the ravne The angry and
rdOntable kittens IN the bag his back kept grOwl
ing and splitting and trying to dig their sharp claws into
him; but his buclsln shirt tough, and he paid
attention to their protests.
At the edge OF the torrent however, he adopted
tactics Leaping to the rock 1nidchanne he crossed,
and then with great difficulty clanbered along close by
the waters edge we'll within the splash and the spray.
When he had made a couple OF hundred yards in this
way, he came a small tributary brook up which he
waded for some eighty hundred feet. Then. leav-
ing the brook he crept steathily up the bank through
the underbrt1sh and so back to the valley he had just
left at point some little distance farther down stream,
Thence he ran straight down the valley at long,
easy tO keeping always as far possible, under cover,
and syyerving from time time this way that IN order
to avoid treading on dry underbrIsh.
His progress, however quite audible; for at this
point the venture he sacrificing secrecy to speed
He had fifteen or sixteen miles to 60, his cabin being on
the farther slope Of the great spur called Broken Ridge,
and he knew that he could not feel absolutely to
the of the enterprise until he should have the
little captive5 secure within his cabin.
As he threaded his way through the heavy timber OF
the valley bottom, a good slX miles from the
den in Red Rock, he began to feel more at ease. Here
among the great trunks there less undergroWth to
obscure his view less danger OF the panhers being able
to steal upon him and take him unawares He slack
ened his pace somewhat drawing deep breaths into his
Ieathery lungs. But he relaxed precauton running
noseesly the soft carpet of the forest, and
fitting from treetrunk treetrunk If enemy
his very heels. At last quitting the valley he started
on long diagonal up the near slope of Burnt Ridge
Spur
The face of the country suddenly changed
Years before forest FIRE had raversed this slope of the
ridge, cutting a clean swath straight along it.
The nans ascending trail thus led him across space
of open, a space Of underground hardly knee deep,
dotted with tall rampcks fire stripped treetrunks,
beached by the rains, and IneXpessbly deSOate HaV
ing here cover the his best, and finally, haV
ing crossed the open he dropped down in dense thicket
to rest, breathing hard from that last squirt.
IN the secure conceaent of the thcet he laid aside
the complaining burden from his back stood his rifle
in bush let his belt a couple of holes and stopped
to stretch himself on the for quick rest As he
did So he a prudent eye along his back trail. In
stany he stitened snatched up his gun again, sank
knee, and insinuated the muZze carefully between
the screening branches huge panther had just shown
himself rising view for instant and at sink
ing back INTO the LEAKAGE
At this disappearance the man grew uneasy. Was the
beast still trailing him. belly earth, through the low
Or had it swerved aside to try and get
ahead of him, TO ambuscade him by and by from some
roc. or low-hunp branch, OR the other hand, had
given up the pursuit rather than lace the pers OF the