El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-08
The HeraId's Daily
ShOrtStory

much. The night shut down in tear
ing wind ana rain, and who knew
what terrible foe might discover him
He sat in the shelter of the sea
bank, such shelter as it was, he and
his gang of fellow robbers, and went
TO sleep instantly, as all wild crea-
lures have the power to do. The wind
went shrieking overhead; the rain lit
orally ran off his feathers all round.
He stood in a little puddle OF his own
DRAWINGS, so to speak, and the nlSnt
was as black Is pitch, but all TINS dlo
not awaken him. Flock after flock OF
travelling birds, on the way to their
winter homes in Africa went by
screaming and calling in weird fashion
overhead. but this did not awaken the
Yet. when there came. about mid
night, the least little sound, a mere
faint sucking sigh, only audible to the
quickest human ears-he was awake IN
an instant, and, as in the case OF ali
wild creatures, fully awake, too
1t was merely harmless golden ploVers
feeding, and it was the noise made BY
their beaks probing in the mud that
awakened him.
Then the crow put his head under
his wing again unconcernedly. he was
used to being taken in like that
In the darkest, coolest part OF night,
Just before dawn, however, the crow
was awakened a second time, and this
slumber was almost too slight for even
the quickest human ears to discover
the faintest pattering nOise-and 1t
stopped every now and then, as though
the creature that made 1t had paused
TO look around and listen
The crow heard it, though, quite
plainly, and was standing erect ana
alert in an instant Yet do not fancy
he realized 1t was 50 close TN ne De
came aware. Of at first a pair Of tiny,
burning eyes not 10 yards away, 9TH
ers further on, and finally pair with
in a yard, and-Ohl-a pair almost IN
der his breast He knew, too, what
they were. They were shore rats-the
lean, dreaded, cruel, deadly cannioal
hunters of the tide line.
The old crow sprang upwards, and
struck hard with his powerful beak-
He knew that it is wise to strike in
stantfy at rats for they are no cow
ards. And at the same moment the
eyes lodging his blow-he had aimed
fQ- - yes-lurched at him. he felt
a ~ pain on his thigh. That was
A. e.e same moment his beak came
down with thud upon fur. UnfOrtu-
nately the blow landed too Tar behind
the cruel eyes to do the damage &c
might have done. And unfortunately,
too, for him. it had the effect Of max
ing the rat soueal and Ike pigs, rats
are very much inclined to rush to as
sistance of a friend who Sslueal5- 1t
uLQ certainly alarm the 0-AAEE -4Niffss
but they simply flew off into the night,
which was no advantage 10 our crow,
Then the other rats closed in. /
don't know what kind of q bird they
thought they had to deal with-pOs-
sibly not one which was almost as
much of a william as themselves, and
had equal pluck-but they could count
upon weight Of numbers to win their
battle, whatever he was.
Then the crow fought for his life,
and knew it Never in his rowing ca
reer of many fights had he battled as
he did then.
While it lasted, his life hung on a
thread. He could only dance about as
if on hot plates, and flap and hammer
at every pair of cleaning eyes he saw
The rats were crashing all round him
for few seconds like a pack Of raven
Gus wolves. But at last he managed
to gain the necessary impetus to rise,
and was beating away into the dark
ness. leaving a trail of gray and black
feathers behind.
He spent the remainder of thec night
on a very wet sandbank, md when
morning dawned, set out o-ice more to
hunt along the tide line.