El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-07-08
The Herald's Daily
Short Story

keenest eyes could have made him out,
had it not been for one small fact Just
as all cats wave the tips of their ta1IS
when they are close to prey, so the
hairy tuft on the end of the lions tan
was bobbing from side to side outside
the bush in the moonlight behind him,
and it was this that warned the know
ing old zebra
Wheeling instantly clean round on
his hind legs nearly OVerturning the
indignant ostrich as he did so, by the
way. he gave vent to one wild warning
neigh and was off at full canter, the
monster bird of the desert racing
alongside of him. well aware of what
mis- warning spoke At the alarm the
gaZelles flung uP their heads, ana
without a seconds hesitation gave an
immense bound, which was followed
by bound upon bound. calculated to
confuse any foe. At the same instant
the lion sprang.
He had aimed for the beautiful buck
gazelle but did not find him there As
the lion sprang the gaZelle leapt, and
the two. almost passing each othef IN
midair as it were, landed again prac-
tically at the same time, Dut six yards
apart
I think the lion lost his temper. Cats
of all kinds generally get fear1Illy
angry it they miss their spring. ANY
way the lion who possessed consider
able speed for a short distance, gave
chase in savage silence. He proceeded
III a series of mighty bounds, the ga
zeles now going away in long, even
leaps Just ahead
Suddenly he saw the leading gazelle,
the old doe, give a prodlglous pound
as II Sprlng1ng over something IN her
path. Instantly each member of the
troop. on reaching the same spot, acted
in a precisely similar manner, leap1ng
high over nothing, just as you will
see a line of sheep do coming out Of
a gateway And now you will know
enc of the reasons why the habit,
which has been handed down to our
domestic sheep from their wild ances-
tors was formed.
The lion knew nothing about these
things. He knew only that he had al
most caught his prey up and he landed
bang on the spot over which the ga
ZeIeS, even in full flight, had so care
fully sprung. As he did so. it seemed
to him as if he was coming down on
the trunk of a tree, which was lying
stretched across between two trees
right in his path
Next instant he was on his back,
with all the wind knocked out of His,
and a long drawn, venomOus hiss ring
ing in his ears. The trunk OF the
tree was the blOtched and speckle1
body Of an enormous python lying full
length in the moonlight, and as still as
only a snake can be- 1t was well over
Is feet long, of tremendous strength.
and was bigger round IN the middle
than a big mans thigh.
It was a blow from this monsters
tail which had knocked the lion silly.
seeing LAGL the 4lOn 4ldiA GtiAllE ~ " II
upon the snake with all his terrible
talcns extended, swift retaliation was
hardly to be wondered at
Then, however, the lion did a foolish
thing. 1t may have been through ter
rOi. or It may have been through rage
I cannot say. Anyway, ale grappled
With the coiling serpent's body. IN
stantly the monster went for him with
a hiss, striking 4 blow with his blunt
lead, like a battcring ram. that would
have easily stunned any ordinary
beast.
What happened then is not known.
for the dust rose up in a cloEd and hid
the fighters. The noise IF the con-
flict. however, was awful and it could
be heard even by the gathered herds
out on the plains so that it set them
sallOping and stampeding right and
left.
By next day. and for many days to
come, the animals came to drink in
peace and safety. The monster python
was lying mangled and dead, all twist
ed up in knots. and there was no lion
at all-at least no recognizable lion,
only something crushed almost to a
jelly, that might perhaps by a great
stretch of Imagination have once been
king of the beasts.