Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1915-05-08

DO you know" Joan said. that you
called me 'dear?'"
Yes. couldn't help it," l replied
Forgive me if offended you"
Call me dear-again," she whis-
pered, IF you could only know in full
what Joy your coming has been to
me. For two long years. the only
human being have seen-well. cant
you guess what happiness you mean
to me?"
Yes, dear know II only l could
get my hands free, might succeed in
Enchanting my feet Could you try,
dearP"
l squirmed up close to the bars
where she could reach my hands.
which were tied in front of me. She
tussled at the rope, but the hard knots
and the interposing bars of her cage
rendered her task too difficult for &C
complishment
Presently. from sheer fatigue. she
slept
Good night, dear!" whispered.
She was not really asleep. She
rose on one arm and whispered: Good
night-dear john"
And so we slept.
Morning came, and with it came our
two mad captors. Again they fed Joan
and again Joan fed me. And then
shall l ever forget the way my heart
sank when the mad old scientist said
to me:
And now, as l promised you, you
shall occupy the cage next to my other
specimen-if you live!"
The slave forthwith united me. hand
and foot, Their intention regarding
my fate had already become manifest,
For the old man had ordered the slave
to desist from feeding the mountain
lion in the cage adjoining that OF
Joan's, saying:
NO, don't feed the lion this morn
ing, Chacha. Well give him chance
for food more rare"
So | was to be thrust into the cage
4
meant, evidently, that if / survived the
forthcoming inevitable fight with that
lion my life would be spared-spared
to endure it henceforth as a prisoner
in that same cage. Had it not been for
Joan I'm sure l would have entered
the cage determined to let the lion
destroy me as quickly as possible, put
ting up no fight at all myself, in order
to have the whole business through
with, rather than continue to live there
prisoner
They removed two bars from the
lions cage-thrust me in-then quick
ly replaced the bars The mortal com
bat between a mountain lion and John
Gaunt, mining engineer, was on.
Joan watched from her cage through
the separating bars in mortal terror.
Never shall / forget the anguish l
saw in her eyes when she viewed me
in what she had reason to believe
would be my last moment on earth
the last moment, too. of the personifi-
cation OF her only earthly hope OF pos
sible release from her prison.
The lion crouched in the corner of
the cage, watching me. l kept per
fectly still. l had read somewhere
that the quieter one keeps when in
such tight fix with wild animal the
better. So gave no more sign of life
than If were a statue.
The lion watched. So did I. The
lion for many minutes never once took
his eyes from mine. And l kept my
own eyes fixed on that animal as a
hypnotist views his subject
Outside the cage stood the two mad
men, also watching The mailman
cackled. He seized bar of wood and
prodded the lion.
That settled the matter. The fight
began. The lion sprang upon me.
Down my back one of his paws tore a
cash that certainly must have looked
fatal to the watching Joan. For blood
flowed from the long wound and be-
spattered the floor. Thank God in
the first onrush of the beast | had
had the presence of mind to seize him
by the throat. | hung on like a bull
dog-giving to my hands the super
natural strength of a desperate man.
But the lion, In one mighty wrench,
freed itself from my grasp and
crouched for a second spring