The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1915-06-16

him against the performance Of any
overt act Had danger lurked in his
path the hairy ones would have warn
ed him of that. too. for Of such was
their service to man. who. In return,
hunted the more remorseless Of their
enemies. driving them from the land
OF the anthropoids.
questioning the hairy ones he encoun-
tered for word of DO. and always the
replies confirmed him i'm his belief that
he should come upon the man eater
before the sun crawled into its dark
cave for the night.
| And so he did.
He had passed out Of the heavier
vegetation and was ascending a gentle
rise that terminated in low volcanic
| cliffs when there came down upon the
4 breeze TO his alert nostrils the strong
scent Of 90. There was little or no
, cover now, other than the rank jungle
grass that evergreen the slope and an
occasional lofty fern, rearing its tuft.
ed pinnacle hundred feet above the
ground, but NJ was in no way desir-
Gus of cover. Cover that would pro-
tect him from the view Of 90 would
hide 90 from him
He was not afraid that the saber
toothed tiger would run away from
him-that was not Cos way. but he
did not wish to come unexpectedly
m tho nj i'm hn tbi,.l.
He had approached to within hun
dfed yards of the cliffs now. and the
scent of 90 had become as "a stencil
in the sensitive nostris of the cave
man. Just ahead he could see the
openings to several caves in the face
OF the rocky barrier. and in one of
these he knew must lie the lair of his
quarry.
Fifty yards from the cliff the grasses
ceased except for scattered tufts that
had found foothold among the broken
rocks that strewed the ground. and as
NJ emerged into this clear space he
breathed a sigh of relief, for during
the past fifty yards considerable por-
ton of the way had been through
matted jungle that rose above his
head. To have met 90 there would
have meant almost certain death
Now, as he bent his eyes toward the
nearby cave mouths he discovered
one before which was strewn such an
array of gigantic bones that he need
ed no other evidence as to the identity
of its occupant. Here indeed Haired
no lesser creature than the awesOme
90, the gigantic, saber toothed tiger of
antiquity.
Even as M looked there came low
and ominous growl from the dark
mouth of the foul cavern. and then in
the blackness beyond the entrance M
saw two flaming blotches of yellow
glaring out upon him.
\ moment later the mighty beast it.
self sauntercd majestically into the
sunlight. There it stood. lashing its
long tail from side to side. glaring
with unblinking eyes straight ut the
rash man thing who dared venture
thus near its abode of death.
The huge body, fully as large as that
of IL full grown bull, was beautifully
marked with black stripes upon a
vivid yellow ground. while the belly
and breast were of the purest white.
As M advanced the great upper lip
curled back. revealing in all their ter
ribe ferocity the eighteen inch curved !
fangs that armed either side of the up
per jaw, and from the cavernous throat |
came fearsOme scream of rage that |
brought frightened silence upon the |
jungle for miles round.
The hunter loosened the stone knife |
at his waist and transferred it to his |
mouth, where he held it firmly, ready |
for instant use. between his strong. |
white teeth In his left hand he car |
ried his stone tipped spear and In his |
right the heavy stone Ratchet that was |
so effective both at distance and at
close range.
90 was creeping upon him now. The
grinning jaws dripped saliva. The
yellow green eyes cleaned bloodthirst- |
lily. Could it be possible that this |
fragile pygmy dreamed Of meeting in |
hand to hand combat the terror of
world. the scourge Of the jungle, the
hunter of men and of mammoths?
For Nat-ul." murmured M. for 90 |
was about to spring.
AS the mighty hurting mass Of bone
and muscle. claws and fangs shot |
through the air the man swung his
tiny stone Ratchet with all the power
behind his giant muscles. timing its
release so nicely that it caught 90 in
midleap squarcly between the eyes
with the terrific force Of powder
sped projectlle.
Then M. catlike as 90 himself, leap
ed agilely to one side as the huge
bulk Of the beast dashed sprawling. to
the ground at the spot where the man
had stood.
Scarce had the beast struck the
earth than the cave man. knowing that
his puny weapon could at best but mo-
mentarily stun the monster. drove his
heavy spear deep into the glossy side