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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1885)
THE WEST SHORE 141 Slowly and wearily the time drags on. At first visions of a life and death struggle with a wounded puma keep the young herder in a painful state of anxiety. Every time a sheep sneezes he holds his breath in suspense, thinking the animal is coming. But hour after hour goes by, and still the sheep remain quiet, still the dog sleeps on. Finally Jack finds himself getting drowsier and drowsier. Once, twice, his head drops, and he brings himself up with a jerk, the second time nearly lotting go his revolver. Just as he is going off for the third time he is roused by the ominous, unmistaknble rimh of terri fied Bheep, and the dog starts up with a smothered growl. Now oomes a fresh anxiety. Will the lion profor a live sheep, even with the trouble of catching it, to a problem atical dead one? Jack gets horribly anxious, and curse his own thoughtlessness in an emphatic and earnest man ner. But he cannot bear to give up this chance until the last moment He listens intently; the stamping of the 'sored sheep gets fainter, and the tinkling of the bells sounds terribly far away. Jack is just about to throw open the door and rush after them, when his attention is drawn to the behavior of his dog. Her smothered growl has changed to a long drawn whine that expresses holpless terror, if any sound from a dog ever did so. He hesitates, with his hand on the lock of the door. Possibly the puma ha scontod the dead sheep and is close around, after all " HistI What is that? Something brushing past the door? Yes, there it is again! No mistake altout it, it must be the lion." Trembling with excitoment, he slowly and cautiously turns the handle. Lap, lap it is lickin up the blood. Now for it! Throwing the door wide open with one hand, he fires in the direction of the enemy with the other. There is a hiss like that of a gigantic cat, and dead silence. With a quick impulse of self-preservation, Jack shuts himself into the hut again, though with small chance of warding off the danger in that way, for the creature oonM batter the slight framework of wotxl in with a blow of it paw. When will it come? Could he have killed it at the first shot? He must have hit it, the distance was so short For a minute or two Jack remains quiet, listening; but soon the suspense becomes intolerable. He looses and unmuzzles the dog, which, to his surprise, trots quite comfortably up to the door, wishing to be let out again. Jack throws it open, standing ready for the onslaught of the wounded animal. But none comes. Skip walks out, snuffing about uneasily, it is true, but otherwise showing no particular agitation. Jack begins now to have a dim suspicion thnt he has made a fool of himself; that the mountain lion has a charmed life, and that " Lis last chance" has failed. There is nothing to be done but to comfort himself with the idea, however, that the animal has been thor oughly scared and perhaps wounded; anyhow will not pester him again. At any rate, it will cause uo more annoyance to-night; so, after hunting up the sheep, who have composed themselves to rust some thre hundred yartUt off, our herder at last turns in. His calculations do not, however, turn out oorrect With a pertinaoity truly diatolical this puma still prowls about on every dark night, and drives poor Jaok into a state between callousness and dospair. But all things oome to an end in time, and after three weeks of this work he has his rovonge. All day, before the night in question, the air has leon fearfully oppressive, and by sundown heavy thunder clouds begin to gather, and by the timo Bupor is over and the sheep are bedded down it is pretty evident that thore la going to be a terrible storm. Everything is perfectly still; the darkness can 1m almost folt Suddenly the sky is lit up by a brilliant flash of lightning that lasts for nearly half a minute. Casting his eye in the direction of the sheep, Jack sees something that makes him dive into the house and buckle on his pistol, in spite of the great drops of rain that are beginning to fall. Only fifty yards from the sheep is the veritable mountain lion, aeon now for the first time. If only a flash as bright as the last will oome before the rain pours down! The sheep have also seen their enemy and oome crowding up toward camp, baaing as if for promo tion, oollocting, in their terror, about the man and dog, and even taking refuge in the dug-out Another minute goes by; with his pistol hold in lioth hands, to insure a oertain aim, the young herder waits for the second flash of lightning. It oomes. Twenty yards away now, stand ing erect and looking Jack afterward declared " as big as a hipopotamus," is the puma. "Crack" goea the revolver, and simultaneously witn the report down oomes the rain in torrents, and all fur ther sound is drowned by the terrific pal of thunder fol lowing the lightning. Jack loaa back Into the hut, and kicking out the intruding sheep, locks himself in, waiting until the storm sulmi.les, and feeling instinotivoly that this time he has not missed his mark. The rain, however, comes down in steady pour that promises to continue all night, so Jack rolls himself in his blankets and leaves all further research till morning. At daylight ho turns out, expecting to find that the sheep had taken their dopartme to happier lands, aa they nsu ally do when they are left to their own devices and it is particularly neoessary for them to remain at home. This time, however, his feara are not realizad-they having merely adjourned to the lee side of the hill. Next he investigates tho place where he fondly hopes he hail slain his troublesome enemy the night Iwfore. There is no puma, that is quite oertain; but on approach ing the apt there are uumistakahle signs of an. animal having struggled in great agony. The grass i torn op by the root in many place, and in three little hollows there are three little pool of blood. Evidently the puma has boon hard hit; but how it contrived to take itself off and creep away to it don probably at least mile away are problems not destined to Ih solve! For weeks afterward Jack hunts in every poasiblo and iuiNwibU direction for the Ixidy, but never discovers it However, the game is played out. From tha tlwu forth h is not again annoyed by uiouuUiu lions.