DAVE'S TIGER STORY
The next night, while Dave, who had promised to tell them a tiger yarn,
was pulling his "thinking cap" on tight, and trying to select his most
fetching story, the boys gathered closer about him, and with hearts
beating a little faster at the very mention of the word "tiger,"
prepared to listen.
At last Dave looked up, and in order to make his story a trifle more
thrilling, gave a little talk on the bloodthirstiness of his majesty,
the tiger. When he concluded by the tense look on his hearers' faces
that the right moment had arrived, he plunged into
THE STORY OF THE TIGER
"One calm evening in the summertime, somewhat later than usual, a
gentleman stepped from the train at a railroad station in a suburban
town and walked up the street toward his home. Deep in thoughts of
business, he did not notice at first that a most unusual silence
pervaded the town. In a short time the deadly stillness roused him, and
he noticed, wonderingly, that he was the only person to be seen on the
streets. Not a man, woman, or child could he see, a most unusual thing,
as at that time, in the early evening, the town was always a very lively
place indeed. He noticed, too, with amazement, that the doors and
windows of the houses were all closed. Not a face appeared at any of
them. All the windows that had blinds or shutters attached had them
drawn tightly, and fastened securely. Not a sign of life anywhere. What
had happened? Had everybody gone crazy?
"Amazed and frightened, he hurried on, up one street and down another,
until his own house came into view. That, too, was closed and shuttered.
The welcoming face that had never failed to greet him was not at door or
window. Now, thoroughly alarmed, he ran up the steps of the porch and
wildly rang the bell. The door was opened cautiously, just a little
crack, and to his great relief the face of his wife appeared at the tiny
opening.
"At the sight of him the door opened wider. He was clutched by the
sleeve and hurried into the house with scant ceremony. Before he could
get his breath after this amazing treatment the door was closed and
locked and double-locked on the instant, and the white face of his wife
confronted the dazed man.
"His dinner was ready, but without waiting for him to be seated at the
table his wife commenced to tell him the cause of the unusual state of
affairs. 'Did he remember that the wild animal show was to have arrived
in the town that day?' 'No,' he had not remembered, 'but go on.'
"Well, it did come, and while the show was in progress one of the
animals, a tiger, had escaped from the tent and raced up Main Street,
while everyone on the street hurried to the nearest refuge. At the
end of Main Street he dashed into the woods, and though the crowd of
pursuing men and boys did their best to recapture him, he was still at
large. The manager of the show told the people, while they ran madly in
pursuit, that the tiger was a new one, scarcely at all trained, and by
far the fiercest and most savage of all the animals in the show. He
warned everyone to stay closely within doors that night, and assured
them that as soon as daylight appeared every possible effort would be
made to capture and cage him. That is why everybody is barricaded within
doors.
"Of course, being a man, he laughed at his wife's fears, said there
was no danger, and that it was extremely foolish for everyone to be
so scared, and that, as for him, he would not lose a wink of sleep
worrying about it. His wife noticed, however, that although he talked so
bravely, he kept closely within doors all the evening, and that when
they were ready to go upstairs for the night he looked with unusual care
at the fastenings of all the doors and windows, both upstairs and down.
Once, as he fastened the bolt of a window, he had stopped and grown a
little white at a slight scratching noise just outside the window."
Here a decided shiver ran around the camp, furtive looks were cast over
hiked shoulders, and Sam, who for some minutes had been watching a
moving shadow just outside the line of camp firelight, decided that the
shadow was decidedly tigerlike, and wanted to know if they did not think
the fire needed some more logs. "All right, old man," said Bob, and the
logs went on. They blazed up brightly, and gave every man Jack, even the
bravest of them, a more comfortable feeling of security, and Dave went
on with the story:
"In the middle of that night the man found himself suddenly awake, with
an intense feeling that someone or something was in the room. Raising
himself upon one elbow, he gazed searchingly about the dim room, and was
just about to give himself a lecture for imagining things, when, in
the farthest and darkest corner, he saw what appeared to be two great
balls of green fire glaring straight at him. At once the thought of the
escaped tiger leaped into his mind, and he knew that the fierce and
savage beast was within his room. For a moment his heart fairly stopped
beating, but, gaining control of himself with an effort, he tried to
think what he should do. He reached over and laid his hand softly over
his wife's lips and whispered in her ear. Then together they watched the
two glowing points of fire, wondering with sick hearts how soon the
tiger would be upon them.
"They had not long to wait, for now the tiger began crawling toward
them, inch by inch, inch by inch----"
At this point in the story the boys, utterly forgetful of the world
and everything in it, had crowded close about the story teller, and
with flesh creeping and hair rising on their heads were listening,
open-mouthed, to the story. Dave had paused to take breath, when every
heart stood still as a fierce scratching on the bark of a nearby tree
and a deep, savage growling were heard.
All sprang to their feet. Dick Trent was the only one who remained cool.
Having seen Bert Wilson (who never lost an opportunity for a little fun
and mischief) steal quietly away under cover of the darkness, he more
than suspected that something was going to happen, and so was prepared.
Suddenly a burst of ringing laughter made itself heard, and there
on the grass lay Bert, rolling over and over, holding his sides and
saying between gasps, "Oh, my! Oh, my! you did look so funny! Hold me,
somebody, or I _will_ go to pieces. Oh, my! Oh, my!"
At first the boys were inclined to be angry, but they were good fellows
and always ready to laugh at a joke, even when it was on themselves, and
so with many a laughing threat to "get even with Bert, and that mighty
soon," they came, a little sheepishly, back to the fire and with one
accord begged Dave to go on with the story.
"Well," resumed Dave, "we left the tiger creeping inch by inch, inch by
inch, toward his two victims, and feeling very sure of his capture; but
the man was not the one to give up his life or that of his wife without
a brave effort to save them. He whispered hastily to his wife, 'Be
prepared'"--here a voice interrupted to exclaim, "They ought to have
been campers"--"'to jump out and roll way back under the bed the instant
I say Now!'
"By this time the tiger had come to within a few feet of them, and they
could see him in the dim light, every muscle quivering, crouched for a
spring. The man had slipped his feet over the side of the bed to the
floor, and his hands clutched the bedclothes from underneath.
"As the beast sprang the man shouted, 'Now!' and at the same time flung
the bedclothes over the head and body of the tiger. The two terrified
people used the few minutes the angry, snarling beast took to get out
from the tangle of bedclothes to roll as far under the bed as they
could. The bed was a very low one, and the man knew that the tiger, who
was very large, could not creep under without raising the bed with his
shoulders. So the two resolved that when he tried to get under, as they
knew he would, they would grip the steel springs above them and hold on
like grim death, and try to hold the bed down.
"All too soon they found themselves holding on to those springs with all
the combined strength of their muscles. The tiger tried again and again
to lift the bed, but could not get enough of his shoulders under to get
a purchase, and finding himself baffled, crept away to his far corner to
consider what to do.
"The man knew that they could not keep the tiger at bay in this way very
long, for their strength was nearly gone. Groping about desperately, his
hand touched his son's tool box, pushed carelessly under the bed. How
thankful he was that their boy was visiting relatives at a distance. He,
at least, was safe. He grasped the box as a drowning man grasps a straw,
and lifting a lid searched for and found a screw driver, and, oh, joy!
a few large screws.
"Working desperately, and more rapidly than ever in his life before,
he drove a couple of the screws through the two top legs of the bed,
securing them to the floor. Another two minutes and he had one of the
bottom legs in the same condition. Before he could touch the fourth leg
the tiger, angered by the noise of the screw driving, bounded forward
and again tried to lift the bed. Finding he could not get at them, the
tiger suddenly sprang upon the bed and began tearing at the mattress.
Very soon there was nothing between him and the now almost despairing
couple but the woven wire springs. These springs were of extra strong,
fine quality, but even these could not hold out long against the
onslaught of those terrible, powerful claws.
"Almost mechanically the man again thrust his hand into the box, and
drew out a small saw. The idea came to him to cut a hole through the
floor into the ceiling of the room below, slip through, and rush for
help. He spoke to his wife, and found she had fainted. He worked
desperately, faster and faster, while all the time the tiger tore more
and more fiercely at the tough springs. His hot, terrible breath swept
across their faces, so close to that snarling one above them, while the
saliva dropped from his savage jaws.
"Almost fainting with disgust and terror, the man worked on still more
desperately, for dear life now. At last one side was finished, then
another, now the third, and a little hope came back to the man's heart.
If he could only finish that other side he would have at least a slight
chance of escape. But now the tough woven wire links began to give way
under the tearing of the tiger's savage claws. In one place a small hole
is broken in the wire. In mad haste the man tears the saw through the
wood. It seems as if it would never give way. Once the saw slips and
bends. What if it should break! One more desperate, despairing effort.
Only two more inches now, only one, only a half inch. At last it is
over, and the saw drops from his nerveless hand. He makes a last effort
to arouse his wife, but without avail. He cannot bear to leave her, for
he fears that before he can get help and return the tiger will be upon
her. What can he do? It is his only chance to save her. He _must_ take
it.
"The tiger, as if he knew a crisis had come, ceased his tearing and lay
above them, watching with angry fire flashing from his eyes, and keeping
up a low, savage snarling.
"With a muttered prayer for protection for his poor wife and help for
himself, the man lowered himself through the opening until he found
himself suspended from the ceiling of the lower room. In desperate haste
to go for help, he is about to drop to the floor, but pauses to hear if
there is any sound or movement in the room above. Not a sound. There is
comfort in that, for his poor wife must be safe as yet, but what is the
tiger doing? Why is everything so deadly quiet? Incensed at the escape
of one of his victims, one would suppose him to be all the more eager to
secure the other; but there is no sound. What can he be doing?
"At this moment an awful thought comes to him. What if the cunning tiger
had crept silently down the stairs into the room below? He remembers
that the door into that room was open when they passed it on their way
upstairs. How safe they had felt then! How little had they dreamed that
this awful thing would come upon them! Could it be only a few hours
since they had gone upstairs, chatting cheerfully together? It seemed
days and days ago. Perhaps the tiger was at that moment crouched below
him there in the darkness, ready to spring upon him the moment, yes,
even before, his feet touched the ground.
"The awful thought made him pause, and he hung there with fiercely
throbbing heart, undecided what to do. If he could hear one sound of
the tiger moving in the room above him he could drop, quickly close
the door, and rush away for help. Still no sound from his wife's room.
What should he do? Perhaps it would be better to try to hold on until
morning, when he could at least have the blessed light to aid him. It
could not be long now before daybreak. Surely out of doors there must be
daylight now. Soon it would come into the room and enable him to look
about him. Yes, that would be the best and only thing to do.
"But no; he cannot! His strength is failing. Already his numbed fingers
are slipping--slipping--another moment and the tiger will be upon him and
all will be over. He can hold on no longer. He is falling--falling----
"'John! Oh, John!' comes a cheerful voice from below. 'Aren't you coming
down? It is almost train time, and breakfast is ready.'
"John sits up in bed, looking with dazed eyes all around the bright
room, flooded with morning sunshine, and it is minutes before he
realizes that it is _all a dream_!"
If anyone could have taken a photograph of the boys' faces just before
the conclusion of the story and another just after it, the two pictures
would have been a comic study; but they could not have given the
transition from faces filled with rapt, motionless, breathless interest
to the astonished, somewhat disgusted look as the totally unexpected
ending of the story filtered in upon them.
Mr. Hollis, who had listened to the last part of the story with as much
interest as the boys, thanked Dave for the pleasure he had given them,
but could not keep back a smile as Shorty voiced the general sentiment,
"You ought to be ashamed, Dave Ferris, for handing us such a lemon."