I had got a new tiger trap, and was displaying its beauties to some
members of our Cat Club--not that this was the official name, which in
full dress proclaimed itself as the Round Hill Society for the
Destruction of Vermin. The mouth of the trap had a span of fifteen
inches, and the steel spring almost required the weight of a
twelve-stone man to flatten it down to the catch. There was a stout
chain to the shank end, which could be secured to a log, and the iron
lips had no teeth.
"There's a power of grip in the toothless gums of that 'ere grinning
mouth," said old Abe Pike, who was President of the Club, by virtue of
which office it was his right to point out the spots for the setting of
traps. "I don't hole with teeth nohow."
"Quite so," remarked Amos Topper, sourly; "your tongue's long enough to
get a clinch round anything. What I say is, give me a trap with teeth a
inch long that will drive through a tiger's shin-bone."
"Yes; and maybe cut the foot of him right off, and leave ole
dot-and-carry-three to go limpin' away growlin' vengeance. You ain't
got no exper'ence, Amos; and talking about tongues, if you shut your
teeth down tight you might pass for a wise man."
Amos opened his mouth wide for a retort, but nothing came out but a
cloud of smoke and a grunt.
"I shot a trapped tiger once," said Long Jim, "that was caught only by
his toe. Yes, sir, by his toe! and the danged crittur jes' lay there
and took the bullet 'thout even standing up. He jes' hissed like a room
full o' kettles."
"Ever been caught in a trap?" asked Abe quietly.
"I ain't had any occasion to," said Jim severely.
"Well, I have!"
"Gwine after anybody's pumpkins?" asked Amos, thinking this was a good
opportunity to work in his belated retort.
"Some folk's talk," said Abe slowly, "is like burrs--never wanted and
allus spoilin' good material, with this difference on the side of the
burr-weed--that you can root up the weed when you find it."
"It would take a better man than you to dig me up," said Amos, shaking
himself.
"We ain't discussin' weeds," said Abe, looking his lanky opponent up and
down; "we're discussin' the points o' traps--especially teeth. I bin
caught, an' that's why I'm sot against teeth."
"When did it happen, Abe?"
"Well, I'll tell you. You know ole Hill's garden, which held more
different kinds o' fruit-trees than I have seed in the whole country.
There were a thick quince hedge down one side, and the wild pigs had
made a path through it big enough to let a stoopin' man through. Well,
I were going short cut to the house one night, and I remembered this yer
pig-track."
"You always had a weakness for fruit, Abe!" remarked Amos.
"I remembered this yer track, and, follering the hedge down, I felt
where the path had been worn, and, parting the quince _luikeys_ with my
hand, made a stoop forrard. My gum!--there were a click, and a yell
which I ripped out, and nex' thing I knowed somethin' got me sore fast
by the right leg in the thin of the ankle. It were a tiger trap--that's
what, and sot with teeth. Lor' love yer! I can feel the pain of it in
my leg now when I think of it, though it were over twenty-seven year
ago. One iron fang scramped my shin-bone, and the back one druv clean
through the flesh, while the sides of the mouth pressed in so that the
blood were stopped, and the foot seemed to belong to someone else. I
tell you all the blood in my body jes' run down to the tight place to
find out what the trouble was, and came rushing back with the news up to
my head with a touch of fire all along. Then that held-fast leg began
to throb and throb, and a hundred thousand little hammers began
a-hammering all up my backbone, while cold spasms went quivering through
me and outer the top of my head. I jes' let go yell on yell, until a
faintness came over me, and the sound leg which had been all on a
tremble gave way, and I sot down. The wrench were terrible, and I jes'
grit my teeth, and held on till the weakness went off, when I shifted
the trap a bit."
"Why didn't you ease the spring?"
"Why don't a bird fly when its wing's broken? Ease the spring! Jes'
you put your foot in this yer trap, and see if you can get the spring
down with thirty pound o' iron at the end of your foot and your muscles
all turned to water--to liquid fire--with the pain of the hold. All I
could do was to rub my knee and yell and bite at the quince leaves, and
dig my fingers inter the flesh. After a time I found my voice ain't got
no carrying power; it came out in a hoarse whisper, and I seed if the
people at the house hadn't yeard my first call they wouldn't catch any
cry for help I could give now; so I jes' groaned for comfort, same's if
I were a trapped tiger growling through the night. My head were tossing
about from side to side like the pendulum of a clock, and one of these
side swings I noticed the glare of something bright close by. I jes'
noticed it as if 'twere something of no account; for, if all the stars
in heaven had taken to swinging at the ends of golden threads it
wouldn't have mattered to me as much as the flame of a tallow candle
sputtering in a horn lantern. Well, each time I swung my head I seed
these yer bright spots without seeing them--if you know what I mean?--
when I were held still for a moment by a sound. I looked, and I saw
then that they were eyes staring at me, which blinked as I stared, and
turned away, then sought my face ag'in, and, narrering to a thin green
slit, so looked at me. What do ye think it were?"
"A pig, of course, waiting for you to move," said Topper.
"You can tell a pig by his grunt," said Abe, pointedly. "Who ever seed
a pig with green eyes flaming through half-closed lids? It were a
tiger," and Abe took his pipe out and impressively spat at a
black-beetle that was fussily moving on a ball of earth with its
hindlegs.
"A tiger?"
"Yes, sirrees! It were that--sitting down on his hams like a big dog
within two yards of me. No, I were not skeered, for the burning pain in
my head and the throbbing in my shin-bone didn't give room for fear of
that kind--and the tiger, he seemed to know what were up, for after a
while he stretched himself out on his stummick, and yawned till I could
see the gleam of his teeth. Well, I went on groanin' and tossin' my
head, and rubbin' my knee-cap, and chewin' up the quince leaves, every
now and then taking a look at the big crittur lying stretched in the
dark with his eyes opening and shutting like's if you moved the slide
over a bull's-eye lantern when he rolled over on his back and reached
out a claw for me, like a kitten playing with a leaf. He hooked a claw
inter the trousers of my well leg, and the jerk on it gave him a
_schreik_, for he let out a growl and jumped away, looking back at me
over his shoulder. Then he slunk away, but bymby when I looked ag'in he
were standing up against the fence with his nose jes' peeping round, and
his near eye squintin' at me through a hole in the leaves. That give me
a queer feeling--for the beggar'd come up so sly, and I lit out a yell
this time which stuck in my throat. The pain made me feel faint inside,
an' I jes' closed my eyes. Soon's the tiger saw I wern't looking he
jes' poked his nose up ag'in the trap, and I yeard him licking the iron
where the blood had run. Then I felt on my sound leg the pressure of
his body, and yeard the snarly purr of him. Then he began licking at my
trousers where the trap held fast, and I opened my eyes. The weight of
his body held my leg down, and one of his paws were right into my
weskit; and, blow me, if he didn't begin shovin' it inter my body, and
opening and shutting his claws like a pleased cat, while the jar of his
purring ran up through my bones, and his big tongue were rasping at my
trousers. A sort o' stupor, don't-care-what-he-does feeling come over
me, and with it the burning in the pain left my brain, and the hammering
at my bones dropped away inter jes' a sort of tired feeling. Nex'
minute I felt his tongue on my flesh--for he'd worn a hole right through
them cord tweeds I were wearin'. At the taste of the blood then he
purred louder than ever, and shuved his paw quicker and harder into my
stummick, until I gasped for breath. Then he drew fresh blood, and his
purr went inter a savage growl, while, the weight of his body lightened
on my leg. I tell you, that growl brought back my luv for life in a
moment. I saw that crittur would in his eagerness take a bite at my
leg--then the game would be up. What d'ye think I did?"
"Began to jaw," said Topper; "and he bolted with his tail down."
"Jobbed him with a knife back of the head," suggested Long Jim.
"No; what I did was a cirkimstance which only one man would think of,
and that's ole Abe Pike. I jes' took out my ole pipe, wriggled a length
of straw down the stem till it were black with nicotine, then laid it
across his tongue. My! You should 'a seen him. He shook his head,
tried to wipe his tongue with his paws, then give a roar, and make
lightning tracks for the nearest water. His growl set the dogs going
tremenjus, then I yeard ole man Hill whistlin' 'em, and I fetched a yell
that brung him up at the double. By gum! In being saved I were nearly
killed!"
"How was that?"
"Why, them dogs took me for the tiger, and they tore the coat offin me,
beside some skin, 'fore ole Bill see who were in the trap and took me
out. That's why I say I'm dead sot against traps with teeth."