Brave Tom Or The Battle That Won Part 5

"I don't believe there's anything in what Jim said about looking the creature in the eye. S'pose I should meet him in the woods, and fix him that way, what good would it do? I'd have to stand there till the keepers come along, and they might not do that for a week or two. By that time I'd be starved to death, and so would the tiger, and they want him alive.

"Jim must be mistaken, too, 'bout shooting off his tail. Jim and me haven't got any tails, and we don't have any trouble in walking. I can't see how it would make any difference with the tiger, either. I wonder where Jim got all them ideas,--I guess where he got the stories 'bout so many people being chawed up."

The lad lay for a while on one side, and then flung himself on the other.

Several times he was on the point of dropping into an uneasy slumber, but some slight noise always came at the critical moment to make him wider awake than he was in the first instance.

What is more disturbing than the occasional rattle of a window sash when we are trying to woo sleep? By and by Tom discovered it was that which had played the mischief with his rest. He sprang impatiently out of bed, and hurried to the window, with the intention of righting matters.

The bright moon s.h.i.+ning from an unclouded sky made it almost as light as day. He stood a minute, looking out upon the beautiful scene; for, young as he was, he could not fail to be impressed by the striking loveliness of everything out-doors.

"I wonder whether they've catched Tippo Sahib"--

The lad caught his breath, for just then he saw something moving in the shadow of the woodshed. A second look showed it to be some sort of quadruped, and the third--could he believe his eyes?--revealed the tiger himself!

Yes, it was the terrible brute and no mistake. The boy rubbed his eyes and looked again. Some unaccountable attraction seemed to have brought Tippo Sahib back to the dwelling where he had met with so interesting an experience that afternoon.

But all this being so, Tom Gordon might well ask himself what good the presence of the animal promised to be to him. Hitherto, he and his friends had counted themselves lucky in being able to keep out of his way when he showed a desire to explore the interior of the house. How, then, could he expect to get the hundred dollars offered for the capture of the brute?

Mingled with the eager wish of the lad to earn the munificent sum, was a slight misgiving as to the meaning of this return of the tiger. Having eluded the men sent after him, had he come back to revenge himself upon those who had treated him so ill?

This discomforting thought was dissipated by the action of Tippo Sahib.

He did not move around as on his former visit, but seemed to be prowling about the woodshed, as if in quest of something. Surely he would not act thus if he meditated an attack upon the inmates of the home!

But Tom had learned from his aunt and mother that if the tiger chose, he could readily leap from the ground to the windows of the upper story, and, therefore, would have little difficulty in entering, if he was bent on doing so.

"I'll get my gun, so as to be ready to shoot him. But if I shoot him, I won't get the reward that was promised; but it's better to kill him than to have him chaw us to pieces."

Just then the animal worked his way round the corner of the structure, out of the shadow, into the bright moonlight. He showed no interest in the house itself, but confined his attention to the woodshed,--a fact which lessened the lad's fear, and held him at the window, closely watching the beast.

His change of location brought him to the front of the strong wooden building, and near the partially open door.

The heart of the lad gave a great bound.

"S'pose he goes inside, and I slip up and shut him in!"

All the indications pointed to the tiger entering the structure, though it was impossible to imagine his purpose, unless he scented the waste food kept there in a barrel for the pigs belonging to the Widow Gordon.

The attempt the lad had in mind involved a fearful risk; for there could be no doubt that if the beast detected him, he would make him serve for supper.

Probably if Tom had been given a few more minutes to think over the matter, he would have abandoned the design in his mind; but that one hundred dollars looked as big to him as a million does to most people.

Hastily drawing on his trousers, he began stealthily descending the stairs. Fortunately for him, his aunt and mother were asleep, else they would have put an emphatic veto on his foolhardy scheme. The bolts of the door were softly slid back, the door itself silently drawn inward an inch or two, and the lad peeped out. His position gave a full view of the front of the woodshed, and the sight was an interesting one. The tiger had partially entered. Indeed, little was seen more than his tail, which, projecting from the darkness of the structure, swayed slowly from side to side, as if he had detected something not altogether pleasing.

"If he goes in, I'll slip out and hook the door; but, if he comes back, it won't do to let him see me."

This was the thought that stirred Tom Gordon, as he peered stealthily out of the crack made by the door. Could he have thought of any way by which to drive the tiger inside, he would have done so; but there was none. He could only wait and watch, and hope for a favorable issue of the undertaking.

It struck him as strange that the beast should stand so long with only his tail in the outer air. The lad fancied it had disappeared entirely; but at the moment he was about to slip forward, he detected the tuft agitating the chips and dirt about the entrance. He therefore held back and still watched and waited.

There! the brute must have taken another step farther, for no part of his appendage was visible. He was wholly within the shed.

It was now or never.

Tom left the door open a few inches, so that if he should find it necessary to retreat, he would meet with no trouble in re-entering his home. In that event, however, it wasn't likely Tippo Sahib would meet with any trouble in following him.

The heart of the youth throbbed violently when he stepped out in the moonlight and comprehended the perilous nature of the business.

"If he comes out tail first," was his thought, "I'll have a chance to dodge him; but if he comes head first, I'll be a goner."

He was not idle while these imaginings were pa.s.sing through his mind. Step by step, and on tiptoe, he stole forward, until he stood within a couple of paces of the fastening. Then it was that his courage almost deserted him, and the desire to turn about and make a dash for the door behind him was well-nigh irresistible.

But the thought of that magnificent hundred dollars restrained and nerved him to push on. Another step and he had but to lean forward with outstretched arm, seize the door, and snap it toward him. He was in the act of doing so, when he heard a guttural growl from within. Had this reached his ears when he was a few feet farther off, Tom would have turned and fled for life. He would have done so now but for his belief that it was too late. He could only save himself by shutting that door before the beast came through it.

Holding his breath, the lad seized the handle, and with a quick flirt drew the door toward him. The strong iron hook was slipped into the staple, and he had done all he could. Yielding then to the panic which had been struggling so long within him, he bounded upon the front porch, shot through the door, and closed and fastened it in a twinkling. Not even then did Tom feel safe, but bounded up-stairs with so much haste and noise, that the wonder was he did not awaken his aunt and mother. They slept too soundly, however, to be disturbed.

He ran to the window of his bedroom, and looked out again, fearing that the royal prisoner had already freed himself and would proceed to punish the one that had taken such liberties with him. Strange to say, everything looked as if there was no tiger within a score of miles. The door of the woodshed was fastened as it had been many times; but no noise or disturbance, so far as the lad could judge, sounded from within the structure. The prisoner seemed to have accepted his misfortune philosophically, and, perhaps, had lain down to rest himself after his stirring experiences of the afternoon.

"I wonder if he can get out of there. It's pretty strong, and there isn't any back-door or window that he can use."

The youth was so deeply interested in the question that he brought his chair beside the window and sat down to await results. It was not strange, perhaps, considering the lateness of the hour, that the sleep which he had long sought in vain now came to him. By and by his head began nodding, and, despite the cramped position, he slumbered soundly until awakened by the call of his mother.

As soon as Tom could collect his senses, he looked at the woodshed. So far as he saw, no change had taken place. Then he hurried down-stairs and told the astounding tidings.

"Mercy!" gasped Aunt Cynthia, "I was just about going to the shed for some wood, you were so long coming down. Suppose I had!"

"It would have been all over with you," replied Tom, hardly less startled than they; "I meant to stay awake all night, but forgot myself."

"Perhaps he has got out," suggested the mother; "I don't understand why he has kept so quiet."

While they were talking, a call came from the roadway again. When they looked out, four hors.e.m.e.n were seen.

"We find it impossible to locate that beast," explained the one that had done the talking the night before; "I hardly suppose you have seen anything more of him."

Before Mrs. Gordon or Aunt Cynthia could reply, Tom asked,--

"Did you say you would give a hundred dollars to any one that gets that tiger without hurting him?"

"We'll be glad to do that, sonny, or if he will show us where he is so we can capture him."

"Will you give a hundred dollars to have him in the woodshed there?"

"Indeed we will."

"Very well; _he's there!_"

Chapter V.