. The trial to the woods. ght gleamed between the eyes in thewhisker-fringed face, and then he pulled the trigger. The gun had been- loaded for some time, and therecoil was terrific. As Si was a little off his guard,the old gun kicked and knocked him down in thesnow in a manner that bewildered him for a mo-ment. But when he arose and took a hurried in-ventory of himself and his surroundings, a beast,the size of which made his nerves tingle, was lyingdead at his feet. He poked the animal with the muzzle of the gun,standing ready to use it as a club, but the wildcatwas quite dead. At the sound o
. The trial to the woods. ght gleamed between the eyes in thewhisker-fringed face, and then he pulled the trigger. The gun had been- loaded for some time, and therecoil was terrific. As Si was a little off his guard,the old gun kicked and knocked him down in thesnow in a manner that bewildered him for a mo-ment. But when he arose and took a hurried in-ventory of himself and his surroundings, a beast,the size of which made his nerves tingle, was lyingdead at his feet. He poked the animal with the muzzle of the gun,standing ready to use it as a club, but the wildcatwas quite dead. At the sound of the gun Nipper came running tohis young master and sniffed the strange beastgingerly. He poked it with his nose and growled, 156 but since he could not get it to fight he soon gaveup and went in search of a rabbit track. But there was no rabbit hunting for Si that day,for with as much exuUation as a young savage prob-ably feels on taking his first scalp, he shouldered thegreat cat and started for home. He had to stop to. A Wildcat, from Life Cofyri^hi, rgos, by N. Y. Zoological Society rest several times on the way, but finally reachedhome, breathless and excited. The kill was at once recognized by Sis father as alarge wildcat, and Si was the proudest boy in cat measured thirty-five inches from tip totip, of which six was tail. Its weight was thirty-two pounds, and its strong white claws, when bared, IS7 were something to admire and not to wish for aclose acquaintance with. Its coat was a yellowish gray, almost tawny,with long, dark stripes down the back and fainterones on the sides and limbs. Underneath, nearthe skin, its coat was soft and thick, but on theoutside the hair was longer and coarser and tippedwith black. Its tail was ringed with black andhad a black tip. The following day Si took the big cat to the countyseat and got five dollars bounty on its scalp andwas also offered five more for the pelt, but he wouldnot part with that trophy. Late in the afternoon
Size: 1586px × 1575px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidcu3192, booksubjectanimals
