OH, SHOOT! 



the staff we fashioned was clumsy. With it 

 he undertook to place a loop over the animal's 

 neck. It would seem to be a simple matter 

 to snare a lion under such conditions, but it is 

 not. When the noose neared her head, the 

 cougar tucked her ears back out of the way 

 and bit the pole in two. While Ambrose per- 

 sisted patiently in his enterprise, Fred climbed 

 to a bowlder where he could get elbow room 

 and began to throw at her. She was just out 

 of reach of his rope, however, and his casts 

 fell a foot or two short. He built loop after 

 loop and sailed them up, only to have them 

 settle a trifle below her. After each cast she 

 seized the rope in her teeth; whereupon there 

 ensued a tug of war. It was a pretty game to 

 watch. 



Failing in these attempts, Fred climbed a 

 neighboring oak, the while we engaged our 

 quarry's attention, and it began to look as if 

 the affair were about over. But as he broke 

 a limb to accommodate his cast, she looked 

 over her shoulder straight into his countenance 

 and decided the neighborhood was becoming 

 uncomfortably crowded. 



Justice to that cougar compels me to say 

 that Fred was not nice to look upon. It was 



204 



