Part 12 (1/2)

The sight which greeted his eyes was more perplexing than startling. He saw Schoolmaster Hargrave leaning against one corner of the rude desk over which he presided, his face plainly expressing agony or fear; Peleg was unable to determine which feeling predominated.

”What is it, Master Hargrave?” called the boy anxiously.

In reply no articulate words were spoken; but a scream was followed by a groan, and in the midst of it all were also sounds like the gasping and snarling of some wild beast. The suffering of the man was manifest, but the cause was nowhere to be seen.

There flashed into the mind of the young hunter the suggestion which Mistress Horan had made that evil spirits were the cause of the commotion. Such beliefs were not uncommon at the time, and although Peleg had never shared in the superst.i.tions of the more ignorant people, nevertheless the mystery of the terrifying sounds, as well as the expression of Schoolmaster Hargrave's face, caused even the young hunter to hesitate.

”What is it, Master Hargrave?” he shouted, for the uproar still continued.

”Oh-h-h-h! Help me! Help me!”

The cries of the schoolmaster were interrupted by strange noises, that still appeared to come from within the desk. Moans and cries and snarls, such as a wild beast might have emitted, were plainly to be distinguished in the midst of the uproar.

Peleg had stopped a few feet in front of the desk, and in amazement was watching the man before him. Apparently the schoolmaster was struggling and striving with some unseen body or person, and with intense effort he had grasped both sides of the desk and held it with all his strength, as if he was fearful it might escape. In one hand he also held a cylindrical ruler.

At this moment Mrs. Horan, who had gained sufficient courage to enter the building, advanced to Peleg's side. ”I fear 'tis sick the man is,”

she said. Turning to the schoolmaster she suggested in a loud whisper: ”If 'tis colic you are suffering from, Master Hargrave, I would recommend----”

Her recommendation, however, was interrupted by a terrible scream from the suffering man.

”'Tis good for you,” said the kind-hearted woman once more. The schoolmaster, however, still writhed as if in great agony and looked at the woman with an expression that might have quieted the tongue of a less courageous woman than Mrs. Horan.

”Why do you cling to the desk in that manner?” demanded the woman.

The agony in the expression of the schoolmaster's face seemed to be deepened by the question, but he made no response.

”What's the matter, Master Hargrave?” demanded the woman once more.

”'Tis Peleg and I who are here to help you.”

Suddenly from the lips of the tormented man came the cry, ”I have caught a cat!” Perspiration was streaming from his face, and his manner, expressive of fright, agony, and fatigue combined, made his words scarcely recognizable.

Peleg glanced behind him and saw that many more of the neighbours had arrived and were curiously standing within the room at a safe distance from the desk, watching the actions of the man, who still writhed and twisted as he clung to the desk in front of him.

The young hunter darted around the corner of the rude desk, to discover the cause of all the trouble. He first saw that a part of the clothing of the unfortunate man had been torn from his body, which was pressed against the edge of the desk. Closer inspection showed that the teeth of a huge ”cat,” or lynx, were fastened in the side of the schoolmaster.

Bringing his gun to his shoulder the scout was about to fire, when the fear of Master Hargrave became stronger even than his sufferings.

”Don't shoot! Don't shoot! You will hit me! Oh-h-h-h!” he screamed, still striving to hold his adversary against the edge of the desk.

Disregarding the appeal, Peleg fired, and after a few confused struggles, the huge cat was lifeless.

Still the schoolmaster held the body in its place, however, and when his sympathetic friends drew him back they were horrified to discover that the jaws of the dead lynx were locked about one of his ribs. Several minutes elapsed before the man was freed from this death grip.

Meanwhile the a.s.sembly in the room had increased, and several children that had been brought by their mothers lifted up their voices to add to the general confusion.

In the midst of it all, Mrs. Horan was not to be denied the satisfaction of her curiosity. Pressing more closely upon the man who now had been placed on one of the rude benches almost in a fainting condition, she said: ”I thought at first, Master Hargrave, that it was spirits, but now I see it was just a cat. Why did you fight the lynx in that way?”

Ignoring his suffering, the schoolmaster managed to gasp out a tolerably full explanation: