Tiger Fighting

Reb risked a glance backward. The tiger was at least twice as large as any tiger he had ever seen in a zoo. Beside that, he had two enormous tusks in his upper jaw. “A saber-toothed tiger, that’s what he is! I didn’t think there was any of them left!”

[...]

Reb was usually not afraid of anything, but he was respectful as he said, “He’s a big varmint, Josh. He runs faster than a race horse, and if we miss, we’re dead. That woman got off one arrow. Why, he killed her before you could bat an eye! She never had a chance.”

[...]

“Heads up,” Reb said. “I think—” He broke off and yelled, “Here he comes!” He gave his Rebel yell, then drew back his bow to a full pull.

Every eye was on the tiger charging the right side of their line. But then, almost immediately, another tiger sprang up and charged the left.

“Remember,” Reb yelled, “we’ll take this one—you guys on the right take the first one.”

The tigers seemed to double in size with every leap. It was impossible to get a steady bead as they bounded forward, but Reb managed to cry, “Hold on, now. Let him get closer!” And then he yelled, “Now!”

The tiger to the left was no more than thirty feet away, charging straight at Reb.

He released his arrow and reached over his shoulder to get another. He knew he would never have time to beat the speed of the tiger, but he vowed to die trying. He saw his first arrow strike the tiger low in the chest. The beast faltered and missed a step. Then another arrow took him, this time low in the flank, and Josh yelled, “I got him!”

But Reb was not listening. He fitted another arrow.

The tiger was no more than ten feet away and still charging when Reb released his second arrow. He did not have time to see where it went, for he was bowled over. He smelled rank cat smell and ducked his head as the animal swerved. He expected to feel the gigantic teeth crunching on him at any time and thought himself no better than dead.

A mighty blow struck his shoulder. He went rolling in the dirt, but he held onto his bow despite the pain. When he came to his feet, the tiger was clawing vainly at an arrow that had struck him in the throat. Quickly Reb notched an arrow and, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, drew a careful bead. This arrow struck the beast in the left side, right behind the foreleg. The tiger turned to snap it but then fell, clawing at the ground.

“We got him!” Jake yelled. “We got him!”

Reb turned then to the right and saw the other tiger mauling one of the Sleepers, and his heart lurched. He saw also that several arrows had penetrated the animal’s hide. “Come on,” he yelled, “let’s put that one down!”

Jake and Wash were quickly fitting arrows. And then Reb realized that it was Josh who was being mauled. He uttered another Rebel yell as he notched an arrow and ran in close.

The tiger saw him and released the limp form of Josh, which flopped like a rag and fell to the ground.

Coolly Reb drew his bowstring back, and when the huge beast opened his mouth, he let the arrow fly. His heart gave a leap as the arrow struck the tiger directly in the open mouth. Other arrows penetrated him, and soon he lay still.

Reb threw down his bow and ran to Josh. He saw that his friend’s shirt was bloodied, and he pulled him up to a sitting position. Jerking the shirt back, he saw four bleeding furrows across the boy’s chest.

“Are you all right, Josh? You’re not going to die on me, are you?”

Josh made a face and looked down at his bloody chest. “No, but I was ready to quit before he was.”

Reb laughed and hugged him. “You son of a gun,” he said, “let’s get that bleeding stopped. We gotta wash that out. Them tiger claws is bound to have poison in them.”