fire the gun; and as to going outside the door, it
is doubtful if even the boldest hunter, well armed, would have dared so
much at night, in the face of a whole family of hungry panthers.

Meanwhile, Jacob kept up a lively interest among his jailors.

Discovering that they had scratched at some of the larger cracks between
the logs, until they could thrust in their noses, he peeled a piece of
tough bark from the side of the pen, and began striking at them, giving
them many stinging blows.

And afterward, when relating the story, he would laugh heartily at
remembering the sneezing, snarling and grumbling this occasioned.
Although he had so much to keep him excited, the night seemed very long.

At last, however, the daylight began to dawn, and he heard his jailors
mewing and purring together as if in council, and then all was silent
all around the pen.

Half an hour later, Polly called to him that they were gone away.

It was with extreme caution, however, that he opened the door a little
and peered out.

A panther is like a cat in slyness or cunning, watching stealthily for
prey and springing upon it in the most unexpected way.

And so, before he ventured out, he scanned with sharp eyes the edge of
the woods across the brook; for he did not fancy being the mouse for
these three great cats. Satisfying himself as well as he could, that
the way was clear, he sprang forth, closed the door quickly behind him,
and rushed for the house. But no panthers appeared; they had probably
retired into the deep shadows of the hemlocks.

His "Wide Awake" night was ended.

Upon investigating the scene of the night's operations, he found the sty
amazingly scratched and gnawed in many places, proving the strength of
tooth and nail and the ferocity of his jailors. Several long deep gashes
on one of the pigs showed where a panther had thrust in his paw by a
crack and tried to seize a victim.

But my story is only half told.

* * * * *

An old adage says, "It is a poor rule that won't work both ways;" and so
thought Jacob. He resolved in the morning, that if the creatures should
come back the next night, as they would be quite apt to do, he would
turn the tables and try to teach them the pleasure of being imprisoned
in a pig-sty.

Anybody who has lived in a region infested by carnivorous animals, knows
how they prowl around the settler's cabin the night after any fat
animal, cattle or swine is ki