ry of the panther
again but much nearer. He was lying with his ear to the ground. Now the
earth is a conductor of sound and Henry was sure that he heard a soft
tread. He rose upon his elbow and gazed into the darkness. There he
beheld at last a dim form moving with sinuous motion, and slowly it took
the shape of a great cat-like animal. Then he saw just behind it another
as large, and he knew that they were the two panthers whose cries he had
heard.

Henry was not frightened, although there was something weird and uncanny
in the spectacle of these two powerful beasts of prey, stealing about
the fire, before which two unarmed boys reposed. He knew, however, that
they were drawn not by the desire to attack, but by a kind of terrified
curiosity. The fire was to them the magnet that the snake is to the
fascinated bird. He longed then for his gun, the faithful little rifle
that was reposing on the hooks over his bed in his father's house. "I'd
make you cry for something," he said to himself, looking at the largest
of the panthers.

The animals lingered, glaring at the boys and the fire with great red
eyes, and presently Henry, doing as he had done on a former occasion,
picked up a blazing torch and, shouting, rushed at them.

The panthers sprang headlong through the undergrowth, in their eagerness
to get away from the terrible flaming vision that was darting down upon
them. Their flight was so quick that they disappeared in an instant and
Henry knew they would not venture near the site of the fire again in a
long time. He turned back and found Paul surprised and alarmed standing
erect and rubbing his eyes.

"Why--why--what's the matter?" cried Paul.

"Oh, it's nothing," replied Henry.

Then he told about the panthers. Paul did not know as much as Henry
concerning panthers and the affair got on his nerves. The lonely and
vast grandeur of the wilderness did not have the attraction for him that
it had for his comrade, and he wished again for the strong log walls and
comfortable roofs of Wareville. But Henry reassured him. The testimony
of the hunters about the timidity of wild beasts was unanimous and he
need have no fears. So Paul went to sleep again, but Henry lingered as
before.

He threw fresh fuel on the fire. Then he lay down again and gradually
weary nature became the master of him. The woods grew dim, and faded
away, the fire vanished and he was in slumberland.

When Henry awoke it was because some one was tug