said the forester, "or you won't have any pup left."

They pushed rapidly through the thicket, then ran toward their traps.
Faintly they could see the wildcat. The pup was worrying it. With arched
back, hair erect, eyes ablaze, and snarling furiously, the wildcat was
waiting its opportunity to strike. The pup circled about it, yelping and
barking, every second growing bolder because the animal did not spring at
it.

"Give me that rifle, quick!" said the forester. "That cat'll kill the pup
in another minute."

He seized the weapon, sank on one knee, quickly sighted along the barrel,
and pulled the trigger. Even as he fired, the cat leaped toward the pup.
For a second there was a terrific scuffling in the leaves. Then the
search-light's beam showed the pup lying motionless, its neck broken and
torn, while the cat was clawing the air wildly, and spitting and snarling
in fury.

"Don't ever let one of those critters get on your back, Charley," said the
forester, as he approached the cat for a final shot. "Sometimes they will
follow a fellow in the forest. It's seldom they really attack a man, but
if a fellow loses his nerve and runs, they will sometimes leap on him. A
single swipe of those claws will cut a fellow to ribbons."

The forester was now close to the cat, which had gotten to its feet and
had crouched, snarling, ready for a leap.

The forester circled so as to get a shot at the animal's shoulder. Quickly
raising his rifle, he fired. The cat screamed, clawed the air desperately
for a few seconds, and lay still.

Charley rushed in and tenderly lifted his motionless pup from the ground.
There were tears in his eyes as he bore the little body to one side. "Poor
fellow," he said, "I'll miss you awfully. I was counting on you a lot to
help me guard this timber. You did the best you knew how. You thought you
were helping me, didn't you?"

He passed his hand across his eyes and faced the forester. "It's some
consolation to know that that beast paid for this, and paid well. I'm sure
glad he's dead. It's a good thing for the forest."

"Yes, that's a good job done," replied the forester, "and a nice skin and
a bounty for you. That ought to be some consolation to you. But I'm mighty
sorry about the pup. Whenever you can, get rid of those fellows. How many
young deer or other harmless animals do you suppose this fellow would have
slaughtered before another spring?"

Making sure that the cat was really dead, the forest