Harry did not dare to rest too long, fearing that the cold would make him drowsy and cause him to go to sleep, from which he would probably never awaken. He remained behind the trees and rocks just long enough to “catch his wind,” and then set off as rapidly as he could down the creek.
One-half of the distance down the watercourse was completed, and the boy was just congratulating himself on the fine progress he was making when a sound reached his ear that literally made his hair stand on end.
It was the cry of a wildcat, and it came from the brush immediately on his left!
The cry lasted only a short while, but Harry had heard it before, and he at once recognized it.
He knew the creature was out seeking food. Most likely it was in a half-starved condition, and fierce beyond expression.
The boy did not know what to do. To flee was out of the question. The creature could easily reach him if it so wished. Nor would it avail to climb a tree.
He must prepare to defend himself should the wildcat attack him, and he unslung his gun with all the haste possible, and got it ready for immediate use.
The cry of the creature was repeated after a short interval of silence, but the wildcat did not as yet show itself.
With his heart thumping violently in his breast, Harry continued on his way, but with his glance over his shoulder in the direction from which the sound had proceeded.
A hundred feet farther on, the creek made a bend, and here it grew narrower. He kept in the middle of the frozen stream, but the trees on either side were not ten feet away.