Suddenly the cry broke out again, so close to him that Harry sprang back and hoisted his gun to his shoulder. Then the wildcat appeared from over the top of a flat rock and made a leap directly for the throat of the boy.
Bang! went the gun, and the shot flew for the greater part under the creature’s body. Several pierced its front legs, and, with a snarl that was tigerish in its intensity, it fell directly at Harry’s feet.
Hardly had it landed on the ice when, with its hind legs, it made another leap at the boy, who endeavored to ward it off by thrusting the point of the gun barrel at it. The muzzle entered the wildcat’s open mouth, and once more it was forced to drop back upon its haunches.
Harry turned to flee, and gained several yards before the beast could steady itself on its wounded legs and make after him. But soon the wildcat was close at his heels, and, with a screech, it fastened itself on his back.
Whirling about, Harry shook off the dreaded creature with such force that the wildcat went over on its back on the ice. Before it could recover, he dealt it a blow on the side with the gun that sent it spinning over the ice for a distance of several yards.
Harry wished he had time to reload the gun, but this was out of the question. The wildcat was wounded and dazed, but in less than five seconds it was up again, and, with added fierceness, it came at the boy a third time.
Harry knew it was now a fight to the finish, and his courage was aroused to its highest pitch. As the wildcat leaped for him, he sprang to one side, and once again brought his gun down, this time flat on the creature’s head.
There was a sharp crack and a shrill cry, and the wildcat lay still. More than likely its skull was crushed in.
Not to take any chances, should the creature be shamming, Harry hastily reloaded, and then, stepping up to the animal, he discharged the gun directly at its head. There was no sign of life. The wildcat was dead.
“Thank fortune!” he murmured to himself. “That’s what I call a good job done!”