“I do not know what it is, but something is watching us,” declared Running Fox. “Yes, I heard it, and I saw its eyes.”
“Perhaps the wolves have followed us,” whispered Spotted Deer.
“No, it is something different,” replied Running Fox. “Listen.”
They heard something circling softly about them through the ferns. Then they caught the momentary flash of a pair of eyes. The next instant they vanished, and a twig snapped somewhere within bow-shot.
“I believe it is Timmeu, the wolf,” declared Spotted Deer. “Perhaps he has come back to fight us.”
“No, it is not Timmeu,” replied Running Fox. “The eyes are different, and this thing moves slower.”
They heard a low growl, like that of an angry dog. Then they again saw the weird shining eyes watching them.
“Perhaps some Evil Spirit lives in this place,” Spotted Deer suggested, uneasily.
“No, I do not believe it,” Running Fox assured him. “I believe it is Quenischquney, the panther. Yes, it is the sound I heard in my dream. Now I will tell you what to do. I will shoot my arrow. Then if Quenisehquney jumps in to fight you must send your arrow into him. By that time I will be ready with another arrow.”
“I am ready,” said Spotted Deer. “See, there are his eyes. He sounds mad.”