As he turned to rush into the open air, he was startled by the sounds which came from the roof of the tent in which they had been sleeping. Something was moving about on it, and to the alarm of the boys it sounded very much like the snarl of a wild beast. Evidently it was something large, too, and in a moment all three darted forth from the tent into the darkness, just as there came another yell from the prostrate Ben, even more piercing than those which had preceded it.
CHAPTER XVII.
ON GUARD.
Bob’s first impulse was to run to his prostrate friend, and with a knife he quickly severed the cords by which Ben was bound. Angry as Ben was, he did not speak, but instantly leaped to his feet and stood with his companions peering eagerly at the body which could be seen upon the roof of the tent.
The fire had burned low, but still threw out its long shafts of light, and in the shadows the animal seemed to assume fantastic shapes. The boys were all alarmed, and to their distorted vision the visitor was apparently of large size, and every moment they expected to see him spring from the tent. He had not moved since they had rushed out from the tent, and though he uttered no sound he seemed to be crouching as for a spring.
“It’s a bear,” whispered Bert.
“No, it isn’t a bear; it’s a panther,” replied Jock, in a whisper as tremulous as that of his friend had been.
The suggestion was in no wise reassuring, and for a few moments the boys stood and watched their strange visitor, ready to dart into the woods at the first sign of new danger. The animal, however, had not stirred, and was still crouching upon the roof.