The suspense was not ended when the first report of Ben’s pistol broke sharply in upon the stillness of the night. From all appearances they thought the animal had not been hit, but as he showed no disposition either to advance or retreat, Ben quickly raised his revolver again and two shots rang out in quick succession.
“Look out, Ben, you’ll hit the tent,” whispered Bob, made somewhat bolder by the continued failure of the animal to move.
Ben then fired the remaining cartridges, and to the delight of his companions, they saw their enemy roll from his place on the tent and fall with a thud upon the ground. There was the sound of a struggle for a moment, and then all became still again.
The boys waited anxiously, and at last Ben said, “I hit him! I hit him! He’s dead, fellows. Go on and see what he was.”
“Bob took a long stick and poked the motionless form.”
As no one seemed to be quite willing to respond to the appeal, Ben himself thrust a long torch or broken limb of a tree into the fire, and then, holding in his hand the blazing branch, at the head of the column advanced to view the fallen foe.
They approached carefully and cautiously, Ben explaining that “panthers sometimes lived a long time after they were dead,” and soon they could see the motionless body before them. Holding the torch in one hand and his reloaded revolver in the other, Ben stood ready to shoot at the first returning sign of danger, while Bob took a long stick and cautiously poked the motionless form.
His actions produced no response, and then, concluding that their enemy was indeed dead, they came nearer and soon stood looking down upon their victim. A closer inspection revealed the fact that it was a much smaller animal than they had thought it to be, but none of them had ever seen one like it before.
As Jock leaned down to touch it with his hand, he suddenly drew back with a cry of pain, and instantly his companions darted from the spot. As they were not pursued, their courage revived, and once more they returned to inspect the body of the strange animal. He was dead now, that was evident; and satisfied as to that fact, Bob declared that he was going back to bed.