After the boy had rolled over at least fifty times, and arose to consult a water bag at least a dozen times, he seated himself under the flap of the tent and looked out. There was a moon now, and the smoke only half hid it. Far off in the woods wild creatures were expressing their opinion of the fire and the wanton destruction of their homes. There was a faint rustle in the foliage of the trees east of the “burn.”
“Gee!” the boy muttered. “I’d like to come back here for a month!”
Then his attention was attracted to the savage growl of some animal in the thicket beyond the fire limit of the “burn.” It seemed to the boy as if some man-eating creature had cornered a bit of animate supper, but couldn’t reach it. The language used by the forest resident seemed to be in the tongue of the panther. While he listened a cry which was not that of a hungry beast came out of the gloom.
That was a cry for help, surely. Frank put his revolver and his searchlight into convenient pockets and set out for the scene of the disturbance, without awakening any of the sleepers. It was slow work pushing through the bushes, and the boy wondered if a fire there, well guarded on a quiet day, wouldn’t be a good thing.
He kept his searchlight ahead and looked about for the source of the noises as he advanced in the darkness. In a short time he heard a voice he knew, but hardly expected to hear there.
“Hurry up!” the voice said. “I’m goin’ to tumble out of this tree in about a minute! I’m that hungry! I thought you might meet me with a pie under one arm.”
“Well, why don’t you come down, then?” Frank asked.
“If you’ll turn your honorable attention to that tree to the east,” Jimmie said, “your excellency will observe a panther waiting for his supper. He’s been tracking me all day, getting bolder every minute. Now, if I turn this searchlight away for an instant, he’ll jump on me, and there you are. No more Jimmie McGraw than a rabbit!”
“I didn’t see your light at first,” Frank said, “for it was hidden by the foliage of the trees. I suppose you want me to shoot the cat?”