“You must have been mistaken,” said Glenn; “suppose we go to the other lakes.”
“No, I wasn’t mistaken—I’d swear to it—be quiet and keep a bright look-out, and we’ll see him again in a minute or two,” replied Joe, who stood in an attitude of readiness to fire at an instant’s warning.
“What is that?” asked Glenn, just then actually observing a small brown object moving behind the hillock.
“Wait till I see a little more of it,” said Joe, with his finger on the trigger.
“Don’t fire, Joe! its a man’s cap!” exclaimed Glenn, detecting under the dark brim the large staring eyes of a human being, apparently evincing a sense of imminent peril; and the next moment the muzzle of a gun pointing above their heads came in view.
“Dod rot it, look up that tree!”
The smile that began to play on our hero’s features on recognizing the voice of Sneak was quickly dispelled and succeeded by horror when he cast his eyes upward and beheld an enormous panther, stooping, and on the eve of springing upon him!
“Oh!” exclaimed Joe, letting his gun fall, and falling down himself, bereft alike of the power of escape and the ability to resist.
“Be quiet!” said Glenn, endeavouring to raise his gun, which had become entangled in the bushes; but before he could execute his purpose Sneak fired, and the ferocious animal came tumbling down through the branches and fell at his feet.
“Ugh! Goodness!” exclaimed Joe, his hat striken down over his eyes by the descending panther, and, leaping over the frail barrier of bushes into the water, he plunged forward and executed a series of diving evolutions, as if still endeavouring to elude the clutches of the carnivorous beast, which he imagined was after him.