"That's it—some animal," added Russ. "Hand me that gun, Paul, I'll try—"
"Oh, you're not going after it—in the dark, are you?" interrupted Ruth.
"Not much, little girl!" he exclaimed with a laugh, which showed that his nerves were steadying. "I'm only going to try a shot to frighten it. I don't want to be kept awake all night."
"As if one could close an eye with that horrid creature loose in the woods," remarked Alice.
Again came the weird cry, seemingly nearer than before.
"We ought to have a fire," whispered Paul. "Wild animals are afraid of fire."
"It's too damp to build one," remarked Russ. "The lantern will have to answer."
The beast kept up its howling longer than usual this time. Then Russ, who had a good ear for sound, and a fine sense of location, raised the gun and fired into the darkness.
A jagged streak of flame lit up the blackness for a second, and following close after the echoes of the shot there sounded a howl that was unmistakably one of pain.
"You winged him, Russ!" cried Paul.