Tally whispered the situation in a breath. “Pant’er no jump, fear lynx get him an’ en get deer. Lynx ’fraid to jump firs’ ’cause pant’er den jump on bof an’ eat ’em.”
Then Omney whispered, “Tally shoot pant’er, an’ me shoot lynx—same time. When I say fire—den shoot!”
So the two guides slowly lifted their rifles and aimed. But the lynx had crept closer to the deer, which in turn sent a swift look of apprehension back at the beast that was now preparing to spring the moment the lynx leaped. The deer lifted its muzzle high and bleated forth a wailing cry, and at the same moment two rifles sounded.
The instant before they rang out, the lynx had jumped right at the throat of the deer, and the instant after the panther had leaped also. The bullet sped faster than the lynx could spring, and the latter fell with a heavy thud to roll over in the buffalo grass at the forefeet of the deer.
Omney’s shot at the panther, however, struck its right shoulder instead of a fatal spot. When the lynx rolled under the nose of the panic-stricken deer, the poor creature jumped over against the wall of aspens, and this leap spared its life. For the panther, instead of ripping open its throat as it planned to do, clawed a tear in its side and then rolled over on the grass. Instantly, the wild beast was up and about to spring again, when a shot from Tally’s gun ended its preying.
The frightened deer had seen the animal rise to spring again, but her eyes were so blinded with the pain and fury of the gash in her side, that she leaped high and brought both hoofs down upon her dead antagonist. Again and again she lifted her stiffened forelegs and drove her sharp hoofs into the spine of the dead panther. Finally, however, the deer realized that her enemy was dead, and swiftly she wheeled and fled from the clearing through the opening opposite the scouts.
As she disappeared, the girls relaxed the nervous tension that had held them absolutely motionless during the battle. Now they sighed, and Mrs. Vernon sat down where she had stood. Betty began crying softly, and said, “The poor deer! I hope its side will heal.”
“Sure! Him go roll in mud of shallow spring and it heal,” Tally assured her.
The lynx and panther were found to be splendid specimens of their individual kinds, and the scouts had the satisfaction of knowing that this big game had not been shot for mere sport. But, having saved the deer’s life by shooting the two wild beasts, the pelts naturally became trophies for the scouts to send home.
“They’re awfully big brutes, girls. We’ll never be able to carry them both back to camp to-day,” said Mrs. Vernon.