Vinnie stood quite still, too much frightened to stir or cry out. That pair of fixed, fiery eyes had a sort of weird fascination for her.
All at once, while she yet looked at them, she felt the blood leaving her heart, and an awful terror took possession of her whole being.
The eyes were slowly and unmistakably advancing toward her!
She tottered back a step or two with a low cry. Just then there was a loud report near at hand. An unearthly screech, half-human, rung out on the night-air. The eyes seemed to shoot up a few feet and then they disappeared.
A man came dashing through the undergrowth, and in a moment he stood beside her.
“Vinnie!”
“Oh, father!”
“Don’t be afraid, little one,” Darke said, reassuringly. “It was a panther; but it is dead now. It is a fearful night. Let us hurry home. When we get there, you must tell me how you came here.”
He took her hand in his and they hastened on through the night.