“But I’m not used to enemies that spring on a man in the dark without making any noise of warning. That’s what the panther did.”
“Yes, he’d ha’ had ye, sure, ef I hadn’t been here to fire.”
“It was good luck.”
“Waal, I dunno about the luck of it. I was here on purpose. Been a-lookin’ fer that critter.”
“Indeed!”
“Yes; the pesky varmint has been worryin’ the life out of us, and to-night I jest made up my mind that I’d get him. I was pretty dum certain he’d be on the trail somewhere, fer there’s enough as comes over it, you know, to give the scent. I thought he’d be watchin’ fer prey, but I didn’t have no idee that he’d git a chance at any. That’s whar I’m s’prised., How come ye here, stranger?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute,” Nick answered; “just explain to me first how you managed to take that shot in time. I heard the beast springing just as you fired.”
“Why,” said the backwoodsman, “I was waitin’ here, hopin’ the scent of me would bring the varmint along, and, of course, I wasn’t makin’ no noise about it.
“Then I heard steps—yourn, you know—and I was wondering about it as you come down the steep part of the trail.
“Ef you look up at the top of the ledge, thar, you’ll see that the risin’ moon makes the top line quite clear.