for a long, long time our friends behind the bushes and the uprooted tree, as well as those in the boat, waited and waited for the appearance of the panther.
it was now as dark as it would be, but the stars were out, and, with eyes accustomed to the gloom, objects could be easily seen upon the beach or on the water.
but, so far, nothing moved from the woods toward the little pier.
“i might just as well have had another cup of coffee,” whispered adam, “for there was plenty in the pot, and have smoked my pipe. i knowed he’d be a long time comin’.”
“you mustn’t talk so much,” said mr. pitman, from his post near by, “for painters have mighty sharp ears. and mind, i don’t want any of you[191] to fire till he’s out on the pier, for if you crack at him while he’s on the beach, you might send a ball into the house. that ’ud make it lively for mother and the girls. i put us all here close together, so that we shouldn’t fire into one another.”
“who’s talking now?” thought phil, but he said nothing.
“phœnix,” said chap, after the two had watched and watched and watched, “i don’t believe much in this panther business, after all. i move that you and i take regular watches like the sailors on a ship. first, one of us can take a nap for half an hour, and then he can wake up and let the other one have a snooze for the same time. in this way each of us can get half a night’s sleep in broken dozes. as for that panther, he’s badly behind time; most likely switched off on a siding to let a down train, such as a couple of bears, pass him.”
phœnix agreed to this proposal, and kindly allowed chap to take the first nap.
at the end of what he supposed was a good half-hour, but which was, in reality, only twenty minutes, phœnix tried to wake up his companion; but it was of no use. chap slept as sound as a log, and he could not be aroused, unless more noise and confusion were made than would be proper on such an occasion. so phœnix determined to watch a little longer, and if nothing turned up, to go to sleep himself.
[192]just about the time this resolution was made, mr. pitman remarked, in a very audible whisper, that if he had had a puppy dog, that he did not care much about, he would have tied it to the end of the pier, and then its yelping would have attracted the panther’s attention, and he would have been certain to go out there to get it.
phil whispered that he thought that would have been a cruel thing to do.
“oh, no,” replied mr. pitman. “there wouldn’t ’a’ been no danger to the dog. i’d ’a’ put a ball through the painter afore he’d got to him. stop talking! look thar!”
there was no occasion to tell anybody to look, for along the beach, not very far from the edge of the woods, a dark form, like that of an immense cat, was moving, stealthily, but with moderate speed, toward the house and the pier.
phil trembled in every fibre when he saw this creature, not with fear, but with excitement.
“is that a panther?” he thought. “so near a house, and right on the very beach where we are ourselves?”
he raised his gun a little in imitation of adam, who was kneeling silently behind his bush; but his arms trembled so much that he thought he would never be able to hit anything, no matter how near it might be.
phœnix also saw the approaching panther, and[193] all idea of sleep immediately forsook him. he endeavored to gently arouse chap, but this was useless, and with strained eyes he watched the scene on shore.
the panther, as it came up the beach, passed so near to the house that even mr. pitman was amazed, and thought that he would not have slept so soundly during the many nights he had spent in that house, if he had known that a panther would dare to prowl so near its windows. but this beast was unusually rash or courageous, and it is seldom indeed that a panther will venture so near a human habitation; but among wild animals, as well as men, there are individuals who are more daring and reckless of consequences than their fellows; and in the wilder parts of florida, panthers of an investigating or enterprising turn of mind have been known to totally disregard the proximity of man.
when nearly opposite the little gate of the house-yard, the panther stopped, and raised its head as if listening, and then, with a noiseless trot, it went directly toward the place where it had killed the dog. it walked more slowly along the pier, putting down its head occasionally to sniff, and then stopped upon the extreme end of the little platform, its small head and long, lithe body standing out clearly against the sky.
at this moment the reports of two rifles, sounding[194] almost like one, rang out upon the night, while immediately after them the two barrels of a heavily-loaded shot-gun were discharged with a heavier and more resounding detonation.
almost at the instant of the rifle-shots, and an instant perhaps before phil fired, the panther sprang into the air, and came down, not upon the pier, but into the water beyond. there was a great splash, and then he could be plainly seen swimming away from shore.
phil, adam, and pitman sprang out of their concealment, and the latter hastily reloaded his rifle.
it was probable that the panther had been struck, for it was scarcely to be supposed that the mere noise of the reports would have frightened him so much that he would have taken to the water, but he could not have been badly hurt, for he was swimming vigorously.
at first it seemed as if the panther was making for the other side of the river, but he had not swum out very far before he changed his course, and made directly for the polling stone.
at the moment he turned, pitman’s rifle again rang out, and the ball was seen to send up a quick jet of water a yard or two beyond the swimming animal.
the situation was now an alarming one. phil was reloading, and pitman already had another[195] charge in his rifle; but it was impossible now to fire at the panther without aiming directly at the boat. adam dropped his rifle, and ran toward the small boat by the beach. he would have rowed out to do what he could to help the boys, despite the danger to himself, but there was no oars in the boat.
“push off! push off!” shouted pitman to the boys in the boat. “pull up your anchor! haul up your sail!”
he evidently thought that the only means of safety was to sail away from the panther as soon as possible.
but there was no time for all this to be done, even if phœnix and chap had been expert in the management of anchors and sails, which they were not. the panther was evidently making for the rolling stone as a place of refuge, and from the way he was swimming he would quickly reach it. he seemed to totally disregard the presence of two boys on board, or the fact had escaped his attention.
the sound of the firing had, of course, awakened chap, and he and phœnix were hastily discussing what they should do. phœnix seized a hatchet, and posted himself by the side of the boat.
“if he comes near, i’ll brain him,” said he.
chap snatched up the shot-gun. it had been[196] pronounced harmless to panthers, but it might frighten the brute.
the panther was now within four or five feet of the boat, and phœnix stood ready, with his hatchet raised. chap kneeled down, and leaned over the boatside, and as he did so, he involuntarily reached out his gun toward the panther. this action seemed to irritate the beast, and he was so near that he actually opened his mouth, and took hold of the muzzle of the gun. at this instant chap pulled both triggers, and two loads of number two shot, in almost compact masses, entered the panther’s brain. when the boys looked at the water, there was nothing but a swirl of ripples where the angry head had just been seen.
“you’ve settled him!” cried phœnix; but still he stood ready with his uplifted hatchet.
in a moment the body of the panther reappeared, now nearer the boat, one side uppermost, limp and motionless.
“he’s dead!” cried chap. “grab him! don’t let him sink again!”
and, throwing down the gun, he leaned over the side of the boat.
“look out!” cried phœnix. “if he isn’t dead, it won’t be much fun to grab him.”
