nto
the brook he realized that he was in the most perilous position he had
yet encountered. Facing Indians and desperadoes was nothing compared to
facing this beast, that seemed bent upon his destruction.

The spot where the young officer struck the brook was five or six feet
deep, and as the panther came down on top of him he went straight to the
bottom.

The beast was also submerged, but not for long. Panthers, although they
can swim, do not like the water, and this one lost no time in coming to
the surface to get air. Then it let out another scream of pain, while
the bullet wound in its side dyed the brook red.

As the panther came up the young captain tried to do the same. But the
first thing he encountered was the beast's fierce claws, and he received
a deep and painful scratch in his left shoulder. Then he went down
again, and tried to come up further down the stream. But unfortunately
the panther moved in the same direction.

In the meantime the other soldiers came up to the edge of the brook.
They realized their captain's peril, and as soon as the panther showed
itself two of them blazed away, one hitting the beast in the back and
the other landing a bullet in the panther's neck.

The fury of the animal was now intense, and whirling around it lashed
the water of the brook into a perfect foam. Then it leaped for the
opposite shore, and made a break for the underbrush. Before anybody
could fire again it was gone.

When Captain Moore regained the surface of the brook willing hands
helped him out.

"Hurt?" questioned Peck anxiously.

"A little--on the shoulder," was the answer, with a gasp. "Where is the
beast?"

"Got away in yonder bushes, sir. That's a nasty dig. You had better let
me bind it up."

"Carwell, how are you?"

"The beast nipped me in the arm," answered the private, trying to
suppress a groan. "By George, but he was an ugly one!"

"That's right," put in another soldier. "You can be thankful you wasn't
chewed up."

A brief search revealed the fact that the panther had left the vicinity,
and then the others set to work to bind up the wounds the captain and
Carwell had sustained.

"We had better move on now," said the young officer, when the hurts had
been attended to. "If there are Indians or desperadoes around they must
certainly have heard those shots, and they will be wondering what they
mean."

They marched on in the gloom, and did not halt until the sun was showing
itself over