any mermaids?"

"Never you mind about beans and mermaids," I told him; "one man told me
already that they were cow tracks I saw. I guess he wouldn't want to go
through what I've been through since then. The animal had five toes on
his fore feet and four on his hind feet-that's a leopard, I'm pretty sure.
Anyway, he's got spots. You come and see."

"You don't think it could have been a spotted calf, do you, Kid?" Harry
said in that nice easy way he has of jollying. I don't know much about
calves' toes, but I've eaten calves' feet.

Even after I had told them all about it, they all said I must have been
seeing things and that probably the animal was a raccoon or maybe
_possibly_ a wildcat. Anyway, Harry Donnelle said they'd all go back
with me to the place, because they thought maybe we'd get in trouble on
account of plastering some honest, hard working calf with fly paper. But
just the same he took his rifle, I noticed that. I carried the lantern.

All the way through the woods they were jollying me and calling me _Roy the
Leopard Killer,_ and Harry Donnelle said I must have been carried off on
the magic carpet to India, just like the people in the Arabian Nights. All
the while I didn't say anything and when we came to the tree and the spring
house, I went ahead and saw that the animal was lying close to the tree, as
if he were asleep. I guess he was all exhausted. The rope was fast around
his body just behind his fore legs where it couldn't choke him and where he
couldn't get free of it. He started up when I went near him, but didn't
seem to get excited.

I just held the lantern and said, "You see what a fine calf this is. He
ought to win a prize at the County Fair. He's disguised as a leopard, but
he can't fool us--I mean you fellows. You can bet boy scouts know a calf
when they see one."

They just stood there about fifteen or twenty feet off, staring. Even Harry
Donnelle stood stark still, staring. "What's the matter?" I said.

"Are you afraid of a poor calf? Come down in the front row; I won't let him
hurt you." Then Harry came nearer, but the other fellows stood over near
the spring house, so they could scoot inside, I suppose. The Safety First
Patrol!

Harry Donnelle just looked and then he said, "By--the--great--horn--spoon!
It's a _leopard._"

"I thought maybe it was a nanny goat," I said.

He just shook his head and looked at the animal all over and said, "Jumping
Christopher! That's a _leopard,_ a