ly warmer than it was outside.
The boys found a couch of dry fir boughs inside, but the only cover for
it was a dried deerskin and one of Daddy Goss's old coats.

Meanwhile full darkness had fallen; and there would be no moon till late
at night. An owl came circling round and whoop-hooed dismally. Billy
said that he wished he were at home, and his companion admitted that he
wished he were there also. They closed the door and then, lying down as
close together as they could, put the two bunches of fur at their feet
and covered themselves with the old coat and the deer hide. But they had
scarcely lain down when crashes in the underbrush startled them, and
they heard a great noise as of a herd of cattle running past. The old
Squire peeped out at the door. "I guess it's deer," he said.
"Something's scared them."

He lay down again; but a few minutes later they heard what sounded like
a shriek a long way off up the stream. Billy started up. "Now what do
you s'pose that was, Joe?" he exclaimed.

"I--I don't know."

"It sounded," said Billy, "just as the schoolmistress did when she
stepped on a snake last summer."

They sat up to listen; pretty soon they heard the noise again, this time
much nearer.

"It's coming this way, Joe!" Billy whispered. "What do you s'pose it
is?"

They continued to listen, and soon they heard a short, ugly shriek close
by in the woods.

"Joe, I'm afraid that's a catamount," Billy said unsteadily.

The old Squire picked up the useless gun and sat with it in his hands.
For some time there were no more outcries; but after a while they heard
the crumpling of snow and the snapping of twigs behind the camp. Some
large animal was walking round; several times they heard the sough of
its breath.

"Joe, I'm scared!" Billy whispered.

The old Squire was frightened also, but he opened the door a crack and
peered out. On the snow under the birch-trees he could distinguish the
dark form of a large panther. It had seen the door move and had crouched
as if to spring. He saw the flash of two fiery eyes in the dim light and
again heard the sough of the creature's breath before he clapped the
door shut and braced the gun against it. But he had no confidence in the
flimsy birch bark; so he got out his jackknife and bade Billy get out
his. It did not occur to them that the panther had scented the freshly
killed game and had followed the trail of it.

The boys passed dreadful hours of suspense during that