his wild eyes fixed steadily upon me. Even 

 as I saw the thing it vanished like a shadow 

 of the woods. But what was the panther 

 watching there before he watched me? 



The answer came unexpectedly. It was 

 in the Pemigewasset valley in midsummer. 

 At daybreak I had come softly down the 

 wood road to the trout pool and stopped to 

 watch a mink dodging in and out along the 

 shore. When he passed out of sight under 

 some logs I waited quietly for other Wood 

 Folk to show themselves. A slight move- 

 ment on the end of a log and there was 

 Pekompf, so still that the eye could hardly 

 find him, stretching a paw down cautiously 

 and flipping it back with a peculiar inward 

 sweep. Again he did it, and I saw the long 

 curved claws, keen as fish-hooks, stretched 

 wide out of their sheaths. He was fishing, 

 spearing his prey with the patience of an 

 Indian; and even as I made the discovery 

 there was a flash of silver following the 

 quick jerk of his paw, and Pekompf leaped 

 to the shore and crouched over the fish that 

 he had thrown out of the water. 



