THE SEVEN SLEEPERS 185 
wood and Buck Thompson, patriarchs who must 
have been all of fourteen years old, were planning 
to visit these woods. Four of us little chaps tagged 
along until it was too late to send us back. We 
found that the perils of the place had not been over- 
stated. In a dark thicket Boots showed us wolf- 
tracks. At least he said they were, and he ought 
to have known, for he had read “Frank in the 
Woods,” “The Gorilla-Hunters,”’ and other standard 
authorities on such subjects. Farther on we heard a 
squalling note, which Buck at once recognized as 
the scream of a panther. Boots confirmed his 
diagnosis, and showed the reckless bravery of his 
nature by laughing so heartily at our scared faces 
that he had to lean against a tree for some time 
before he could go on. In later years I have heard 
the same note made by a blue Jay, a curious coinci- 
dence which should have the attention of some of our 
prominent naturalists. 
Finally, we came to a little clearing with a vast 
oak-tree in the centre. As we neared it, suddenly 
Buck gave a yell and pointed overhead. There on a 
hollow dead limb crouched a strange beast. It was 
gray in color, with a black-masked face, and was 
ten times larger than any gray squirrel, the wildest 
animal which we had met personally. There was a 
hasty and whispered consultation between the two 
leaders, after which Buck announced that the stran- 
ger was none other than a Canada lynx, according to 
him an animal of almost supernatural ferocity and 
cunning, Furthermore, he stated that he, assisted 
