128 



RECREATION. 



the range until it should become too 

 dark to travel farther, then putting 

 up for the night, as best we could, 

 and trying to get out the next morn- 

 ing. 



I knew enough about the moun- 

 tains to understand that such a course 

 might lead us on for days. My plan 

 was to go to the foot of the moun- 

 tain and follow the first stream we 

 came to, until it carried us to a larger 

 one ; then we would soon be able to 

 get out. The old man was so morti- 

 fied that he would venture no sug- 

 gestion. Finally I said : 



"Well I am going down the hill. 

 If you men want to follow, all right. 

 I shall go alone if you don't." 



I had not gone far when they 

 called to me to wait and they would 

 go with me. We got down in about 

 half an hour, and struck a good sized 

 stream which was full of the finest 

 trout imaginable. We had shot a 

 couple of squirrels and caught a few 

 trout. With these we expected to 

 make some sort of a supper when 

 compelled to stop. 



We managed to travel along the 

 stream, which was enclosed on both 

 sides by laurel thickets, and which 

 was dangerous on account of the 

 slipper^ rocks and the many water- 

 falls, the beauty of which we could 

 not help admiiing, tired and hungry 

 as we were. 



After we had traveled four or 

 five miles along the stream, it became 

 too dark to go farther, so climb- 

 ing the hill a short distance, we 

 camped under a large maple tree, 

 whose extending boughs, although 

 nearly devoid of leaves, we thought 

 would protect us from the dew. 



We worked until dark, gathering 

 boughs and brush for a bed, and fuel 

 to keep up a fire. 



Jack had one match, and it was 

 carefully guarded. Fortune favored 

 us and we soon had a good fire roar- 

 ing. We had commenced to feel as 

 comfortable as our situation would 

 admit and were regaining our good 

 humor and spirits, when we were 

 delighted bv hearing a long-drawn 

 " hallo-o-o-o'." 



Jack and I both jumped to our feet 

 and answered, but the old man only 

 drew closer to the fire. The call was 

 repeated, and, straining our lungs to 

 the utmost, we shouted, 4< Come down 

 here, we're lost." Wondering at the 

 old man's silence, we looked at him 

 and noticed that he was crouching 

 near the fire in terror. Not under- 

 standing the situation, and fearing 

 he had been leading us into some 

 trap, we demanded an explanation. 

 The old man said : 



" Boys, you're answering a painter. 

 I saw one killed in here last fail, and 

 its pelt measured 10 feet from tip to 

 tip. 



We did not fully realize the dan- 

 ger, and as we had a pretty good fire 

 going by this time, were not much 

 alarmed, although we were soon able 

 to note the calls of two panthers 

 answering each other. They gradu- 

 ally drew nearer to us, and soon we 

 could hear the low growl that fol- 

 lows the loud call. We had only 

 enough wood gathered to last about 

 two hours, and the old man, in his 

 fright, threw the entire lot on the 

 fire, to make a big blaze to keep 

 the " varmints " off. When we saw 

 that something had to be done to 

 replenish the pile, and that, too, 

 quickly, we felt not a little nervous. 

 Daddy declared flatly he would not 

 move five feet from the fire to save 

 his life ; so there was nothing to be 

 done but for Jack and me to go after 

 more wood. 



We made the guide agree that if 

 we gathereel sufficient wood to keep 

 up a fire till morning, he would sit 

 up and keep the fire going. He said 

 he wouldn't dare close his eyes with 

 "them painters a howlin' round." 



Tremblingly we walked out into 

 the darkness, one of us carrying a 

 burning brand in one hand, which 

 was waved around wildly, while in 

 the other a gun was held ready to 

 use at a moment's notice. Working 

 in this way for an hour and a half, 

 we accumulated enough fallen limbs, 

 logs, etc., as we thought, to last till 

 morning. Then, cutting a lot of 

 branches from the tree we were un- 



