160 
THE PANTHER. 
only read it in a newspaper, I cannot vouch 
for its truth.” 
“It is a good story, at any rate,” said 
David Barton. “Do panthers ever attack 
men unless they are provoked?” 
“I believe not very often, unless they 
are wounded. The accounts given of their 
courage by different writers vary very much, 
some saying that they are cowardly and 
always fly from the face of man, and others 
representing them as very dangerous under 
all circumstances. I suppose they may be 
different at different times. For myself, I 
may say, frankly, that I would rather keep 
out of their way. The cry is quite enough 
for me.” 
“What is it like?” asked Kate. “Can¬ 
not you give us an imitation of it, father, 
as you did of the Indian war-whoop one 
day?” 
“ Something like this, then,” said Mr. 
Crediton; and, after a moment’s pause, he 
raised a cry which startled the whole party 
and made the little girls look actually pale, 
especially when it came back clearly but 
faintly repeated from the deep forest be¬ 
yond. 
