A STRANGE SOUND. 
163 
must be the abode of the goblin panther 
which answered Mr. Crediton. I wonder if 
he will be civil enough to give us a wel¬ 
come ?” And, as he finished speaking, he 
raised the panther-cry. 
This time it came back at once, and with 
startling distinctness. It did not sound like 
an echo. There was a different expression 
about it altogether. The boys looked at 
each other. 
“That’s curious, though!” said David; 
and even as he spoke the cry was again re¬ 
peated, two or three times together. 
“That isn’t an echo, anyway,” Sidney 
said, in a low tone. “May-be it is an owl.” 
David shook his head. “I know all the 
owls that are found hereabouts,” he replied; 
“and I never heard any thing like that 
before.” He began to look about a little, 
and after a moment called Sidney. 
“See this tree,” he said, quietly, “how 
the bark is all scratched off. I say, Sidney, 
we had better get away from here.” He 
took up his pail as he spoke, and they 
turned to go, but paused a moment to 
listen. Again they heard the cry: this 
time it seemed a little nearer. They 
