Part 20 (2/2)

Sitting there, he listened to the breeze sighing a the branches of the pines; and to his excitedat the predica to his hearing, so that made bumpus suddenly sit up, hold his breath, and strain his senses trying to locate the direction frouess the nature of the sound

”I wonder noas that a wildcat growling?” he asked hiathering gloo out his hand toward the heavy Marlin that he had teround near by

While the sound, whatever it may have been, was not repeated, so far as bumpus could tell, still he felt far from satisfied about it What if the sly old cat was at that very ht be close by just then, ”inching” its way along, just as he had watched a ta to steal upon a sparroanted for its dinner

buht He drew back the haan to look around him All sorts of stories that he had heard told from time to time about these bobtailed cats of the pine woods, with their cousin, the lynx, that had tassels on its ears, now floated before his mind Naturally they did not tend to ease the strain under which he was laboring; for where he had before only i at hian to see them everywhere

Why, the woodsto set upon the unfortunate scouts, to ave buet away fro that hemlock; since cats were as round

No wonder bu ainst it, good and hard; and if ever they saw Thad and the rest of the scouts again, how happy they should be

Why didn't Giraffe quit his fooling with that silly old bow, and take to thinking up soht of foolishness for hi dodge, that never could be done anyway bumpus was almost tempted to stuure, just to upset things, and make Giraffe come to his proper senses He would, only he was a little afraid that the tall scoutviolent; for he was getting ”awful touchy” on the subject ofa fire in that way

”If I could only make dead sure of one of them yellow eyes, I'd like to knock the beast over,” bu to himself; and then he rubbed his eyes with his knuckles, as if trying to see better, after which he said disconsolately: ”It ain't no use, they just keep dancin'

all around me P'raps there ain't any cats there at all P'raps I's, like my dad used to say I did, when they put els was all aroundhurt ot busy, I let out a whoop, and told 'e awful P'raps if I shut my eyes I'd feel better”

But when he started to try this, buony of not being able to see created new fancies in his one before

And so the anxious scout crouched there, not far frohtly in both hands, and breathing stertorously as he twisted his fat neck around froure out a line of action to be followed in case the worst came to pass; and be it said to his credit that buame, as became a true scout

At any rate, Giraffe could not keep up that silly business ive over through complete exhaustion; or else his ”bally bow,” as bumpus liked to call it, would break, as it had a faculty for doing when the cord became weakened from constant friction

bu, for he wanted Giraffe to forget about his fad, and turn his attention to afire Now, therean e the spark in soure out how it could be done; but buard to details, for they confused hi about like a fish out of water; or a boy who did not kno to shen he gets beyond his depth

Why, it was real dark, and he could just barelyhuht it would set him crazy

Now buht of his co thrust a little box of safetyout; but he kneas useless to look, for he had certainly done nothing of the sort

Then, all of a sudden, buiven an electric shock, when Giraffe let out a shrill whoop; for with his mind so filled by visions of armies of wildcats all ready to pounce upon them by and by, bumpus was in a condition to be startled

He scraun to his shoulder, under the full belief that the crisis so long dreaded was at last upon theht desperately for their very lives

CHAPTER XXI

THE LITTLE FIRE BOW DOES ITS WORK AT LAST