answer."

The beast kept up its howling longer than usual this time. Then Russ, who
had a good ear for sound, and a fine sense of location, raised the gun
and fired into the darkness.

A jagged streak of flame lit up the blackness for a second, and following
close after the echoes of the shot there sounded a howl that was
unmistakably one of pain.

"You winged him, Russ!" cried Paul.

The howling continued.

The girls screamed. Mrs. Maguire tried to calm them.

"I believe I may have touched him," admitted Russ, not a little proudly.
"There was a big charge of shot in that cartridge, and it probably
scattered. He can't be badly hurt though, but it may make him go serenade
someone else. We've had enough."

The howls grew fainter, and there was a crashing in the bushes and tree
limbs that told of the retreat of some creature. Finally these sounds
ceased, and once more there was silence and darkness, illuminated only by
the lantern and the faint glow of the smudge-fire.

"Do you really think it's gone?" asked Ruth faintly, as she nestled
closer to her sister and Mrs. Maguire.

"I hope so," ventured Alice.