CHAPTER XX
THE PANTHER AND THE CAVE
Exclamations of fear escaped the boys as they saw the threateningattitude of the fierce animal in the cliff cave. Hal, who had had recentexperience with a similar animal--perhaps the same one--stood his groundand gazed calmly at the mountain lion. But Ferdinand and Frank werequickly panic-stricken and turned and fled into the passage. Byronhesitated a few moments; then the fright of Bad and Fes proved too muchfor his nerve, and he turned and followed them as fast as he could run.
It would be too much to expect even Hal to stand cool and unmoved undersuch discouraging circumstances. The support of even a physically weakcompanion would have tended to strengthen his nerve. As it was, he feltan irresistible power pulling him backward, and he, too, turned andraced after the other Boy Scouts.
He expected any moment to hear the panther come hounding after him andto be knocked over by the springing of the heavy body upon his back. Indespair he wished he had not lost courage and had stood his ground, buthe had no power to turn and await the approach of the animal. It was toolate now. His only hope--but was there any hope at all?
Yes, there was. In the passage was the cave with the rude timber door.The other boys were just entering it. Hal reached the entrance just asFrank was swinging the door to.
Fearfully he looked behind, and saw the mountain lion entering thepassage in a half hesitating manner. Doubtless he had had experiencewith human beings that taught him the wisdom of dealing cautiously withthem. Hal stepped inside and pulled the door to; then, finding that itswung easily and fitted the entrance fully, he pushed it open again andstepped outside.
The panther had stopped twenty feet away, crouching to spring, yethesitating as if afraid. It was rather dark in the passage and his eyesblazed like two coals of fire. Hal stood ready to spring back into thecave and pull the door to if he should spring.
"Come on in and shut the door," pleaded Frank in trembling tones. Byronand Fred seconded the request, but Hal had good reason for doingotherwise.
If he shut himself and his companions in the cave, it would mean a longimprisonment. He would be afraid to open the door again lest he find thepanther close to the entrance ready to spring in. Meanwhile Mr. Mileswould return and would be unable to find them, and then the mischiefwould be to pay. Hal must remain outside and watch for the airship andscream for help when the aviator landed.
"No, I'm going to stay here as long as he don't spring at me," Halreplied. "If it's too dark in there and you're afraid, here's somematches."
He took several matches from his pocket and held them behind him. Byronstepped out gingerly and received them and hastened back into the cave.Meanwhile, Hal was measuring the distance between him and the puma andwondering if he couldn't do something to make the big cat retreat.
"If I'd pick up one of these stones and fire it at him, I wonder whathe'd do," he mused. "Would he jump at me or would he jump back? Maybe Iought to just try to scare him and not hit him. If I hit him, it maymake him mad.
"No, I guess I'll throw one right at him. I couldn't hit him if I tried.Nobody could hit a cat; they're too quick."
So he picked up a stone half as large as his fist and threw it with allhis force right at the animal. The latter sprang nimbly aside and thestone bounded several yards farther on. Encouraged at the failure of themountain lion to spring at him, Hal picked up another stone and hurledit, then another and another and another. The beast sprang aside andbackward each time, snarling angrily, but hardly with an accent ofcourage. Hal kept up his attack with more and more vigor, and presentlythe animal turned and bounded out of the passage. Just as hedisappeared, Hal's three companions came rushing toward him in a mannerso startling that the watcher outside chilled with a fear that thepanther's mate had been discovered inside.
They stopped at the entrance, thus reassuring Hal somewhat. But thisreassurance was dispelled when he turned and saw their white faces andscared attitudes.
"What's the matter?" he inquired, for the moment forgetting the panther.
"Oh, Hal!" gasped Frank. "There's a man back there, and he's dead!"
"A man! Dead!"
It was Hal's turn to gasp.
"Yes," replied Frank. "We lit some matches and saw him."
"There's a gun back there, too," continued Fes, and Hal interrupted himeagerly.
"Is that so?" he exclaimed. "Bun, you and Bad stay here and watch, whileFes and I go and have a look. If the panther comes back, holler to me,but don't shut the door unless he comes too close."
With these instructions, Hal entered the cave, followed by the tremblingFerdinand. He struck a match to light his way, and held another tosubstitute as soon as the first should burn out. The hole in the wallwas an ordinary cave, eight feet wide beyond the narrow entrance, six orseven feet from floor to ceiling, and fifteen feet deep.
At the farther end, Hal discovered evidences that the place had beenused as a living room. There was no table and no chair, but he found alantern, a pine box, a gun, some blankets and several articles ofclothing. On the blankets lay the form of a man. His clothes were tornand his face was mangled. Evidently he had been attacked by some wildanimal, perhaps the mountain lion. The man must have been dead for twoor three days.
Realizing that no more time should be spent in this place, Hal picked upthe rifle which leaned against the wall, and returned to the entrance.There he examined the weapon, which was a Winchester. He pulled down thelever, which opened the chamber and disclosed five cartridges resting inthe magazine. At the same time an empty shell flew out, and as he threwback the lever a fresh cartridge slipped into its place.
"Come on, fellows," said Hal, starting for the entrance. "If the panthercomes too close, I'll shoot 'im. But I don't think he'll bother us."
The boys hastened out of the pass and into the belt of timber. Beforethey reached the open, they discovered the airship resting on the groundand Mr. Miles looking about him in alarm at the disappearance of thefour Scouts.
"Where have you been?" he inquired as they came near. Then he added in atone of astonishment: "And where did you get that gun?"
"We've had some adventure, believe me," replied Hal, as he stopped andrested the butt of the rifle on a rock. "We've seen a panther and founda dead man in a cave."
The aviator was amazed and demanded further details. The boys told theirstory in a picturesque manner, with many gestures and some slang. Theaviator would have been glad to have made a personal investigation, butit was getting so late that he decided it best not to delay. So he said:
"We've got to get a move on us, or we'll find ourselves making a tripthrough the air in the dark. Come on, now. Who's going on the nexttrip?"
Frank and Ferdinand got aboard, and the ship again jerked and boundedover the rough ground, then arose and circled toward the school. Hal andByron remained, with the gun for protection in case the mountain lionshould appear again. But little fear was felt from that source after theexperience they had had with the animal.
"I bet it's the same panther we met over on Porcupine," declared Byronsoon after they were left alone.
"I bet it is too," replied Hal.
In a short time after they saw the airship glide down onto the campus,it arose again, and in ten minutes it alighted on Flathead once more.
Then Hal and Byron got aboard and experienced their first thrills asaerial passengers. It was not nearly so sensational as they hadexpected, however. Indeed, it was hardly more thrilling than going up inan elevator, for they were shut in on all sides and could look out onlythrough the windows, and this proved not much different from gazing outof a window of a sky-scraper in the city.