"
"I hope so," Bob remarked, as he strove to look seven ways at once,
keeping his finger on the trigger of his repeating rifle all the while.
They were now advancing into the cave.
"Do you think Joe had a torch?" asked Bob, as a new idea came to him.
"Well, he isn't the man to take chances, and he couldn't help but see
the good torch material at the door yonder. But the beast may have
jumped on his back, so he lost his torch before he could see. And then
he fought in the dark. Joe has always been known as a hard fighter,
and with his knife I reckon he could give a good account of himself.
Hello! see here!"
Bob started when his chum gave this sudden exclamation.
"Oh! I thought you had sighted the panther!" he gasped as he lowered
the gun, which had, perhaps through mere instinct, gone up to his
shoulder.
Frank was bending down. He held his torch in such a fashion that he
could see better; and he appeared to be examining something on the rock.
"What is it?" asked Bob, eagerly; "footprints?"
"No, just a little spot of blood," came the reply.
"Fresh, too, I can see," declared the tenderfoot, as he looked. "Does
that mean this is the exact place where Joe had his little circus,
Frank?"
"I reckon it is," replied the other.
"Then if that beast hasn't cleared out we might run across him before
long!" remarked Bob.
"Oh!"
Frank gave utterance to this cry. He had seen some object flash
through the air, and knew it could be nothing else than the lithe body
of a panther making a leap.
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