Even as he dropped flat, and felt that lithe body pass swiftly over him, Adrian heard a shout. Of course this must mean his chums had made the alarming discovery that he was up against a hard proposition; they had been watching him closely from a distance, and when the deer fell in response to his shot doubtless they were about to give a whoop of delight, but at sight of the leaping panther this was changed into a cry of alarm.

Adrian did not deceive himself.

The fact that he had a couple of good, trustworthy friends so close at hand would not cut much of a figure in his little affair with the hungry panther, perhaps nothing at all.

They were some distance away, and even though making all the haste possible, they must consume several minutes of precious time in reaching him; before that came about his business with the gray-coated terror of the canyons of the mountains would have been finished.

Accustomed to depending on himself in every emergency, the boy was not at a loss as to what he should do under these trying circumstances.

It was lucky, of course, that in making an involuntary duck of his body he had caused the panther to miss his aim. The creature had leaped true enough, but having once left the limb on which he must have been crouched, watching the advance of the human deer-hunter, he could not alter the nature of his spring.

But just as soon as he landed on the ground the chances were the agile beast was going to whirl around, and make another try. It was to meet this attack that Adrian got himself in readiness, thrusting out his rifle so as to ward off the savage claws until such time as he could throw out the old shell, and pump another one into the firing chamber of his gun.

It is true that this operation may be mechanically performed, and that it really consumes a brief space of time; but there may be occasions when even a second counts for a great deal. Adrian considered this such a time, for it was of more importance that he face about and make ready to keep the animal away, than that in the desperate attempt to get his rifle ready he allow his side to go unprotected.

An old hunter would understand the instinct that caused the prairie boy to act in this way; for he could place himself in a similar situation, and realize just what a part instinct rather than reason would be apt to play.

It turned out to be a wise move, too; for hardly had he thus whirled around with gun extended, than the panther, having recovered from his disappointing leap, came straight at him again.

It was far from a pleasant task that the boy had on his hands, trying to thrust that clawing, growling beast away with his gun, all the while he was fairly wild to work its mechanism, and get a good cartridge into the chamber.

You may not suspect what a powerful beast a panther is, just by watching him pace restlessly back and forth in his cage when you visit the Zoo, or see him in a menagerie; but those hardened muscles of his are capable of a tremendous force, once the beast is aroused to a state of fury. Many an unfortunate hunter has rued the day or night when he found such a beast attacking him in the forest; and if he lived through the battle it was to find his garments torn almost to ribbons, while his flesh was badly lacerated by the keen-pointed claws that were in action every second of the time until a fortunate shot or blow from a knife laid the animal out dead.

While he continued to thrust out with all his strength, in the endeavor to keep the beast away from close quarters, Adrian was yelling at the top of his lungs, not for help, but in the hope that the sound of a human voice might gradually wear upon the nerves of the beast, and cause him to slink away.

All the boy wanted was just a few winks of an eye, in order to get that rifle in readiness for action; but as long as he was compelled to use every atom of his strength in fending off these constant attacks, his ambition did not seem likely to be gratified.

After all, the coming of Donald and Billie, also shouting like wild Indians as they skipped over rocks, and rushed headlong toward the scene of action, may have been a factor in deciding the result.

Adrian himself, calmly reviewing the whole affair later on, when he could do so in a spirit of fairness, was ready to acknowledge that he was indebted to them for the chance he yearned to grasp.

Hearing them coming may have slightly disconcerted the panther. It had not been wounded thus far, so that its rage was only that of being interfered with while stalking its legitimate prey, the feeding deer. Consequently it might not be of a mind to face several enemies at once; though a tiger-cat that has been made to feel the agony of a gunshot wound will leap into a regiment at times, and start to make a clean sweep, until borne down by force of numbers.

The animal hesitated at one point in its attack. Adrian was quick to notice this little but significant fact; pressing his advantage he gave a particularly loud whoop, and instead of standing on the defensive as heretofore, he actually assumed the aggressive.

That proved to be the crux of the whole exciting little affair, for the panther was surprised at the turn of events, and gave evidences of a desire to retreat.

By now the boy’s fighting spirit had been wholly aroused, and he was determined that under no circumstances, if he could help it, should that impudent panther get away unscathed. It had attacked him unprovoked; and now he meant to see that the fighting cat got full measure, pressed down, and running over.

Watching his chance Adrian suddenly jumped back, and at the same instant there was heard the click of his gun’s mechanism working.

It was all done like a flash, and he had timed his movement with such precision as well as sagacity that before the beast could recover, and either resume the attack or jump away, the young hunter was ready to put the finishing stroke to his warmly contested game.

The other pair, having covered about half the ground by this time, and still coming on wildly, saw their chum once more thrust out his gun; but this time it was with a far different manner than before. There was also a confidence in his action that told the experienced Donald what sort of change had come about during that second or so of time.

Had he been given time to shout no doubt Donald would have voiced his belief to the effect that Adrian had succeeded in rendering his magic fire-stick serviceable again, by those few quick movements of his hands.

Of course it was as good as over now. At such close quarters Adrian, being so accustomed to firearms, was not apt to miss a vital spot. And when the discharge was heard the panther sprang into the air, rolled over on the ground, clawing desperately, while Adrian stood close by, though out of reach, his faithful weapon again in readiness to be used in case of necessity.

But it was not required of him, for by the time Donald and Billie came panting to the spot, the fat boy blowing like a porpoise with his strenuous exertions, the gray-coated beast had stiffened out in death.

“Hurt any, Ad?” gasped Donald, as he surveyed his chum anxiously; because he knew only too well how difficult such wounds as those given by the claws of a carniverous animal are to heal, and what danger of blood poisoning always hangs over the one who has received the same.

Adrian laughed as well as he was able in his nearly exhausted condition.

“Not a scratch—never touched me!” he managed to tell them; at which both the others took off their hats, and gave a faint cheer.

When they had managed to in part recover their wind they bent over to examine the cat, which both prairie lads declared to be the largest they had ever seen.

“The nerve of the rascal, jumping at you just because you knocked over a deer he had his eye on,” remarked Billie, as he poked his toe into the sleek skin of the slain beast.

“Well,” said Donald, laughingly, “just put yourself in his place, Billie, and think how ugly you’d feel if you had your mouth made up for a certain sort of meal, and just when you were going to reach out to grab it, some fellow stepped in and scooped the prize. Chances are you’d feel like tackling him, and trying to take it away, now wouldn’t you, honest Injun?”

The fat boy screwed up his red, good-natured face as though pondering over the subject; then he nodded his head like one of these automatic dolls you see in the shop windows along about Christmas time.

“P’raps I might, Donald; mebbe you’re right about that,” he went on to say presently; “because it sure is a mighty aggravating thing to have your mouth made up for a mess of fried onions, and then not get ’em; and it must be worse to be cheated out of everything at the same time. Yes, I don’t blame the scamp so much after all; but say, he sure barked up the wrong tree when he thought to scare one of the Broncho Rider Boys off, didn’t he, fellows?”

“Looks that way,” Donald replied.

“But we got the deer all right, and that means a feast of venison right along now, the balance of our trip to the Zuni village, don’t it?” continued Billie, his blue eyes fairly snapping with delight; for while they had had an abundance to eat thus far, fresh meat had been only noticeable, as Billie would say, by its absence.

“Yes,” Adrian went on to remark, “we’ll have plenty of venison; and I’ll get busy cutting the animal up, if you boys will look after the horses; and Donald you might slip that fine gray jacket off my panther; I reckon it’ll be worth keeping as a sort of reminder of the sassy way he tackled me.”

“I’ll take care of the horses, all right,” ventured Billie, who knew very little about removing the skin of a dead animal, and moreover was not anxious to take lessons in that line.

So it came about that for some little while all of them were more or less busy, Adrian in cutting off the choice portions of the deer; Donald in depriving the unfortunate panther of the sleek covering he had borne all his life; while Billie led the horses, and after them the mule, to water, which he found trickling down the face of the rocks near by.

“And,” said the fat boy, after he had completed his part of the programme, “seein’ how close to noon it is right now, why not stop long enough to let me make a little cooking fire out of these dead branches under the cedar, and try a piece of the venison?” and silence giving consent, he proceeded to immediately get busy.