“Not much, little girl!” he exclaimed with a laugh, which showed that his nerves were steadying.  “I’m only going to try a shot to frighten it.  I don’t want to be kept awake all night.”

“As if one could close an eye with that horrid creature loose in the woods,” remarked Alice.

Again came the weird cry, seemingly nearer than before.

“We ought to have a fire,” whispered Paul.  “Wild animals are afraid of fire.”

“It’s too damp to build one,” remarked Russ.  “The lantern will have to 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.

“I guess we’ve heard the last of it,” Russ assured them.  “But don’t worry.  We’ll be on the watch the rest of the night.  I wish we could have a fire; but I’m afraid it’s out of the question.”

“Let’s try, anyhow,” suggested Paul.  “It will give us something to do.  I’m cold and stiff.  Maybe we can find a bit of dry wood.”

“It is chilly,” complained Ruth, and she shivered.  The night was cold and damp.

Nor were the piece of canvas and the raincoats much protection.  Still, it was better than nothing.

“Well, we’ll try a fire,” agreed Russ, as he prepared to go ashore with Paul.

“Oh—­don’t—­don’t go!” begged Ruth, nervously.

“Why not?” asked the young actor.

“Because—­that beast—!”

“I fancy he’s far enough off by now,” answered Russ.  “A fire will be our best protection, if we can make one.  Come on, Paul, let’s try it, anyhow.”

“Oh, I—­I don’t like them to go,” protested Ruth.

“Silly!  It’s the best thing to do,” answered Alice.  “They probably need a little exercise.  They haven’t so much room in their end of the boat as we have.”

“Oh, of course, I don’t want them to be uncomfortable,” returned Ruth, quickly.