“Don’t be frightened at the old panther.  She’s dead.  They fought, and one ran away; and this one is dead.’

“And is she a-lying on your feet, did you say?  It’s so dark in here, I can’t see the fust thing,’ says I, feeling round for the critter’s head, and gitting my paws tore by the young ones, who, I must say for ’em, was mighty handy with their claws for their age.  So says I,—­

“‘Well, fust thing, I’ll get red o’ these little devils; and then I’ll drag out the karkiss, and see to you, my poor gal.’

“So I clinched the fust one by the throat, and, when he hung like a rag, pitched him out, and grappled t’other; but he was a case, I tell you.  Fight!—­you’d ought ter have seen him!-and scratch and bite, and spit and yowl, till the whole woods rung with his uproar.  I mastered him finally; but he’d done his work, and come nigh beating me even arter he was dead, as ye shall hear.

“When the kittens was out of the way, I clinched the karkiss uv the old painter, and dragged it to’rst the mouth uv the cave.  It wor hard work; and, when I’d got part way, I left it lying, and squeezed by (for it most filled up the passage), and went to see how bad Harnah might be hurt; for, when I spoke to her last, she hadn’t made no reply.  Leaning over her, I felt round for her face, and had jist touched her cold cheek, and called to her to know if she was alive, when I heerd jist over my head the awfulest roar that ever come out uv a creter’s throat; and so loud, that it echoed through and through the cave enough to deaf you.  The minute I heerd it, I knew what was tew pay, and give up for lost.  It wor the man o’ the house come home in a hurry to see what them squalls uv the dying kittens meant; and that’s how I said they come nigh beating me even arter they was dead.

“Now, mister, what would you say a man had ought to have done in such a fix as that?-run, or stay?  Mind ye, I hadn’t the fust thing in shape uv a we’pon, nor couldn’t get hold even uv my stick, nor the stones outside; and what could a feller do with his naked fists, shet up in a hole with a wild-cat?”

“It was a trying situation; but I don’t believe you ran away,” said Mr. Brown good-humoredly.

“Yer bet your life on that, stranger,” replied Seth with emphasis.  “I hadn’t no idee on’t; though the only other chance seemed to be to jump down the critter’s throat, and choke him, so’s ter spile his stomach for Harnah.

“I looked to the mouth uv the cave, and thought, ’He won’t get by that karkiss very easy;’ and then, all of a sudden, the strangest idee you ever heerd come acrost me, and I jumped as though I’d been shot.  It wor to play off one of the critters agin the other, and keep the old painter out uv his den with the karkiss of his mate.

“It wor a curus idee, now, worn’t it; but they say a drownding man’ll clinch to a straw, and this wor worth the trying to a feller in as tight a place as I. So I tumbled the old lady over as well as I could, and got her wedged inter the narrerest part uv the road, with her back rounded out, and her paws in, so’s’t I should have a better chance for hanging on than the old feller outside ’ud have for pulling.  Then, with my jack-knife, I cut a slit in one of the fore-legs and one of the hind, to put my hands inter; and then I held on.