The panther, as it came up the beach, passed so near to the house that even Mr. Pitman was amazed, and thought that he would not have slept so soundly during the many nights he had spent in that house, if he had known that a panther would dare to prowl so near its windows. But this beast was unusually rash or courageous, and it is seldom indeed that a panther will venture so near a human habitation; but among wild animals, as well as men, there are individuals who are more daring and reckless of consequences than their fellows; and in the wilder parts of Florida, panthers of an investigating or enterprising turn of mind have been known to totally disregard the proximity of man. When nearly opposite the little gate of the house-yard, the panther stopped, and raised its head as if listening, and then, with a noiseless trot, it went directly toward the place where it had killed the dog. It walked more slowly along the pier, putting down its head occasionally to sniff, and then stopped upon the extreme end of the little platform, its small head and long, lithe body standing out clearly against the sky. At this moment the reports of two rifles, sounding almost like one, rang out upon the night, while immediately after them the two barrels of a heavily-loaded shot-gun were discharged with a heavier and more resounding detonation. Almost at the instant of the rifle-shots, and an instant perhaps before Phil fired, the panther sprang into the air, and came down, not upon the pier, but into the water beyond. There was a great splash, and then he could be plainly seen swimming away from shore. Phil, Adam, and Pitman sprang out of their concealment, and the latter hastily reloaded his rifle. It was probable that the panther had been struck, for it was scarcely to be supposed that the mere noise of the reports would have frightened him so much that he would have taken to the water, but he could not have been badly hurt, for he was swimming vigorously. At first it seemed as if the panther was making for the other side of the river, but he had not swum out very far before he changed his course, and made directly for The Polling Stone. At the moment he turned, Pitman’s rifle again rang out, and the ball was seen to send up a quick jet of water a yard or two beyond the swimming animal. The situation was now an alarming one. Phil was reloading, and Pitman already had another charge in his rifle; but it was impossible now to fire at the panther without aiming directly at the boat. Adam dropped his rifle, and ran toward the small boat by the beach. He would have rowed out to do what he could to help the boys, despite the danger to himself, but there was no oars in the boat. “Push off! push off!” shouted Pitman to the boys in the boat. “Pull up your anchor! Haul up your sail!” He evidently thought that the only means of safety was to sail away from the panther as soon as possible.