"I caught sight of it, and it looked more like a man." The doctor gave me a quick look, and then said sharply, "Go on!" I obeyed him, walking backwards round the fire, my piece ready, so as to get a shot if I saw the creature again; but this time all remained perfectly still, and though I went right round the fire, no sound came from among the trees.
"Take a piece of burning wood and throw it opposite to where you stand, Joe." I did so, and the blazing wood described an arc, fell in a tuft of dry undergrowth which burst out into a vivid column of light for a few minutes and died out, but there was no charge, no roar from our enemy, not even the rustling of the bushes as it passed through.
"It's very strange, Joe," whispered the doctor.

"Pile on more wood." I obeyed him, and this time it caught directly and there was a tremendous blaze, but no attack followed; and we stood listening for some sound of the enemy in vain.
"You must have shot it," I said, speaking with some confidence.
"Or else you did, Joe," said the doctor.
I shook my head, and we remained listening for quite a quarter of an hour, but still in vain.

The silence in the forest was now awful, and though we strained our eyes till the fire across which we looked dazzled them, we could see nothing to cause alarm.
"Either it's dead or it has gone off, scared by our fire," said the doctor at last.

And now that we found time to think, he continued, with a smile, "I hope we are not going to have many such night-watches as this on our expedition.

I say though, my lad, how some people can sleep! I should have thought that those howls would have wakened anything.