Читать книгу Camping in the Winter Woods: Adventures of Two Boys in the Maine Woods онлайн

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Suddenly the stillness of the night was broken by a wild, piercing scream from the forest. The men stopped talking and looked first at each other and then at the boys, who sat with staring eyes and open mouths gazing out into the darkness. Not a word was spoken while they waited and listened for a repetition of the uncanny call. Then an involuntary exclamation of alarm escaped the lads, for the cry was repeated, this time nearer at hand; and they moved uneasily away from the door.

The woodsmen smiled reassuringly, and then Ben allayed the fears of his young guests.

“That’s a lynx out hunting for his supper. Don’t get uneasy about him; you’ll hear and see him often between now and spring.”

“What sort of a creature is it?” inquired Ed, glancing toward the door.

“Why, he’s a kind of overgrown wildcat,” Ben explained, laughing. “He’s savage enough if you corner him and make him fight; but otherwise he’ll usually get out of your way.”

The call was not repeated; but it made a deep impression on the boys, who, never having seen the animal that made it, conjured up all sorts of dreadful creatures in their imaginations.