Hastily donning our clothes we rushed down. Truth to say, the "monster"
of so many startling stories was somewhat disappointing to contemplate.
It was far from being so big as we had thought it in the night--indeed,
it was no larger than a medium-sized dog. It had coarse black hair with
two indistinct, yellowish-white stripes, or bands, along its sides. Its
legs were short, but strong, its claws white, hooked and about an inch
and a quarter long. The head was broad and flat, and the ears were low
and wide apart. It was not in the least like a catamount. In short, it
was, as the reader may have guessed, a wolverene, or glutton, an animal
rarely seen in Maine even by the early settlers, for its habitat is much
farther north.
As Tom and I stood looking the creature over, my cousin Theodora
appeared, coming from the old Squire's to make inquiries for me. They
had missed me and were uneasy about me.
During the day every boy in the neighborhood came to see the animal, and
many of the older people, too. In fact, several people came from a
considerable distance to look at the beast. The "glory" was Tom's for
making so good a shot in the night, yet, in a way, I shared it with him.
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