WNWN XXVII

Sometime in the early morning hours Conrad woke. He got up and stretched out and yawned, scratched his head and sat there feeling somewhat befuddled. He glanced at the clock. It read 3:00.
“I can sleep at least another three hours,” he thought.
He stood up and walked outside to get some fresh air and stretch his legs. It was quiet and the sky was clear with a low moon and bright stars. A low breath of a breeze gently swept the tops of the grass. Scattered clouds slowly drifted through the night sky.
He stood near a tree and relieved himself. He heard a noise.
“What’s that?” He turned and peered into the inky darkness within the brush. He heard it again, a muted cough. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He froze. He knew what it was. He was unarmed and only wearing his shorts. “Man, I should never be caught unarmed!”
He knew better than to turn to run. “I will stand my ground,” he said to himself. He had once faced down a grizzly in Alaska when it made a mock charge. But he had had a high powered rifle then!
Then he heard a faint rustle in the grass and into the moonlight burst an immense cat, its spotted coat glimmering in the moonlight. The jaguar!
It came on quickly but it pulled up to a stop about ten yards away. It snarled at him viciously and its eyes reflected the sparse light into an evil glow. Its low growl was nothing but threatening.
Conrad said nothing. He had heard some people say never to look an animal in its eyes, especially a dangerous predator. Conrad didn’t believe that. He felt animals communicate with their eyes as humans do and he wanted to put some doubt into the mind of this ferocious feline.
This was an intense moment, Conrad’s heart was pounding but he maintained control, he had long years of experience of being in dangerous situations and he could keep his cool.
The cat flinched its back legs and then suddenly sprang. It covered the ten yards in an instant. It took another bound and leapt straight for Conrad. Conrad braced, muscles tense, senses on alert.
Nothing happened. He gasped, and looked around. There was no sign of the jaguar.
“Well that just can’t be real!” he told himself. What had happened he wondered. He realized that El Indio’s story must be true.
He went back into the house and woke Paul.
“What’s going on? Why are you waking me?”
“Sorry Mister Hewitt but I have to tell you about this.”
“What happened?”
“I doubt you will believe me but I just saw the jaguar.”
“And…?” asked Paul.
“It attacked me. I was scared to death but then it disappeared into thin air!” Conrad was shaken.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean it just disappeared into thin air! Gone…Se fue!” Conrad sputtered.
The two stared in silence for a long two minutes or so.
“Are you OK?” asked Paul. “Did you take a smack on the head?”
“I am fine. I was expecting to take a charge by a very large, angry cat and when it leaped it just disappeared. I can’t explain it but that’s what happened.”
“We need a drink,” said Paul. They sat at the table and had a stiff whiskey.
“You know this means that maybe El Indio isn’t crazy after all. Maybe we shouldn’t go back into the cave,” said Conrad.
“I’m surprised at you Conrad! I have never seen you ready to back down before.”