| The latter looked better for wear than the elk. It must have been struck by something smaller or maybe just a glancing blow was made. Either way it had been enough to end the big cat’s life. It was a big cat too. A big cat for a big elk. What I was discovering however was that there might have been a third creature involved in this chase. Even more than three. I saw only the one however. When something is looking at you that is at least seven feet tall and likely taller; you don’t ignore or forget it is there. You also do not want to give away that you are aware it is watching. Whatever it was that was so tall, would have had the advantage on us if we had to battle. Something of that size was likely to have the advantage of speed. Keep in mind it wasn’t very far from where we were at to where the edge of the forest reached. I was on the driver’s side of the flatbed which was the far side from the forest. I could make it if we bolted for the cab but could young Burt? He had no idea what we would be bolting to get away from; what if he chose that minute to say no!, he wasn’t going to be forced to rush to do anything. Or what if he did make a great effort but still it wasn’t good enough? No I needed to get him in a better position. I stopped the wench and told Burt to leave the elk and go over to his flatbed and get it into position to load the cougar. While he did that I stepped out in front of his truck and directed him. The lights of the flatbed surrounding me gave me a sense of security. It felt unlikely the creature would bolt out of the forest while so much illumination was happening. next page |  |