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the forest dweller, who was now nowhere in sight, and then toward the three women, but the women were not there in the hay field either, instead there were only three snarling full-grown black panthers, watching the two men threateningly. It had all happened so quickly that the two men had no time to think or to realize what had happened.
Slowly, the two defenseless men began to retreat from the field where the black panthers menaced them. When they reached the place where they had left their horses, they saw the guide holding the reins of their horses and smiling at them.
"Did you see anything unusual," the forest dweller asked, pretending to be ignorant.
"Unusual," they exclaimed. "We were almost clawed to death by three black panthers in the field where you told us to go!"
"Panthers ? I don't believe it. Show me where," he said playfully.
This time, the two men got their guns from their guide, shouldered them and believed full well that they would have to use them. But, as it happened, when they reached the field where the three panthers had been seen, they only saw the three women, singing and swaying in the beautiful sunlight of the day, as they cut the tall grass before them.
"But they were only here a minute ago," the commissioner said to the guide, "where are they now?"
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