The Panther’s Scream

•June 11, 2025•

by Janet Roney

“It’s time to quit and go home when I start seeing things!” Roger hung his jacket on the hook and stood there with a puzzled look on his face.

“Seeing things? What did you see?” I asked. My worry about my husband working so late at night at the isolated Murphy River farm on the east county line was replaced by a new concern. 

“I don’t know. In my tractor lights, I thought I saw something dark dart across in front of me. Maybe it was a reflection. After I quit and was walking to my truck, I heard this blood-curdling scream come up from the Kaskaskia River bottom. It was time to go home!”

Now, you should know that my husband is a sober man. (We are Methodists, don’t you know…)

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