Nick is awoken at the crack of dawn by Duane Jr. Twilly has spotted the mother panther, and it’s time to reunite her with her cub. As they get in Mrs. Starch’s car to head out to the swamp, they learn that Twilly has captured and befriended Horace the bloodhound by feeding him steak. They pick up Marta and make their way to the camp, where Mrs. Starch has fashioned a straw hat into a kind of carrier for the panther kitten, who is growing daily into an apex predator: “As adorable as it was, the cat was restless and squirmy and not very huggable. Nick noticed long, nasty scratch marks on Mrs. Starch’s arms” (315). They set out on the life-or-death mission to save Squirt. 

Bayliss and McBride are also heading out to the swamp to meet a representative of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Apparently, someone has reported a panther sighting to the Fish and Wildlife Service, and they’ve arrived to make an inspection of the land. Fortunately for McBride, it’s too foggy out for an immediate inspection, but the officer says he will return the next day. McBride tries to talk him out of it, by saying that Florida panthers aren’t actually all that special and that he has “seen cougars out west […] shot dead and skinned where it’s all proper and legal.