Scream in the Night

Last night I went outside with the dog, our usual stroll into the darkness before bed. Cur sometimes ventures into the dark near the paved road while I linger near where the driveways loop and curve into the straight drive to the house. Suddenly there was a kind of shout from the road, hard to distinuish between a human sound or animal. Cur barked, I called to him and ran back to the house, alerting Cowboy to grab a firearm. As I ran back, I heard a second scream and more barking.

When we went back outside and called to Cur, he trotted up as if nothing had happened. Cowboy rode around the area and saw nothing. Cur went to bed as if nothing unusual had taken place.

Cowboy's opinion is that it was a prowling cat. Mine is that it could have been someone walking on the paved road, startled by the dog. My decision now is whether to carry a weapon or a light or both, when Cur makes his last rounds of the night.