The Crying of the Puma
- Montgomery joins Prendick for dinner. The mysterious glow-in-the-dark-eyed, fur-eared man serves them. Bon Appetit….
- Prendick mentions the pointy ears and fur to Montgomery, but Montgomery acts surprised, feigning ignorance. Prendick can tell he is lying on account that he is a really, really bad liar.
- During dinner, the two men can hear the puma howling and screaming as it is vivisected. Montgomery tries to play it cool, but his body language and attempts to drown his liver in whiskey show his unease.
- After dinner, Prendick tries to read, but the puma's cries only grow more frequent and louder. Unable to deal with it, he storms outside and wanders away.
- "The crying sounded even louder out of doors. It was as if all the pain in the world had found a voice. Yet had I known such pain was in the next room, and had it be dumb [i.e. silent], I believe—I have thought since—I could have stood it well enough. It is when suffering finds a voice and sets our nerves quivering that this pity comes troubling us." (8.26)
- Them's some heavy duty thoughts...