Was "diss" a term in the colloquial dialect at the time?

Pretty sure it was.

Even other people in the neighborhood missed what the otter did. If they were looking, they'd all have seen a giant black box in the middle of the street appear for a moment. Then again, if I were suddenly engulfed in a black void of malicious mystery for 10 seconds, I'd probably be terrified too!

Little known fact: Most mustelids will put out a rank odor when frightened. Everyone knows about skunks. Some know about minks. But, yes, otters do it too.