' shall i go back and say that i struck one wolf and it escaped ? ' thought walter . ' fie ! ' said his conscience , ' do you not remember that a lie is one of the worst sins , both in the sight of god and man ? if you tell a lie to - day and say you struck a wolf , to - morrow surely it will eat you up . ' ' no , i will go to the kiln , ' thought walter , and so he went . but he did not go quite near . he went only so near that he could see the ram 's blood which coloured the grass red , and some tufts of wool which the wolves had torn from the back of the poor animal . it looked so dreadful . ' i wonder what the ram thought when they ate him up , ' thought walter to himself . just then a cold shiver ran through him from his collar right down to his boots . ' it is better for me to beat the drum , ' he thought to himself again , and so he began to beat it . but it sounded horrid , and an echo came out from the kiln that seemed almost like the howl of a wolf . the drumsticks stiffened in walter 's hands , and he thought now they are coming ... !
he heard a howl of a wolf .
why did walter think the wolves were coming ?
why did walter think the wolves were coming ?