Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1857-11-26
THE WOLVES ON THE TRACK.

| needed noise which was heard time to timt
and which she fancied the fall of avalanche.
from crag to crag in the mountains. But now
all On sudden she remarked that her father
had several times turned his head to look back
and that his face wore a troubled expression
What is it, fsther 7" she asked I" is there
anything the matter ?"
Nothing, nothing" he answered, In short
stern manner not at all usual for him" hope
nothing" and then murmured to himself, in a
lower tone, God grant it may be nothing
Her uneasiness by no means lessened, but
understanding he did not wished to be question.
ed she remained silent, but with her atten-
tion on the alert to discover the cause for
anxiety. The dull noise in the rear certainly
| increased, and was heard at ftfnl intervals,
/ now almost swelling into note, then dying
! away, and was decidedly nearer than when
| first she had remarked it, The horses, too,
seemed by some wonderful instinct to partake
her fathers uneasiness Just then the noise
| began afresh, and now an unmistakabe howl
sent flash of certainty into her mind Un-
able longer to bear the suspense, she half rose,
and gasped out, 90, father, is it's it the
wolves 2"
They are long way behind" said An
dreaS we shall reach home we'll never
! fear"
! But the farmers face contradicted his cheer
| full words, and, with sinking of heart as if its
action had been stopped, and then a tumul-
tuous rush of blood through her veins, Ella
sank back on her seat. It was fearful
revulsion of feeling to be thus suddenly torn
from state of dreamy reverie, and brought
face to face with great danger The faint
! inns zion o1o
her eyes for moment and murmuring heart
| felt prayer, her natural courage returned
Ella had till then only seen dead wolves the
| trophies of the chase, and once or twice one
securely muzzed ou its way to some foreign
menagerie but too many dreadful swolf-stores
are current round Norwegian hearths in the
winter for her not to divine the greatness of
the peril, and she tried to calculate their prob
able distance from home, and the chances Of
escape.
Frau Ingeborg next heard the howl, and
asked the same terrified question as her daugh-
ter. 20 God, my poor children y was her
only exclamation and then she, too, was calm
and still. Nearer nearer is the howling-fas-
ter GO the terrified horses their instinct has
told them the danger Ella gently disengages
herself from the sleeping Olaf, and unbidden,
get out the rife and powder-fask, and in 81
| lence looks to the loading. Andreas's eye
falls on her he is even at that moment pleas
ed to see the fruit Of the training he has
given his child in her pale composed face and
steady hand, like brave Morse Maiden as
she was. Her eyes are now strained to look
back as far as she can. Ere long, on the brow
Of hill they have descended, she sees black
moving mass against the sky. Il see them,
father, but they are far off yet"
4 grOan escapes from Andreas God
help us then !" he mutters Wife and daugh-
ter read his face, and from their hearts, too,
goes up that agonized PRAYER All we'll may
they pray it. On come the pack, some half
hundred gaunt, hungry wolves, their dismal
howl freezing the life-blood of the jansens.-
The horses bound onwards with red nostrils
and painting sides (; they 60 like the wind but
the distance is steadily diminished And the
the howl of the wolves sounds like mccking
demon cry, Ha, ha We 60 fast, we faster !;
ye are few, we are many it is our turn now
We are the hunted we the hunters Ha, ha
how like We the change p
Would it not be possible" said Ella, to
take refuge in one of these chatlets? Could
We not barricade ourselves there 2"
" 1t would be only quicker death the
wolves would soon force the door there
would be no fastenings of sufficient strength to
resist them"
They looked above, aronnd-neither help
nor hope was to be seen the pitileSs earth
was wrapped in one vast winding sheet of
snow. and the cold glancing lights in the sky
revealed only too clearly their desperate con
dtion. A cold damp stands on the farmers
brow still he guides his horses with firm
hand, speaks encouragingly to them, and
though he, knowing the peril best has given
up hope first he relaxes no effort. 1t was
hard, IN the flush of manhood, the prime of
fe with the blood coursing through every
vein in strength and power, to have nothing to
do but die. AS he looks at his dear ones, he
thought were these but safe, death would not
be SO fearful and then the image Of the plea
SAINT home at Raversdol rose up before him,
and to leave all this, to die ard leave no name,
no heir behind him, it was hard Was it
not triumph of Christian faith that he, thus
crcumstanced, could bow his head mcekly and
say, "Thy will be done 2" Dame Ingeborg
said nothing, but her tears fell fast over the
nesting Raoul she was straining to her heart !;
and as the child started at the noise, she hush
ed him off to sleep as if he had been in his
little bed at home, thankful that one at least
of her darlings was spared the anguish of this
valley of the shadow of death. And yet to
her arose ray of light, CLEAN OF happiness,
and she thought that she and all her dear
ones would cross the river of death at the
same time no wdowhood, no orphanage, no
idleness-the parting of moment, and then
| the eternal reunion in bliss Olaf, reused by
his sisters rising, had awoke, and seeing the
wolves, had burst out into terrified crying but
when Ella gently bade him pray to God and
try to be brave boy, he caught the infection
of her caImness. Swallowing his tears. he
knelt on the seat, and hiding his face in the
fur wraps, that he might not see the objects