The Goodhue volunteer., 1863-12-30
yards. Then, ,straford whispered hoarsely to

You takethe right one, and the left,
and We Willie together When 1 whis~
tie, shoot !'.ss
In an instant he gave quick shrill whis-
tie, and with the report Of our guns, two. of
the largest Of tho brutes rolled over among
the pack, the horses made frightened dash
forward, and the living wolves stopped to
gather round their dead companions.
Stand steady j. said Butler, hoarsely.-
They'll be on us agin. They'll run this ere
team down,Em ateared I'll look out for
EN- on thissidc, if you'll tend to EN- there,
1t was just as he had said in few ruo-
ments on they' came again, over hundred
gaping mouths, and lolling tongues almost
breathing into our very faces and pouring
their horrible cry into our very ears. We
had instantly reloaded and were ready for
them again; and with the whistle another
brace of the animals werc staining the
white snow with their blood. This time
the pack did not stop to inquire into the
matter; but the shots sent the horses slight
ly ahead, and Hiram dropped on his knees
among the straw, livid and helpless with
terror, and Butler had seized the reins in
his left hand, while in his right he held a
revolver. He gave the cowardly driver a
spurning push with his foot as he did so,
and with voice that had terrible earnest
hess about it said;
1T would sarve ye right, ye mean cuss,
If ia throw We out to the varmints. l
don't know what yer good for but to make
more work for the team! ending off his
words with shot at a great gray beast,
that came striding alongside the sleigh, al
most against the muz&el of his pistol, as he
stopped to reach it.
Within moment our own rifles brought
down their pai-. but what were two taken
from that fierce pack The horses were
still staggering on; sometimes stumbling al
most to their knees and looking over the
back Of the sleigh, could see occasional
blood spots upon the snow, which knew
came from the mouths or nostrils Of one or
both Of them. My soul ssemed to be alb
soIbcd in picking out from the pack some
monster Of more hidcous jaws and size than
the others, and thinking Of him as perhaps
the one that as destined to tear my own
flesh, and thon watching him until ball
from my rife would roll him in the snow. .
Shot after shot we fred in this way, varied
by those from Buffers revolver, and &C
compancd by the Sroans Of Hiram, who BY
this time was coi'ed up under the front seat
until the voice 0? the old hunter was heard
again.
If do:.'t disreme1nber, tllar's an old
log cabin .,omcwnare hereabouis. saw it
as we calAe up, but didn't take pe'tcklar
notice. 1t can't be more th IN mile
on y
I turrcd my heal and strained my sight
out into the darkness, but saw nothing and
then turned to Butler for an explanation.
If we can reach that kal'late wore
safe for a while, 'Iow'n the door amt
gone.
saw in these words one little chance for
life, and once moro gave my entire attention
to the blood thirsty tiends on our track. l
laid my rife upon the seat, and gra,ped my
knife firmly in my right hand, ready to re
ceive each Of the beasts If he should attempt
to jump into the sleigh; while Stafford
stood read with his rife and one revolver
to do his share Of the work. I had no
sooner SO prepared myse,fthan an enormous
fellow made spring, and landed with his
'orepaws upon the back Of the sleigh,
spring that brought him full upon the point
Of my knife, trans6x!ng him and throwing
him back dead, into the midst Of his fellows
almos. carrying my knife with him. Just
at this moment l heard the voice Of Butler
as thougc speaking to himself.
We'll done mister Now then, see the
cabin just before us, beyond that big cedar!'
and then .-e began, for the first time, lash
ing the horses. who sprung into wild gal
lop. seemingly the very last exertion they
were capable of making.
BE ready, now, to jump for it as we get
to the house - vas the old hunters next
words. 'There'Il be no time to lose II
Wake up here you cuss " he said, giving
Hiram kick, which brought the man half
standing in the sleigh. Wake up and save
yourself, though yer ugly carcass isn't much
worth savin', nuther.' @
Whether it was that the pack were siring
OF that the horses were going faster under
Buffers l.shing. We certainly we're gaining
= few feet on them. The seconds seemed
hours. until It last Butler, with jerk that
almost ,hrexw the horses on their haunch |
e, drew up IN front Of the cabin.