The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1866-10-13

trees down in which their prey was
seated, firmly believed to be pure fic-
ton, 50 all that ] had to do TO be safe,
appeared, after all, to sit still where 1
was.
"But for how long? I had only three
cartridges left. / could not bc sure of
the number of dogs in the pack, but
there were upward of fifty at least,
and whether they only attacked ut
nio,n.t, or were equally savage during
thc dav knew not. But even should
thcv rcmoir IT,. 'g, which was not prob
able when once th.'v found that their
proy was out of reach, : rei'eiiocreo
that YOU would be sure to- ''e 70 my
help when YOU found ! had nv re- re-
turncd. and I vas comforting mys,
with this assurance when 1t flashed
through me that you wOHld' aS hkciy as
not, come without your g''HS' anu il
you did, nothing could save you. ll'9
was the worst of all, and as ! sat thinN-
! ing of it the old dews of helpless trcad
gathered on my face, and | put back
the shrill whistle l always carried when
wandering alone, and which | was just
going to blow, lest it should give you
too true a clue to my place of refuge.
GLOW long | sat crouchcd among the
branches of that friendly cork-tree,
turning these hopes and fears over in
my mind, l hardly know. 1t must
have been an hour ut least, for the moon
had travelled over the valley, and was
setting behind the snowy mountains
beyond, when from the opening gorge,
mentioned before, there came shout!
knew the voice well, Elliot, and wait
cd without answering, lest you should
be alone. | think the few minutes of
suspense which followed were more in-
tolcrlblc than anything which had yet
happened But very soon there came
another shout, and then several voices
together, and almost at the same mo-
ment the glare of torches, as II whole
party of men turned into the valley.
The relief was too great. l tried to
shout, too, but my voice died away in
, my throat. | tried my whistle now,
but the sound that | produced was too
, feeble to be heard far away. At last, by
bright thought, fred off my three
remaining cartridges, and then-you
f know better what happened and what
, became of me than do myself.
t What happened, and what became
| of Mrs. Hardinge, was as follows:
+ As we ncarcd the grove of cork-trces
| so often alluded to in the above recital,
= and to which we were directed by the
, sound of the pistol, the pack of dogs
| left their unsatisfactory employment OF
, gazing at the food which was unattaina-
BILE, and came en- HIuSse to attack us. But
, we were prepared for them, and they
received two or three Volleys so we'll
t directed and telling, that after coming
: to us once again, they bctOok Themselves
I to the shelter Of the bruShWOOd on each
# side the valley. | said we were prepared
for them; for, returning home from oul
V expedition about an hour before, we
v were met by peasant who told Us thai
= he and some Others had seen the frs
Y pack of wild dogs remembered for up
Il ward of thirty years, descending from
# the High Pyrcnees toward these val
| lcys; and as they certainly were no
q far away, it was not safe to be out un
l. less in party, and well armed, for the.
d were always desperately savage; the!
l. had doubtless been driven from thci
II lairs, he said, by the long continunnc
IT Of cold and snow.
,. (Which direction had they taken p
d asked we, with Il view to Il possible
.c days sport on the morrow.
r. Judge of our horror when the MAJ
:, named the valley Mrs. Harding
o. had chosen for her walk that morning
g. and pointed to the mountain immCdi
N utc!y ovcrharging it as the place Wher
le he had seen them.
ot Before he could finish his sentenc
Y we were hurrying home at our utmos
* speed, hoping to find our fears needless
lc and her safely returned. When, how
IN ever, we got there, hours later than sh
usually remained out, our hearts failed
~ when, to our quick question, "Whcre'
an Mrs. IIardingc:' my wife replied, "
ms don't know, she has not come in;
ne thought she was with youw Instant
| the alarm was given, the whole villag
k, was aroused; every man armed with
- gun rallied round us, and we took on
a way 10 the entrance of the valley, :
th lent and sick with apprehension for tn
n fate which most likely ere this ha
us oVertakcn her.
After the rout Of the dogs, we ha
nm tened to the trees, and climbing that
~ which, by the light of our torches, "
III could see Mrs. Ilardinge, lifted her dowl
d. She was quite inscnsiblc, though, fu
of ther than bad bruises and tears, apps
il rently from falls and thorns, she SCENT
ID, unhlrt; ut all events, there was /
on mark of the dogs upon her. We ca
~. ried her home, and did all we could
he restore consciousness but alas Il
nd horrors she had gone through had bee
elk too great, and il was many, many da,
,rc before She recovered from their effect
nv 1t was not, indeed, until three wcel
ifI aftcrward that She was able to give
, the preceding account,
ct She still treasures her little pistol
he the chief saviour, under ProVidrn(
: of her life, but we who heard the tale
asst unNiicctcdly told, thought the pist